New grants will support projects that protect public health, create jobs and reduce costs on taxpayers

During a visit to the town of Rumford today, Governor Janet Mills announced that she is awarding $22 million through her Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan to twenty wastewater treatment facilities serving 27 communities across Maine to accelerate vital wastewater infrastructure projects.

   -“Maintaining our water and sewer infrastructure across the state of Maine is critical to preserving our clean water, to protecting public health, and to reducing costs for taxpayers,” said Governor Mills. “These new grants will help water and sewer districts across the state speed up maintenance projects for the next four years, creating jobs, cutting costs, and preserving service for the communities that rely on them.”

   -“Maintaining the high quality of Maine’s water is essential to the “Maine brand”, our quality of life, a healthy environment, and a strong economy,” said Melanie Loyzim, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. “The funding of these clean water projects through the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan will ensure Maine will continue to be known for having some of the best water quality in the country.”

Governor Mills announced the one-time grants, administered by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, at the Rumford Town Hall. The Rumford-Mexico Sewerage District was awarded a $1 million grant to make significant improvements to its wastewater treatment facility. Upgrades to the facility will preserve service to the communities of Rumford, Mexico, and Dixfield, while also reducing discharges into the Androscoggin River.

  -“These funds will ensure that the District is able to help protect the Androscoggin River watershed and provide affordable and reliable wastewater services to the residents and businesses of the Rumford, Mexico and Dixfield communities well into the future,” said Roland M. Arsenault, Superintendent of the Rumford/Mexico Sewage District.

In total, the grants will support 22 wastewater projects around Maine over the next four years, including projects that repair and replace wastewater infrastructure to improve operations, reliability, resiliency to climate effects, environmental impacts, and economic development.

The awards are as follows:

Anson-Madison Sanitary District- $2.278 million
Biddeford - $1 million
Greater Augusta Utility District (2 awards) - $2 million
Calais - $2 million
Ellsworth - $2 million
Eagle Lake Water & Sewer District - $1 million
Hartland - $1 million
Houlton Water Company - $1 million
Livermore Falls - $1 million
Loring Development Authority - $167,950
Mapleton Sewer District - $917,235
Millinocket - $800,000
Old Town - $733,020
Pittsfield - $498,210
Rockport - $1 million
Rumford-Mexico Sewerage District - $1 million
Stonington Sanitary District (2 awards) - $403,510
Van Buren - $463,509
Machias - $893,589
Winterport Water District - $553,746

These funds are in addition to $20 million in grant funding to 13 communities across Maine Governor Mills announced last week to make investments in local infrastructure projects, including wastewater infrastructure, to improve their resilience to effects of climate change, such as flooding, rising sea levels, and more extreme storms.

Following her visit to Rumford, Governor Mills toured the historic Bethel Inn Resort with Brad Jerome, the Inn’s Director of Sales and Marketing, and toured The Gem Theater, which is also a coworking space, in Bethel with Co-owners Wade Kavanaugh and Beth Weisberger, and visited the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum in Bethel.