Maine Public Working Waterfront Infrastructure Fund

The Maine Public Working Waterfront Infrastructure Fund is a competitive grant program administered by the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) in collaboration with the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) and the Maine Office of Community Affairs (MOCA). This grant initiative is supported through federal funding, notably from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Climate Resilience Regional Challenge (CRRC), with additional federal funds as applicable. While the fund is administered at the state level, the underlying financing sources are federal. The goal of this initiative is to strengthen the resilience of Maine’s public working waterfronts by addressing risks posed by climate change, sea level rise, and coastal flooding. This program specifically targets infrastructure owned by municipalities or tribal governments that supports commercial fishing, aquaculture, or other marine-based commercial activities. Eligible properties must be municipally or tribally owned, abut tidal waters or be located in the intertidal zone, and demonstrate direct benefit to Maine’s commercial fishing and aquaculture sectors. Permissible activities under the grant include infrastructure adaptations such as elevation, strengthening, or relocation. Grant funding may also support projects that improve access and functionality for both commercial and recreational users in anticipation of future climate conditions. Applicants can submit proposals for one or both of two eligible activity types: (1) scoping and design, and (2) construction. Funding requests may be made for up to $75,000 for scoping and design, and up to $2,000,000 for construction. Applicants seeking a combination of both activities are capped at a maximum request of $2,000,000. A minimum 5% local match—cash or in-kind—is required, based on the total cost of the phase for which funding is being requested. The match must be directly tied to the proposed project’s eligible costs and must be raised or appropriated by the applying entity. Notably, expenses incurred before the effective date of the grant agreement, including preparation costs, are not eligible as match. The application window for the current round closes on March 11, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Applications must be submitted via email using a specific format for both the subject line and the file name of the attached PDF. Each entity may submit up to three applications, with one application per project. An inter-agency review team comprising representatives from MaineDOT, DMR, MOCA, NOAA, and the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future will evaluate submissions according to established criteria. Conditional award announcements are anticipated by late Summer 2026. All projects are required to comply with NOAA’s environmental review requirements before funds can be disbursed. Furthermore, selected projects must be completed by September 30, 2029; no extensions will be granted. Grantees must adhere to the Build America Buy America Act and provide quarterly progress updates as well as a final project report. These reports are expected to include progress narratives, any changes to the project schedule, and a comprehensive accounting of project expenditures.