The Department of Marine Resources’ Maine Coastal Program and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Municipal Planning Assistance Program are seeking applications for coastal planning grants totaling approximately $300,000. Funding for these planning grants comes from the Maine Coastal Program’s annual grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In response to the significant impacts of recent storms experienced by Maine’s coastal communities, the FY 2025 Coastal Community Grant Program and Shore and Harbor Planning Grant Program are being combined into one grant program. The matching fund requirement has been eliminated and the application process has been modified to include a Letter of Intent, followed by a final application by invitation only.

Application information

Letters of Intent are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 29, 2024 - Letter of Intent instructions can be found here. Letters of Intent must be submitted via email to: Ashley.Gamache@maine.gov.

All questions regarding the Program Statement and Letter of Intent must be submitted by email to Ashley.Gamache@maine.gov by 5:00 p.m. on March 1, 2024. Responses to all questions will be compiled in writing and posted on the Municipal Planning Assistance Program and Maine Coastal Program websites by 5:00 p.m. on March 8, 2024. Only those answers issued in writing on these websites will be considered binding.

Final Applications, by invitation only, are due on May 31, 2024, no later than 5 p.m. Please see the current Program Statement for further information. All Final Applications must be submitted electronically to Ashley.Gamache@maine.gov.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include counties, municipalities, unorganized territories, tribal governments, and Regional Councils in Maine’s Coastal Zone.

The grant is intended to fund local or regional planning projects that support Maine Won’t Wait: A Four-Year Plan for Climate Action and enable communities to become more resilient to unprecedented coastal storm impacts. Successful applications must address one of the following Priority Categories:

• Conduct climate vulnerability assessments including sea level rise, storm surge, and flooding at critical public facilities.
• Evaluate existing waterfront infrastructure resilience plans and design resilient infrastructure for vital waterfront facilities.
• Identify hazard-prone locations to integrate land conservation and public access planning, guiding development away from vulnerable areas.
• Develop a comprehensive inventory of public tidal access points and working waterfronts. Establish guidelines for responsible use and conservation.
• Review and recommend changes to municipal land use laws that address current and future coastal hazards.

The maximum grant award is $50,000 and there is no match requirement for the FY2025 grant program. The total combined award amount is expected to be approximately $300,000.

Examples of past projects and “Lessons Learned” can be found on the MCP Example Projects, Maps, and Funding Summary webpage or MPAP’s CCG Case Studies webpage.