AUGUSTA, Maine — On Friday, Gov. Janet Mills, Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden announced President Joe Biden's approval of that state's request for a major disaster declaration for eight counties in Maine.
The counties were impacted by a severe storm this past spring on April 30 and May 1. The storm consisted of heavy wind and rain, which caused flooding, swelling rivers, tree damage, power outages, and over $2 million in infrastructure damage, a release from Mills' office said.
Mills made the request on behalf of the state of Maine to Biden on June 26. The request aimed to assist Franklin, Knox, Kennebec, Oxford, Somerset, Sagadahoc, and Waldo counties with damage from the storm, the release said.
"We are grateful that President Biden has approved Maine’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration," Gov. Mills and Maine’s Congressional Delegation said in a joint statement. "This declaration will make available critical federal funding that Maine will use to complete costly infrastructure repairs necessary after this spring’s severe storm."
According to the release, Biden's approval unlocks federal assistance through the Public Assistance Program, which aims to give supplemental grants to state, local, and tribal governments in order for communities to respond and recover from emergencies or major disasters.
Additionally, the declaration allows for funding through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program for the whole state of Maine to aid in developing hazard mitigation plans.
The state requested a Joint Preliminary Damage Assessment for Public Assistance on May 12, where assessments were done on-site by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to the release Friday. The FEMA assessments were done across nine counties between May 29 and June 2. Three virtual assessments were also done between May 26 and June 9.
"The assessment validated $2,978,440 in infrastructure damage," the release said.
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