Press Releases

 SACO, MAINE—This afternoon, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) hosted President Biden’s Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Michael S. Regan, on a tour of Saco’s Water Resource Recovery Department to highlight how Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding can help address the impacts of climate change in Maine. The wastewater treatment facility in Saco, which serves more than 12,000 residents and 375 businesses, has faced significant flooding due to sea level rise caused by climate change. Following the tour, Regan and Pingree held a press conference to discuss funding streams to improve wastewater infrastructure in Saco and throughout Maine under the new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and heard directly from Howard Carter, the Director Saco Water Resource Recovery Department, about how climate change-related flooding has posed challenges for the area.

“Today, we saw first-hand how climate change is already impacting Maine and threatening the vital services our societies rely on to live safe and healthy lives. Being situated along the Saco River, the Saco Water Resource Recovery Department has witnessed a rising sea level that worsens by the year and causes regular flooding. But the Saco facility is taking action to ensure it is resilient to the effects of sea level rise, flooding, and climate change,” said Congresswoman Chellie Pingree. “After being underfunded for far too long, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will make the single-largest investment in water infrastructure ever, helping fund projects to strengthen resilience to extreme weather and climate change through upgrades to reduce the effects of flooding and their harmful impacts. As Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment, which oversees funding for the EPA, I’m proud to fight for funding that helps us confront the climate crisis, and I thank Administrator Regan for coming to Maine to see our efforts in action and the real-world potential of the historic Infrastructure Law.”  

“It was eye opening visiting Maine today to see and learn first-hand about the impacts of climate change and pollution on these communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Thanks to President Biden and leaders in Congress like Chellie Pingree, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes a historic $50 billion investment in clean water that will protect people from worsening impacts and create new jobs in the process. I am excited to work with Congresswoman Pingree and other local leaders in and around Saco to ensure these dollars get to the places that need it most, so that together we can build a better America.”

Background:

Over the past year, EPA’s Office of Community Revitalization and Office of Water combined resources to provide technical assistance support to the Saco Water Resource Recovery Department in the form of a pilot test of their new Augmented Alternatives Analysis tool. Last November, Saco residents voted to allow the city to borrow up to $50 million in bonds to fund the Water Resource Recovery Project. 

On November 5, 2021, Pingree voted with the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was signed into law by President Biden on November 15. In 2022, Maine will receive $69 million to fund water infrastructure projects throughout the state.

Pingree is chair of the House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee which oversees funding for EPA.

###