Press Releases

After long-championing additional funds for the Camp Ellis project in Saco, today Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) celebrated a provision in the Fiscal Year 2023 annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which will authorize $45 million in federal funding to address the severe erosion at Camp Ellis. Pingree and the House are expected to vote on the annual defense bill this week.

“Camp Ellis and the surrounding Saco community have endured an extremely long wait for this funding. For 14 years, my staff and I have worked with the City of Saco and the residents of Camp Ellis to shore-up this beloved area. That’s why I am extremely proud to see this authorization finally headed to the House and Senate for passage,” said Maine’s 1st District Congresswoman Pingree.

“On behalf of the City of Saco, we are extremely elated with the language included in the NDAA regarding Camp Ellis,” said Saco Mayor Bill Doyle.  “Our community continues to be challenged with ongoing costs associated with storms affecting Camp Ellis.  We are thankful for the efforts of Representative Pingree, her staffers, for the advocacy and outreach on behalf of City of Saco.”

Funding to address the severe, ongoing erosion at Camp Ellis was previously only authorized at $26.9 million, despite the fact that most recent cost estimates to remediate erosion are nearly $42 million. Pingree and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) have spearheaded the push to help fund a permanent solution, in September, writing the leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to urge them to preserve a provision for Camp Ellis that they advocated for in the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 (WRDA).

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