Sen. Talbot Ross celebrates Community Action Grant awarded to Portland

Posted: September 17, 2026 | Senator Talbot Ross

The funds awarded will support storm recovery and resilience projects to protect Maine people, businesses and infrastructure.

AUGUSTA — Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, is pleased to announce that the City of Portland has received a $60,500 Community Action Grant award to expand resilience efforts among Commercial Street waterfront stakeholders from the Community Resilience Partnership. The Partnership, administered by the Maine Office of Community Affairs, helps Maine communities transition to clean energy and become more resilient to climate effects, including severe storms and flooding.

Funds will be used for a Resilience Collaborative that will work to better understand the impacts of sea level rise on Commercial Street and develop a consensus policy recommendation for the Portland City Council.

“The working waterfront and Casco Bay are essential to Portland’s identity and economy, but they are more vulnerable to severe weather than ever before,” said Sen. Talbot Ross. “This funding will allow Commercial Street stakeholders to strengthen our city’s climate resilience and protect our businesses and infrastructure that depend on the waterfront.”

The most recent round of grant funding, awarded earlier this month, is the second set this year and seventh overall. It will support projects in 72 communities with $4.7 million in total awards. A complete list of awardees is available through the Maine Office of Community Affairs. The previous round, which was announced in May of this year, supported projects in 76 Maine communities with over $5 million awarded. A complete list of those awardees is available here.

Funding for the grants comes from several sources, including measures passed by the Maine Legislature with Sen. Talbot Ross’s support:

  • The Supplemental Budget that was passed by the Legislature in 2024 to increase community resilience and preparedness in the wake of the December 2023 and January 2024 storms;
  • Funds from the biennial budget authorized by the Legislature in 2023; and
  • A federal grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross is serving her first term in the Maine Senate, representing part of Portland and part of the Casco Bay Islands The district also includes the University of Southern Maine’s campus. Prior to serving in the Senate, she served four terms in the House with her last term as Speaker of the House. Sen. Talbot Ross currently serves as the Senate chair of the Legislature’s Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee and as a member of the Judiciary Committee.

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