Sen. Lawrence celebrates Community Action Grants awarded to Senate District 35

Posted: September 16, 2026 | Uncategorized

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

AUGUSTA — Sen. Mark Lawrence, D-Eliot, is pleased to announce three CommunityAction Grant awards from the Community Resilience Partnership coming to Senate District 35.

  • The town of Eliot will receive $25,000 to develop an emergency plan for extreme weather.
  • The town of York will receive $75,000 to conduct a study on energy coaching.
  • The town of Kittery, in partnership with the town of Kennebunkport and the Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission, will receive $175,000 for Southern Maine Energy Navigators, which offers free technical assistance to Mainers who want to make home energy efficiency upgrades.

The Community Resilience 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.

“The Seacoast region is uniquely vulnerable to the effects of a changing climate, so I’m pleased to see these awards come to our district,” said Sen. Lawrence. “In my time as Senate chair of the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee, we worked to advance clean energy infrastructure and reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. I’m confident these grants will support our work to protect our way of life down here.”

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. Lawrence’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. Mark Lawrence is serving his 11th and final nonconsecutive term in the Maine Senate, where he serves as the Senate chair of the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee. Sen. Lawrence represents Senate District 35, which includes the towns of Eliot, Kittery, Ogunquit, South Berwick and York.

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