AUGUSTA — Appleton, Brooks, Prospect, and Union have been awarded Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) grants.

Maine voters approved a bond package in November 2017 that included $5 million dollars for vital improvement projects including stream crossing and culvert upgrades, according to DEP, in a news release. These monies fund competitive grants that match local funding for the upgrade of municipal culverts at stream crossings and must be located on a municipal road.

The projects awarded will: benefit public infrastructure by replacing several culverts that are currently failing and at risk of complete washouts, open or improve fish spawning habitat, eliminate undersized and other impassable culverts and reduce some of the worst ongoing erosion impacts to streams, brooks, and lakes.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) received 49 applications to review which totaled over $4.2 million dollars in fund requests, the Department has issued $2.5 million dollars in grant money for this round of applications.

Four previous rounds of culvert grants have resulted in a total of 101 culvert upgrade projects in Maine communities statewide and have expended $7.9 million dollars in bond funds earmarked for these infrastructure improvements.

Maine DEP announces funds for the following 27 projects across the state:

For more information including examples of successful applications and the master score sheet for this round, visit Maine DEP's website: www.maine.gov/dep/land/grants/stream-crossing-upgrade.html