WASHINGTON — The state of Maine will receive $355,930 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Clean Vessel Act grant program.

According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife release, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Water Resource Regulation, plans to use grant funds to install or upgrade pumpout stations and provide operation and maintenance stipends to pumpout vessels and stationary facilities.

The State also proposes to review and update the Education and Outreach Plan as well as develop and distribute educational materials to boaters and boating facilities.

"Included in the funding was the purchase and operation of six pumpout vessels that go to boats needing service, and five self-serve pumpout floats,” said Maine Pumpout Grant Program Manager Pam Parker the release. 

King Introduces bills to promote biomass and hydropower electricity production in Maine

U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has introduced two pieces of legislation that would encourage and safeguard the use of Maine’s natural resources to generate renewable electricity. 

The Working Forests for Clean Energy Act would ensure that emissions generated from sustainably-harvested biomass would be considered carbon neutral under the President’s proposed Clean Power Plan, and the Small Hydropower Dependable Regulatory Order (Small HyDRO) Act of 2015 would streamline a cumbersome federal licensing process for hydroelectric dams.

“Maine’s natural resources offer promising opportunities to generate clean, renewable electricity,” King said in a news release. “But the success of those opportunities depends on the effectiveness of federal policies and, right now, policies from Washington are hurting more than they’re helping.”

“By setting an appropriate carbon standard for biomass and by streamlining the burdensome licensing process for dams, these bills would give badly-needed certainty to states and help preserve and create home-grown, diverse, and sustainable energy resources,” said King.

Collins, King secure HUBZone provision in defense bill

The Senate Armed Services Committee approved the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with a provision to improve the eligibility criteria of HUBZones located at former U.S. military installations closed through the so-called “Base Closure and Realignment,” or BRAC process.

The bill also contains provisions to fully fund shipbuilding priorities at Bath Iron Works and support military construction projects at Bangor IAP and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. 

“Military bases are often the economic engine of the towns and cities they call home, but when those bases close down, it doesn’t mean a town has to as well,” King said in a news release. 

“With the right investments and federal funding, the government can partner with local redevelopment authorities to revitalize former bases and spur economic growth – and that’s exactly what our HUBZone provision will accomplish.” said King. 

“I will continue to pursue every channel possible to get this legislation signed into law, which is why earlier this week Senator King and I introduced The HUBZone Expansion Act,” Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) said in the release. 

“Military bases throughout Maine and across the country are key drivers of our local economies. When they are closed through the BRAC process, it can take years for the communities in which they were located to fully recover,” Collins said.