The town of Yarmouth, Maine, has secured $790,000 in Community Project Funding for Sea Meadow Marine to improve the waterfront infrastructure. The money will be used to rebuild the bulkhead and launch ramp, and to install water and sewer systems.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (Maine, First District) announced the funding.
“In the face of climate change and heavy development pressure, it is more important than ever that we work to protect our disappearing working waterfronts,” Pingree said in a statement. “The Sea Meadow Marine working waterfront in Yarmouth supports a variety of businesses that require access to Casco Bay, including aquaculture and electric boats, along with educational opportunities and important scientific research projects. This congressionally directed funding will make urgently needed improvements at the boatyard and help support an important local working waterfront.”
Sea Meadow Marine’s mission is to “ensure Maine’s working waterfronts survive and thrive.”
Chad Strader, board president of the Sea Meadow Marine Foundation, said that when the foundation purchased the yard in 2021, it saved more than 30 jobs. “Those numbers have grown, and this funding will greatly assist us in making critical infrastructure upgrades to ensure equitable access to our working waterfront survives and thrives,” he said. “Additionally, it will allow us to further develop and expand our educational programs for the next generation.”
The ranking member of the House Appropriations Interior and Environment Subcommittee, Pingree is leading a bipartisan effort in Congress to support coastal communities by protecting jobs, commercial activities and public access to coastal areas.
