Working waterfront property owners whose piers were damaged in storms this winter will have to wait until after lobster season gets underway to receive any financial assistance from the state.
The funds, part of the supplemental budget that the Legislature approved after last-minute political maneuvering last week, won’t be available until mid-to-late July, which typically is one of the busier months for lobster fishing in Maine. State officials hope to have application forms ready and available to pier owners by May 9.
The early morning vote last week in Augusta authorized $60 million to go toward addressing damage from storms in December and January. Of that amount, $25 million will go toward helping private working waterfront owners make repairs and improvements that offer protection against future storms.
Another $25 million will go toward public infrastructure upgrades in places throughout Maine damaged by storm-related flooding. The remaining $10 million will go to small businesses and nonprofit organizations impacted by the storms.
“We are relieved that the bill passed, and that this money will be available to some properties,” said Monique Coombs, director of community programs for Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, which itself has raised more than $100,000 to help fishing pier owners recover from the storms.
In the meantime, pier owners whose docks were severely damaged by the combination of heavy waves and unusually high tides will have to make repairs on their own — and apply for reimbursement after the fact — if they want to be ready by the time Maine’s economically dominant lobster fishing season begins in earnest. The vast majority of lobster landings in Maine occur between June and December each year, with July being among the busiest months.
Patrick Keliher, commissioner of Maine Department of Marine Resources, said the funding delay could make timely repairs more difficult to complete.
“I know that people are struggling with financial impact, including having to pay interest on loans, and the challenging and time consuming-rebuild process,” Keliher said. He said his agency is committed to working with other state officials to make applications available and to get the funds “out the door as soon as possible.”
The issue is not just one of timing, however. The amount of available funding, both from the state and from federal sources, is not expected to cover all the costs of repairing the storm damage.
Combined, the storms on Dec. 18 and in January caused more than $90 million just to public infrastructure. Some of the dozens of private pier owners along Maine’s coast whose properties were damaged have said that they expect to spend several hundred thousand dollars on each individual repair project.
To maximize the impact of the relief funds, state officials have said that projects that benefit greater numbers of fishermen — such as co-ops or businesses that buy and sell higher volumes of lobster — will be prioritized over piers used by only a few boats. Applicants also will have to show how their projects help to make their piers less vulnerable to storms, which are intensifying because of human-caused climate change, in order to qualify for funding.
The funding delay and limits might make repairs more difficult for owners of smaller docks that are used primarily for storage or maintenance, but are not where fishermen offload their catch, Coombs said. Not having these secondary support piers could make it harder for some fishermen to get out on the water this summer, she said.
“They still play a role in the larger working waterfront within a community — and are culturally significant,” Coombs said of the smaller piers. “I think that any potential reduced landings could be a result of some of the older lobstermen that lost their smaller properties deciding that this is the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
