Gov. Mills calls meeting of scientists, state leaders to discuss impact of recent winter storms

A wave crashes over the pier at the Bush family compound on Walker’s Point in Kennebunkport on Jan. 10. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Gov. Janet Mills has called a special meeting of the Maine Climate Council next week to discuss the impacts of recent winter storms that caused widespread flooding and damage and how Maine can better respond to extreme weather events.

The climate council is a group of scientists, business leaders, state and local officials and others created by Mills in 2019 with the support of the Legislature to advise and track the state’s progress on climate issues.

It released a four-year state climate action plan in 2020 and is working toward delivering an updated plan to the governor and Legislature by Dec. 1.

The meeting will take place Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the University of Maine at Augusta, and interested members of the public are encouraged to attend via Zoom due to space limitations.

“Strengthening Maine’s resilience to the impacts of extreme storms like those that caused historic damage to inland and coastal Maine over the past several weeks is a priority for the Governor,” Mills’ office said in a statement Friday.

During the meeting, the council and governor will hear from agencies on the frontline of the storm response and communities that experienced significant damage and flooding from the recent storms.

They will also discuss trends in recent storms in Maine and strategies and priorities for strengthening storm resilience at the state and local level.

The meeting comes after Mills formally requested that President Biden issue a major disaster declaration to help 10 Maine counties that suffered significant flooding, power outages and an estimated $20 million in damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure during a December storm in central and western Maine.

The Maine Emergency Management Agency has also requested that the Federal Emergency Management Agency begin conducting a preliminary damage assessment of last week’s storms that brought historic flooding to the Maine coast, destroying and damaging homes, roads, buildings and historic landmarks.

The request is a first step toward requesting another major disaster declaration from the federal government.

More information and registration for the online meeting is available through the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future at maine.gov/future/meetings/maine-climate-council-special-meeting.