Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured significant funding and legislative language for Maine in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act that passed the Senate today. The bill, which was approved by the House of Representatives last week, now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law.
“This legislation will provide important investments in Maine’s public lands, national parks, and tribal programs. It will promote healthy and resilient communities by supporting critical infrastructure that would help to provide clean drinking water and mitigate increasing flood risks,” said Senator Susan Collins, Chair of the Appropriations Committee.
Funding and legislative language advanced by Senator Collins includes:
Local Projects: Nearly $68 million for Congressionally Directed Spending projects in Maine.
Spruce Budworm Treatment: $10 million for the U.S. Forest Service to provide assistance to states for an emerging spruce budworm outbreak approaching the northeastern border. Last year, Senator Collins secured $14 million to help combat the spread of spruce budworm in Maine forests in disaster relief legislation.
Carbon Neutrality of Biomass: Includes a provision that recognizes biomass as carbon neutral across federal agencies.
Brownfields Grants: $170 million for Brownfields remediation, including $25.7 million for the Brownfields Projects Grant, $98 million for Brownfields Infrastructure Assistance Grant, and $46.3 million for Brownfields Categorical Grant.
Wild and Scenic Rivers Program: $5.6 million for the Wild and Scenic Rivers Program at the National Park Service, which includes an increase in funding for the York River Wild and Scenic River Program, bringing their total to $300,000.
Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRF): $2.8 billion for the Clean Water SRF and the Drinking Water SRF.
Community Wood Energy Program: $15 million for the Community Wood Energy Program, a competitive grant program that supports the installation of wood energy systems and wood product manufacturing facilities.
Water System PFAS Support Funding: $117 million for EPA’s Public Water System Supervision categorical grant program, which provides PFAS cleanup assistance to state drinking water programs.
Staffing at National Wildlife Refuges: $522 million for the National Wildlife Refuge System and report language encouraging the Refuge system to fill vacant positions in Maine.
Rural Water Technical Assistance Grant Program: $30.7 million and the continuation of report language directing that funding be awarded competitively. This includes $26 million to provide technical assistance to small and rural public water systems under the Grassroots Rural and Small Community Water Systems Assistance Act.
Northeastern States Research Cooperative (NSRC): $6 million for the NSRC. A collaboration among universities in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York, the NSRC sponsors research to sustain the health of northern forest ecosystems and communities, to develop new forest products, improve forest biodiversity management, and to establish a Digital Forestry Systems Research Consortium.
National Estuary Program (NEP): $40 million for the NEP. The Casco Bay Estuary Partnership and Piscataqua Region Estuaries are members of the NEP.
Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program: $5.5 million for this program, which provides support to tribes, local governments, and qualifying nonprofits for fee purchase of forestlands to convert to community forests.
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