Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) at an Event in Portland a Few Years Ago.
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, yesterday announced more than $14 million in Community Project Funding (CPF) for communities in Maine’s First Congressional District. The funding, which was included in the “minibus” funding package that passed the House yesterday, includes $12.3 million to improve the water infrastructure in five First District towns; $1 million to establish a pilot Criminal Justice Clinic at the University of Maine School of Law; and $1 mllion for Northeastern University’s Roux Institute in Portland. With passage in the House, the funding bill will now head to the Senate for consideration.
The five water infrastructure projects secured by Pingree were included in the Interior, Environment and Related agencies funding bill for Fiscal Year 2026.
“Clean, reliable water infrastucture is essential to public health, environmental protetion and economic growth,” said Pingree. “Across Maine, many communities are relying on systems that are decades old and increasingly vulnerale to breakdowns, contamination and extreme weather. These investments will help modernoze aging infrastucture, strengthen wastewater treatment, and reduce pollution flowing into our river, lakes and coastal waters — resources that are critical to Maine’s economy and way of life By securing this funding, we’re making sure communities large and small can plan for the future, ensuring that the next generation of Mainers has access to safe, reliable and resilient water systems.”
The funded projects Pingree secured are as follows:
$3,250, 000 for the Clinton Water District; $1,093,276 for the North Berwick Wastewater Project; $4,000,000 for the North Haven Wastewater Project; $1,000,000 for RSU 14 (Windham) Wastewater Project and; $3,000,000 for the South Berwick Wastewater Project.
In addition to these projects included in the Interior funding bill, yesterday’s minibus funding package includes two of Pingree’s selected CPF projects in the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies bill for FY 26:
$1,031,000 for Northerneastern University’s Roux Institute; $1,000,000 for the University of Maine School of Law to establish a pilot Criminal Justice Clinic. Through this new program, the University hopes to provide much-needed support for Maine’s overstretched criminal-justice sysem by providing student attorneys in indigent defense cases – while helping train the state’s future legal workforce.
“Maine has a serious backlog of criminal adjudications and UMaine’s new Criminal Jusdtie Clinic helps address that problem in a real, meaningful way. If you’re an aspiring attorney, there’s no better experience than being in the courtroom — working on real cases, helping real people and learning how the criminal justice system works,” Pingree said. ‘I’m also thrilled to support the Roux Insitute’s work to accelerate development of sustainable materials from Maine’s natural resources. This investment will help grow our clean manufacturing sector, strengthen the workforce and ensure Maine remains at the forefront of innovation in bio-based products. These are great examples of how Community Projecdt Funding directly helps our communities — solving problems today while building the workforce Maine needs for the future.”