Maine Resources

ME Brownfield Programs 

Maine DEP Brownfields Program 

State Funding Program: MEDEP provides funds to municipalities assist with site investigation and cleanup. For site investigation, MEDEP assigns a consultant under contract to conduct the investigation. Cleanup grants have a ceiling of $50,000. Forms to apply for each of the grants are available on the Brownfields Program website. 

Liability Relief Program: Liability relief at the state level is provided through the Voluntary Response Action Program Law.  

Partners in Network

State contact information

State Brownfield Program Contact, Maine DEP’s role in brownfields is to oversee the investigation and cleanup of contaminated properties under state environmental laws, provide technical and regulatory guidance, and administer brownfields programs and funding to support the safe assessment, remediation, and redevelopment of underutilized sites.

Organization Name Contact Roundtable resource
Maine Department of Environmental Protection(MEDEP) Chris Redmound christopher.redmond@maine.gov

Regional contact information

Council of Governments (COG) serves as a regional coordinator and facilitator, helping multiple local governments work together on assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of brownfield sites. COGs often manage or support EPA brownfields grants, provide technical assistance, share data and best practices, and align brownfield projects with regional planning, transportation, housing, and economic development goals.

Organization Name Contact Roundtable resource
Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments Amy Landry alandry@avcog.org
Eastern Maine Development Corporation Lee UImphrey lumphrey@emdc.org
Greater Portland Council of Governments Paul Johnson pjohnson@gpcog.org
Hancock County Planning Commission Avery Varney avarney@hcpcme.org
Kennebec Valley Council of Governments Jessie Cyr jcyr@kvcog.org
Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission Emily Rabbe
Midcoast Council of Governments Max Johnstone mjohnstone@midcoastcog.com
Northern Maine Development Commission Robert Clark rclark@nmdc.org
Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission Reagan Young ryoung@smpdc.org

Brownfields Inventory 

Maine DEP maintains a list of Remediation Sites, which include brownfields. 

 

Regulatory Framework 

Maine DEP Remediation Program Guidance 

Maine Remedial Action Guidelines 

 

Planning Documents 

Maine’s Growth Management Act establishes a framework for the development of municipal Comprehensive Plans centrally available on the website. 

In addition, Maine has seven Regional Planning Organizations that assist municipalities with planning activities including brownfields.

 

State and Town Data

The Maine Statistics portal includes links to a variety of online resources that provide information on economic data, health, crime and other indicators needed for EPA grant proposal preparation.

The Maine GIS platform also includes a variety of relevant layers, including transportation, zoning and environmental data.

 

Public Health Data

Public health data are available by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Maine Environmental Public Health Tracking Network

Specific categories of interest to brownfield grants:

The CDC National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network includes a map in the Data Explorer Tool by census tract for two cancer indicators: crude prevalence of cancer among adults and number of breast cancer cases for a 10-year period. These are NOT actual cancer rates; they are modeled on the basis of survey responses and the PLACES project (Population Level Analysis and Community Estimates).

Asthma data are available through the Maine Tracking Network Asthma page. Town-specific data are available by accessing the Tables feature in the portal, and choosing the Towns in County or Towns in State customization feature. Data are downloadable in Excel and PDF.

The only dataset available nationally for birth defects is through the CDC National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network and it provides data at the county level for 12 different types of birth defects. The same dataset is available on the Main Tracking Netowrk Birth Defects page as well.

Asthma data are available through the Main Tracking Network Lead Poisoning page. Town-specific data are available by accessing the Tables feature in the portal, and choosing the Towns in County or Towns in State customization feature. Data are downloadable in Excel and PDF.