SNOWE, COLLINS ANNOUNCE NEARLY $700,000 IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT FUNDS FOR MAINE

            WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development program has awarded $694,000 in funding to entities throughout the state of Maine.               “The USDA Rural Development program provides the opportunity for rural community services to be improved,” Senators Snowe and Collins said in a joint statement.  “This funding will assist projects that increase the quality of living in each of these areas.”              The funding is distributed as follows:   • $305,000 loan to the Eastport Non-Profit Housing Corporation. Rural Development funds will be used to renovate an existing elderly property in Eastport, Maine. Renovations will include new siding, windows and addressing accessibility issues.   • $120,000 grant to the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments. The funds will be used to implement a new “shared responsibility” legislation for electronic products disposal while banning the disposal of all cathode ray tubes. Other new regulations on the disposal of demolition debris will also be enacted.   • $110,000 loan to the Town of North Berwick.  The funds will be used to purchase a new utility fire truck. The vehicle is the first responding emergency vehicle to assist the town’s fire department to better serve the public.   • $100,000 grant to Aroostook County’s Northern Maine Development Commission that will be used to assist municipalities throughout the region on sound solid waste management to assist residents with achieving the state of Maine’s goal of recycling 50 percent of the waste it generates.   • $59,000 grant to Penobscot County to support fishing communities in Downeast Maine. The funds will be delivered to the Penobscot East Resource Center that will provide the community with technical assistance to a wide array of grassroots organizations that help sustain the health and vitality of the fishing industry in Downeast Maine.               The USDA Rural Development program provides financial loans and grants to help improve the economy and quality of life in all of rural America.  The funds are used for community programs, which seek to construct or improve community facilities for health care, public safety, and public services. ###