Rep. Pingree's Bill to Preserve Working Waterfronts Gets First Hearing in 116th Congress

Statement

Today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) testified before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife in support of her bill, H.R. 3596, the Keep America's Waterfronts Working Act. The bill would create a Working Waterfront Grant Program and establish a Working Waterfront Task Force at the Department of Commerce. Pingree's bipartisan bill was one of nine heard in committee on coastal zone management.

Pingree first introduced legislation to protect working waterfronts in the 111th Congress. In the 116th Congress, the Democratic majority has prioritized addressing climate change, including its effects on our oceans; this legislation is an important step to help support coastal communities faced with these impacts; earlier this year, her bill on the effects of ocean acidification on coastal communities, H.R. 1716, passed the House unanimously.

In the face of rising sea levels and the intensifying climate crisis, Pingree's bill seeks to preserve the character of coastal communities by protecting jobs, commercial activities, and public access to America's coast. H.R. 3596 would:

establish a Working Waterfront Grant Program to provide matching, competitive grants to coastal states to help preserve and expand access to coastal waters for water-dependent businesses
create a five-year pilot for a loan fund for waterfront preservation, modeled after state drinking water loans
authorize $12 million each for both the loan and grant programs
organize a Working Waterfront Task Force at the Department of Commerce to identify and prioritize critical needs for working waterfronts, especially in the face of the climate crisis and increased trade threats.
Water-dependent commercial activities are the economic and cultural heart of many coastal communities. Working waterfronts support thousands of Maine jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity, but due to development pressures, they have been reduced to just 20 miles of Maine's coastline, which measures over 5,000 miles.

Pingree has long advocated for federal resources to help Maine communities preserve and expand shoreline access and infrastructure for water-dependent industries, such as fishing, boat building, and aquaculture.

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