Sustainability and Resilience
The SMPDC Regional Sustainability and Resilience Program supports both regional and individual community action to enhance sustainability, climate preparedness, and community resilience. This is done by:
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Facilitating regional coordination, advocacy, and outreach
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Collecting, synthesizing, and disseminating relevant information and tools
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Providing expert support with research assistance and training
Explore the pages below to see some of the diverse sustainability and resilience efforts throughout the region.
The Regional Sustainability and Resilience Pilot Program was established in 2019 when the towns of Kittery, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Ogunquit, Wells, and York sought to create a regional program to support their individual sustainability and coastal resiliency efforts. Managed by the Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission (SMPDC), the pilot program works to foster more sustainable and resilient communities by leveraging regional collaboration to enhance the effectiveness of local government action.
The SMPDC Sustainability and Resilience Program partners with the SMPDC transportation planners to conduct planning, outreach, and regional coordination on sustainable transportation issues, such as electric vehicles, low impact design, and alternative transportation.
- Estimating On-Road Transportation Emissions in York County, Maine
- Sustainable Road Design Standards
- Municipal Electric Vehicle Readiness Toolkit
The Coastal Resilience Program assists municipalities with building resilience to coastal hazards such as sea level rise, increased flooding, more frequent and intense storm surges, and shoreline erosion through adaptation strategies and mitigation planning.
- Climate Ready Coast - Southern Maine
- Economic Resilience Assessment and Plan for Coastal York County
- Model Coastal Resilience Ordinance Language
- Model Ordinance Language for Stormwater Management: Erosion and Sedimentation Control Standards
- Tides, Taxes, and New Tactics: Planning for Sea Level Rise and Coastal Adaptation
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories
SMPDC developed an inventory protocol to assist member municipalities with creating community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories. A community-wide GHG inventory estimates the amount of GHG emissions associated with community sources and activities, meaning those of a municipality’s residents, workforce, visitors, and economy.
- GHG Inventory Protocol for Southern Maine Cities and Towns
- GHG Inventories completed for Kittery and Kennebunkport
SMPDC is supporting southern Maine communities through the Climate Action Planning Process. A Climate Action Plan (CAP) is a strategic plan that lays out policies and programs for reducing a community's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change. The State of Maine as well as several local communities have already created CAPs.
Community Resilience Partnership
SMPDC is a service provider for the State’s Community Resilience Partnership (CRP), lead by the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future. The CRP provides grants and support to assist communities to reduce carbon emissions, transition to clean energy, and become more resilient to climate change. As a service provider SMPDC provides technical assistance to cities and towns to enroll in the program and apply for Community Action Grants.
The Southern Maine Solar Collaborative was a joint procurement effort led by SMPDC to procure a master Net Energy Billing Credit Agreement for member municipalities to adopt reduce costs and emissions from municipal electricity use.