Two Maine Institutions Receive EPA Grants to Study Impacts of Future Development on Water Quality

EPA funding will help two Maine organizations perform research on the long term effects on Maine’s water quality from potential development in the state. Team of scientists from the University of Maine in Orono and the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in Bangor received nearly $300,000 to support their research.


Scientists from the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife will create maps showing Maine’s land development in 2004 as well as the predicted development from 2004 to 2008. This effort is meant to give a broader scope of Maine’s land use while addressing the impacts of urban sprawl. These maps will help counteract the case-by case approach used by state agencies and towns for evaluating and allocating building permits which lacks the regional and long-term perspective.

Similarly, a research team at the University of Maine in Orono, will work to develop mechanisms to track and anticipate residential developments across the state of Maine. In addition to keeping a closer eye on land development, the team will be measuring the specific impacts of these developments on Maine lake ecosystems as well as their subsidiaries.

Both projects are designed to gain a more comprehensive understanding for determining the direction and potential size of growth in the state of Maine. By modeling future scenarios and the impacts on water quality, towns and state agencies can make informed choices regarding lake management and land-use planning which focus on smart-growth economic development.

The grants are part of EPA’s National Center for Environmental Research, a competitive program that funds grants, fellowships and research contracts. EPA research grants help support the nation’s leading scientists in high-quality research that will improve the basis by which decisions are made on national environmental issues.