Federal development panel anticipated in County

CARIBOU – Local officials are anticipating a boon for regional economic development from Maine to upstate New York as long as Congress approves the creation of a federal commission after it convenes next year.

Northern Maine Development Commission’s executive board of directors is hoping lawmakers will approve the Northern Appalachian Economic Development Act, which would allow for the creation of the federal commission.

The Northern Appalachian Economic Development Commission would provide $40 million in economic development funding per year over the course of five years for Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York.

The board of directors received an update during their meeting last week about the legislation introduced in the Senate this month by Maine Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins. Rep. Michael Michaud introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives earlier this year; representatives from all four states co-sponsored that bill.

The act would allocate federal money for the NAEDC, which would be composed of a presidential appointee and appointed representatives from the governors of the four states involved. The commission would supervise the grant funding and allocate it to qualified projects that promote economic development approaches in the forest areas across the four states.

Robert Clark, NMDC executive director, said Monday that the commission would bring about nothing but positive results for the region.

“This would bring more money to the area,” Robert Clark, NMDC executive director, said Monday. “It would designate $40 million for certain regions within those four states for economic development projects.”

The commission is based on the Appalachian Regional Commission, which was formed in 1965. That commission, which stretches across 13 states, has helped to cut poverty in the region, created 26,000 jobs, and reduced the number of economically distressed counties in the region by more than 50 percent.

The Northern Appalachian Commission is meant to stimulate the forest products industry, rural economies, small business development and job growth.

Members of Maine’s congressional delegation have said in press releases that they see regional cooperation as an effective development solution for northern New England.

“Regional cooperation is one of the best means of fostering economic development in rural Maine,” Snowe and Collins said in a joint statement. “It makes sense that if all the states in northern New England share the goal of increased economic development and face common obstacles to achieving that goal, they should also share in the effort to find a solution.”

Local officials expect the matter to be discussed during the next congressional session.

“And hopefully,” Clark said, “it will be enacted by both houses of Congress.”