AUGUSTA, Maine — When Governor Janet Mills introduced her landmark bipartisan climate law this January there was already broad agreement that Maine needed to do more to defend against rising sea levels and intensifying storms.

The widespread flooding that occurred a year prior exposed vast weaknesses in both local infrastructure and the state’s emergency response and recovery efforts.

More Maine communities than ever before applied for federal resilience grants and counted on them to bring vital projects to life.

But now, nearly seven months and billions of dollars into the Trump administration’s grant cancellations, a new playing field has come into focus, one with significantly less federal support.

Through state funds and a still unscathed $69 million grant from the National Oce

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