EASTPORT — U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine) scheduled a trip Downeast Wednesday afternoon to tour the site of Lighthouse Lobster and Bait’s new lobster storage facility at the site of the former Consea factory in Eastport. The Consea site operated as a salt works and sardine factory since the early 1900s.

In May 2009, the Washington County Council of Governments received an award of $400,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Assessment Grant program. The council has since used this funding to help a number of property owners move projects forward, including the one at the former Consea site. According to new owner David Pottle, the previous location of dilapidated cannery buildings is “coming to life” with the new storage facility, which will be able to hold 135,000 pounds of live lobsters at full capacity.

“These federal investments provide communities the information and certainty they need to make redevelopments possible,” Michaud said in announcing his planned visit. “These projects, combined with boosting small business development and the expansion of the Port of Eastport, are critical to increasing local economic activity and job creation in Washington County.”

For more maritime news, pick up a copy of The Ellsworth American.