The Resilience Roundup highlights announcements, events, and funding opportunities along with links to the previous month's local, state, and national resilience news.
|
|
Resilient Connecticut Project Updates |
|
Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program Outreach Webinar
CIRCA partnered with Connecticut's Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) to host a July 20 webinar focusing on FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Program. Since several grants fall under the HMA umbrella, CIRCA kicked off the webinar and described the importance of this program for implementing resilience projects.
Opening remarks by Senator Chris Murphy described the importance of climate resilience at the state and local levels and near-term plans for federal funding of municipal projects through his new role as Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security overseeing FEMA.
Presenters from DEMHS and FEMA provided a detailed description of: 1) the HMA Program and application process; 2) FEMA GO - the online platform for grants management and application submission; and 3) the importance of
Benefit Cost Analysis for projects, tips for success, and pitfalls to avoid. Watch a recording of this webinar on CIRCA's YouTube page to learn more!
|
|
New Resilient Connecticut Report:
Modeling Nearshore Dynamics of Extreme Storms in Complex Environments of Connecticut
Flood hazard planning requires the accurate estimation of total water elevation due to predicted tide, surge, and wave runup to design flood protection structures and improve coastal risk planning for severe storms. A new report published in the journal Coastal Engineering describes using a FUNWAVE-TVD model in the nearshore with a high-resolution grid to determine total water elevation in Branford, Norwalk, and New Haven.
These new model results are compared with FEMA's base flood elevation, the North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study (NACCS), and the Long Island Sound FVCOM-SWAVE model. FUNWAVE-TVD is found to model wave processes more accurately in shallow water regions compared to the empirical application of FEMA BFE and NACCS and FVCOM-SWAVE models. Researchers also examined local sea-level rise predictions of storms with 1% and 10% annual exceedance probability by the year 2050 in Connecticut and suggest resilience planning consider an increase in the frequency of storms in predicted inundation zones due to sea-level rise.
|
|
Climate Change Bill: PA 21-115 News Coverage
PA 21-115 implements multiple recommendations of the Governor’s Council on Climate Change (GC3). This new law signed by Governor Lamont on July 6 allows Connecticut municipalities to create stormwater authorities that address water quality and flooding, adds climate resilience and flood prevention to the purview of municipal flood and erosion control boards, and expands the scope of the Connecticut Green Bank to invest more broadly in environmental infrastructure, including climate resilience and adaptation projects. See the following for more information on this important new bill advancing climate resilience in our state:
|
|
NOAA Climate Funding Opportunity
NOAA's Climate Program Office (CPO) announced their Fiscal Year 2022 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Competition 6 in this year's NOFO, is titled "Climate-Smart Communities Initiative," conducted by CPO's Communication, Education, & Engagement (CEE) Division. This new, four-year Climate-Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI) is designed to scale up, accelerate the pace, and reduce the cost of climate resilience planning, inclusively and equitably. To achieve these goals, CPO's CEE Division seeks a partnering organization that will use existing decision-support tools that have proven successful at helping U.S. communities make decisions to build resilience. For more information, see the Climate-Smart Communities Initiative - Program Information Sheet. A July 23 webinar on the NOFO is available on the Climate Program Office website. Letters of Intent are due August 9, 2021.
|
|
Webinar: Responding to Extreme Heat in Connecticut
August 9, 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Connecticut has experienced two heat waves already this summer. Under a changing climate we can expect both hot days and hot nights to increase by 2050. Heat waves have an immediate impact on public health statewide and disproportionately impact our urban communities, particularly the very young, our elders, and those suffering from illness. Please join this webinar to hear from the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection team behind the alerts issued by the state in preparation for a heat wave as well as the City of Hartford, Department of Health and Human Services, one of the municipal entities charged with responding to these alerts at the local level.
|
|
FEMA - 2021 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities and Flood Mitigation Assistance Webinar
Notices of Funding Opportunities Webinar
August 11, 4:00 - 5:30 pm
The 2021 BRIC and FMA Programs’ Webinar Series will bring FEMA subject-matter experts and partners together to provide technical information, best practices, tools and resources regarding these grant programs. The webinars are designed for leaders in states, local communities, tribes and territories, as well as private sector entities, private non-profit organizations, and individuals interested in learning more about the BRIC and FMA grant programs and strategies to apply.
|
|
NE CASC Symposium: Registration Opens August 11th
NE CASC invites you to join us for our 2021 Northeast Regional Climate Adaptation Science Symposium, which will be held virtually on October 26th and 27th. Registration for this event will open on August 11th. Don't miss this opportunity to learn more about NE CASC research, join the regional climate adaptation science community, and shape the future of climate adaptation science in the Northeast.
|
|
2021 Living Shorelines Tech Transfer Workshop
October 19 -20, 9:00 am - 05:00 pm
Early Bird Admission valid through 8pm ET August 31
The 2021 Living Shorelines Tech Transfer Workshop is the premier nationwide gathering of the living shorelines community of practice. The October event will be held in Cape May, New Jersey and brings together experts from across the country for a two-day experience combining interactive field sessions with ground-breaking discussions. Topics will include adoption of living shorelines, regulation, engaging your community, new techniques, and more. This workshop is geared towards anyone working in the marketing, design, construction, management, and permitting of living shorelines and nature-based shoreline stabilization.
|
|
New UConn Report - Real Estate Values, Tax Revenues, and
Climate Change: Induced Retreat from Flood Zones
One resilience strategy being considered by states and communities is retreat from the shoreline, where coastal homes are removed to take them out of imminent danger. This solution comes with many complications, including reductions in tax revenue for towns and potentially diminished real estate values for surrounding properties. CIRCA funding supported Dr. Charles Towe and a team of UConn researchers who examined the following in a new report :
- How shoreline amenities, such as distance to the water, affect housing prices using data from the past 20 years.
- Characteristics of homes, such as size and amenities, neighborhoods, including location and quality of schools, and transaction data.
- Policy simulations to estimate possible avenues to recover revenue lost through retreat by looking at how it could impact neighborhoods.
- GIS mapping to measure the relationship between how obstructed a house’s view of the water is and its value.
Findings from this research can help guide municipal, state, and even federal planning in the face of climate change as they search for solutions that provide the best outcome for citizens and communities. In addition to a final report, CIRCA's project website includes a fact sheet and recent webinar recording.
|
|
Climate Central Report - Hot Zones: Urban Heat Islands
Climate Central released a report that examines the factors that contribute to the heat island effect and how they vary in places across the United States. The report discusses some of the impacts of higher temperatures on human health and the built environment. The report also displays how communities are adapting to this new normal and consider solutions for lessening some of the intensity of the urban heat island.
|
|
Climate Central - Heat and Hospitalizations
Climate Central's study on heat and hospitalizations examines recent trends: higher summer temperatures and hospitalizations for heat-related illnesses in parts of the U.S. where extreme heat is historically less common. Heat affects people unequally. Higher risk categories for heat illness include children and people over 65, as well as those with chronic health conditions such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Outdoor laborers and athletes training outside are also at greater risk as are low income communities that may lack air conditioning.
|
|
NOAA 2021 State of High Tide Flooding and Annual Outlook
NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS) provides annual reports that track historical high tide flooding frequency changes, map current exposure footprints, and provide next-year outlooks and multi-decadal projections of flood frequency changes. In July 2021, NOS released the 7th report designed to inform the public of the accelerating upward trajectory of climate-driven coastal flooding and to support partners and coastal communities as they plan and make decisions regarding increasingly disruptive and expensive climate impacts.
|
|
The Nature Conservancy Report: Promoting Nature-Based Hazard Mitigation Through FEMA Mitigation Grants
Traditionally, “gray” or “hard” infrastructure solutions— engineering projects that use concrete and steel— have dominated efforts to manage risk and mitigate flood hazard impacts for communities. Although these approaches have been effective in providing site specific hazard mitigation, the focus is shifting toward solutions that have an eye towards natural processes to provide increased resilience. Combining gray infrastructure with nature-based approaches can also provide an effective means for hazard mitigation that results in environmental, economic, and social co-benefits. To support this momentum, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has developed a new guide to advance the use of FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Assistance funds for a wide range of nature-based hazard mitigation and climate change resilience projects.
|
|
ICNet Global Launches New Website For Transportation Resilience Researchers And Professionals
The Global Infrastructure & Climate Network (ICNet Global) launched a new website to help bridge the gap between infrastructure resilience researchers and practitioners by making resources, partnership opportunities, and events more accessible. Founded in 2012, ICNet Global is an interdisciplinary network of over 400 academics, students, and practitioners in over 20 countries, focused on facilitating connections between climate science and transportation engineering research to make climate-resilient infrastructure standard practice.
|
|
GCC Report on Community-Informed Heat Relief
As communities across the US face deadly and record-breaking heat waves this summer, the Georgetown Climate Center (GCC) has released a new report to help protect people from extreme heat through community-informed, on-the-ground policy solutions. "Community-Informed Heat Relief: Policy Options for Addressing Urban Extreme Heat in High-Risk Communities" draws on conversations with local service providers and community members — including those most at-risk of extreme heat-related illness like seniors and individuals experiencing homelessness. The report informs a new, comprehensive heat plan developed by the District of Columbia and will serve as a resource for other cities impacted by urban extreme heat.
|
|
State and Regional News Clips |
|
Officials: Connecticut Positioned For Federal Climate Funds
New Haven Register - July 6, 2021
The state's newest climate change legislation should put Connecticut in a good position to receive millions of dollars in anticipated federal funds to help foot the bill for expensive resiliency projects needed across the state, Gov. Ned Lamont and other state officials said Tuesday. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes said the $30 million in bonding included in the new state budget to help municipalities identify and plan for such projects, including green infrastructure, will also give Connecticut a leg up on other states.
|
|
Gov. Signs Climate Change Bill To Protect Coastal Communities
NBC CT - July 6, 2021
The effects of climate change are already being felt in Connecticut. By the year 2050, experts say further impacts are unavoidable. "It is going to be warmer, the water is going to be higher, it is going to cause flooding more frequently along the shoreline," explained James O'Donnell, CIRCA's Executive Director. "And it is going to create a lot of costs." The state of Connecticut is trying to plan for those costs. Tuesday morning Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law an Act Concerning Climate Change Adaptation.
|
|
Tropical Storm Elsa: Landslide Impacts Train Service In West Haven
WTNH - July 9, 2021
WEST HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) – Emergency crews in West Haven have responded to a landslide under train tracks during Tropical Storm Elsa on Friday. West Haven Emergency Management Director Joe Soto told News 8 that the landslide appeared under train tracks on Callegari Drive. The landslide is impacting Metro-North trains. All trains have been diverted from the area. Senator Richard Blumenthal and Governor Ned Lamont took a tour of the damage after Elsa’s heavy rains washed away mud and soil feet from an active MTA track.
|
|
Tropical Storm Elsa Wraps Up After Soaking Connecticut, Triggering Floods And A Mudslide
Hartford Courant - July 9, 2021
Tropical Storm Elsa soaked Connecticut Friday, inundating towns and cities with heavy downpours that flooded streets and undermined railroad tracks. But the tropical storm did not bring damaging high winds. Facing sharp criticism and state sanctions for failures during Tropical Storm Isaias last year, Eversource brought in hundreds of additional workers so it could handle widespread power outages. As of Friday about 5,000 customers statewide were without electricity.
|
|
CT Can Still Take Action On The Climate Crisis, But Decision Makers Must Act Now
Register Citizen - July 15, 2021
Global warming is the most important challenge of our time. If we continue on our current course, we will see more dangerous heat waves, deadlier storms and increasing public health issues due to degraded air quality. One of the quickest ways we can take action on the climate crisis is to reduce the pollution we generate from our transportation system, now the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, both in Connecticut and in our country. By switching to more sustainable modes of transportation, like electric vehicles, public transit and bicycling, we can create a livable future for our kids and for generations to come.
|
|
Groton City To Become More Resilient In The Face Of Climate Change
The Day - July 22, 2021
Groton — Making the City of Groton more resilient in the face of climate change and rising sea levels is the goal of a plan that the city is undertaking. City of Groton economic development specialist Cierra Patrick said it’s important for the city to tackle resiliency in the coastal community, which is bordered by the Thames River and Long Island Sound and more than 75% of land is near water. The city is home to major employers, including Electric Boat and Pfizer, about 10,000 residents and the headquarters of Groton Utilities, a public utility.
|
|
Connecticut Farmers Are Finding There’s No Easy Way To Deal With Climate Extremes
CT Mirror - July 25, 2021
Heading into Memorial Day weekend, Jamie Jones was sweating it. “Here I am in late May and I’m like – if we don’t get rain either tomorrow afternoon or over the weekend or on Friday, come post Memorial Day we’re gonna be out carrying buckets of water to water our baby Christmas trees just to keep them alive,” he said on yet another hot, dry, near-cloudless day. Farmers around the state are coping with extreme weather, multiple devastating outcomes of climate change, and the unpredictability of the future. They are learning the hard way that anticipating and preparing for climate change impacts is often a crapshoot. On top of that, they usually have little but their own ingenuity to fall back on.
|
|
Baker Administration Pushes Legislature For Climate Resiliency Funds
WBUR - July 26, 2021
With temperatures climbing back toward 90 degrees in parts of the state, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides on Monday pressed the administration's case with senators to begin investing immediately in infrastructure and ecological restoration that will prepare Massachusetts for the impacts of climate change. Theorharides said this summer's high temperatures and heavy rains are a "preview" of what's to come in Massachusetts where by the end of the century scientists have forecast sea level rise up to 10.5 feet and 64 more days a year with temperatures in excess of 90 degrees.
|
|
This Vermont Utility Is Revolutionizing Its Power Grid to Fight Climate Change. Will the Rest of the Country Follow Suit?
Time - July 26, 2021
When there’s an outage, these operators help coordinate the painstaking work of bringing the system back online. “It’s basically like a puzzle,” says Jeff Lawrence, a seven-year control-room veteran. “When a storm comes through, the puzzle falls apart. You’ve got to put it back together, one piece at a time.” In Vermont those puzzle pieces have been falling apart more often as climate change makes extreme weather events more frequent and severe.
|
|
Adapting To An Uncertain Climate Future,
Connecticut Auditions New Forests
CT Mirror - July 27, 2021
At 9:30 on a morning in late May, it was already hot and promising to get hotter as a dozen or so volunteers gathered at the Hoffman Evergreen Preserve in Stonington. They were there to plant trees – a seemingly curious activity, considering the preserve is already a forest. But planting those trees – a mere 150 or so on this particular day – is intended to do more than just revitalize the woodland. Along with a few similar projects around the state, the Hoffman work may help set a course for how Connecticut can adapt its forests to withstand the effects of climate change.
|
|
‘Living Shorelines’ Becoming More Common In CT For Erosion Control
CT Mirror- July 28, 2021
Visitors to East Shore Park in New Haven aren’t easily able to stroll along the beach there. It’s not closed; it’s being physically cut off from the rest of the park by erosion. Storms and high wave energy have eaten away at this thinning beach, and the few patches of vegetation are in the process of being flooded. Sloping rock walls called revetments built to stop this erosion have not done enough to stop it from happening. The city is attempting a new solution to both protect and integrate the beach back into East Shore Park: a living shoreline.
|
|
Baker-Polito Administration Awards Over $17 Million In Funding For Dams And Coastal Infrastructure
Mass.gov - July 28, 2021
The Baker-Polito Administration today announced over $17.3 million in grants to address failing dams, coastal infrastructure, and levees across the Commonwealth. The Administration also highlighted its $2.9 billion proposal to immediately invest a portion of Massachusetts’ federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act in urgent priorities, including $300 million for climate-resilient infrastructure.
|
|
Another Intense Heat Wave To Roast Western U.S., Southwest Canada
Washington Post - July 7, 2021
Last week, Lytton, a small town in British Columbia, Canada, broke its nation’s all-time temperature reading three days in a row as temperatures soared as high as 121 degrees. Days later, the village largely burned to the ground as extreme wildfires spewed smoke and ash 55,000 feet into the sky. ‘Hard to comprehend’: Experts react to record 121 degrees in Canada. Now, southwest Canada and much of the western United States are bracing for another bout of exceptional heat amid a pattern that could once again place records in jeopardy. Death Valley, CA, might spike to 130 degrees.
|
|
A Battle Between A Great City And A Great Lake
The New York Times - July 7, 2021
Chicago has a weakness at its very foundations. The towering skyscrapers and temples of commerce were built upon a swamp. For generations, bold engineering projects have fought to maintain a perilous balance, keeping water in its place — not too high, not too low. But it is a city built for a different time. The time before climate change. In the search for a big city refuge from climate change, Chicago looks like an excellent option. At least, it does on the map. It stands a half-continent away from the threat of surging ocean levels.
|
|
How Are Communities Adapting To Climate Change?
Verywellhealth - July 19, 2021
From flash flooding across Southern states to unprecedented heat in the Pacific Northwest, recent extreme weather events are undeniable evidence of climate change. This spring, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said climate crisis will likely continue to affect human health and the environment. Adaption is the key to surviving climate change, experts say. Some communities in the United States are leading the charge with the help of universities, think tanks, and startups.
|
|
Study: NY Shoreline Communities To Spend $101M To Combat Environmental Damages
Informny - July 20, 2021
NEW YORK (WWTI) — As many local communities border the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, extreme weather and environmental events are predicted to continue to impact residents financially. A recent survey lead by the The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, detailed ten New York cities, villages and other jurisdictions along the Great Lakes to show coastal damage from climate change. This survey found that coastal damages will cost these communities at least $101 million over the next five years, with shoreline communities having already spent $36 million in the past two years.
|
|
Climate Change Threatens Louisiana’s Future, But The State Is Taking Bold Action To Increase Its Resilience
EDF - July 20, 2021
Louisiana represents the paradox of a modern state shaped by a history of fossil fuel-supported development and structural racism that is now dealing with the climate-driven and social impacts of those choices. As it attempts to do so, it has become a center of climate adaptation and resilience practices, and more recently, climate mitigation efforts, while seeking the right balance for its people, economy and environment.
|
|
New NOAA Climate Council To Enhance Delivery
Of Climate Science And Services
NOAA - July 21, 2021
NOAA announced the creation of a new NOAA Climate Council, which will leverage the agency’s resources and expertise in support of the whole-of-government approach to addressing the climate crisis. The Climate Council is composed of senior leaders at the highest levels from across the agency, and provides recommendations to the NOAA Administrator on the agency’s climate-related mission, resource, and policy priorities. By coordinating climate work across NOAA and partners, the Council will strengthen NOAA’s climate services and bolster existing coordination activities.
|
|
Effort To Fund Racially Diverse Climate Groups Gets Momentum
AP News - July 22, 2021
Efforts to increase how much philanthropic funding goes to minority-led environmental organizations are gaining momentum, with one group’s push for transparency from the nation’s top climate donors drawing big-name support. For months, Donors of Color Network, a philanthropic group dedicated to funding racial equity efforts, has asked the top 40 climate funders to disclose what percentage of their funding during the past two years went to organizations led by Black, Indigenous, Latino and other racial minorities, and pledge at least 30% of their climate donations to such groups.
|
|
The Private Sector Starts To Invest In Climate Adaptation
Economist - July 24, 2021
"We’re going to make a lot of money,” says Ken LaRoe, chief executive of Florida’s Climate First Bank. That might seem like an unseemly boast from a traditional banker peddling conventional loans. But the lender aims to make its profits by financing green refrigeration, construction retrofits and other investments designed to help borrowers adapt to climate change.
|
|
Walls For Sea Level Rise Could Cause Floods In San Mateo County
SM Daily Journal - July 26, 2021
Sections of the Bay Area trying to address sea level rise with sea walls or levees, like in San Mateo County could inadvertently make flooding worse for neighbors, according to a new study from the Stanford Natural Capital Project. “Sea level rise is a global reality. And in the Bay Area, sea levels are expected to rise by almost 7 feet in the next 80 years, depending on which projections you use,” said Anne Guerry, chief strategy officer and lead scientist at the Stanford Natural Capital Project and senior author. “And the typical defense is to build seawalls and levees, to hold back the water, but you can’t keep building taller walls.”
|
|
$1 Trillion Infrastructure Deal Scales Senate Hurdle
With Bipartisan Vote
The New York Times - July 28, 2021
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted to take up a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that would make far-reaching investments in the nation’s public works system, as Republicans joined Democrats in clearing the way for action on a crucial piece of President Biden’s agenda. The 67-to-32 vote, which included 17 Republicans in favor, came just hours after centrist senators in both parties and the White House reached a long-sought compromise on the bill, which would provide about $550 billion in new federal money for roads, bridges, rail, transit, water and other physical infrastructure programs.
|
|
The Resilience Roundup highlights CIRCA's presence in the news, provides links to recent local/state/national news articles related to resilience and adaptation, and announces upcoming events and seminars.
The Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation's (CIRCA) mission is to increase the resilience and sustainability of vulnerable communities along Connecticut's coast and inland waterways to the growing impacts of climate change and extreme weather on the natural, built, and human environment. The institute is located at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus and includes faculty from across the university. CIRCA is a partnership between UConn and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP).
|
|
State and Regional News Clips |
|
|
|
|
|
|
