August 2024

The Resilience Roundup highlights announcements and events along with links to the previous month's state, regional, and national resilience news. 

Learn more about CIRCA at circa.uconn.edu

and the Resilient Connecticut Project at resilientconnecticut.uconn.edu

NEW Resilient Connecticut Website

We are thrilled to unveil our NEW Resilient Connecticut website. This website features a brand-new look and reorganized materials! We have created a Resource Database so all users can select a Resource Type, Focus Area and/or Town to access a filtered selection of Resilient CT materials including fact sheets, final reports, presentations, data viewers and interactive maps. 

We hope that you’ll find navigating our site easier than ever, with intuitive menus and faster access to information. Visit the New Resilient CT Site and please let us know how you like it by e-mailing circa@uconn.edu.

Now Accepting Applications:

CIRCA's Climate and Equity Grant Program 2024

In collaboration with CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) requests grant proposals for projects that increase the capacity of vulnerable communities to mitigate, plan for, and respond to climate change impacts. This funding supports the recommendations of the Governor’s Council on Climate Change (GC3).

This grant program is open to community-based organizations, tribal governments, and tribal organizations. Funds can be used for planning, capacity-building, or education projects that advance community-scale climate adaptation and/or climate mitigation efforts. Applications close September 30th, 2024. This year, for the first time, additional funding is available to support participation from community-based organizations in state climate planning meetings.

Please visit the Climate & Equity Program Webpage to find the full Request for Applications, an FAQ document, an Examples and Explanations document, a template work plan, a template budget, and a link to register for a webinar that will be held on August 13th, 2024 from 12 pm - 1 pm with a recording available afterward.

Resilient CT Synthesis Report

CIRCA has released the Resilient Connecticut Synthesis Report. This report is a comprehensive document which summarizes and “synthesizes” the Resilient Connecticut planning process in Fairfield and New Haven Counties. This planning process was initiated through a grant from the HUD sponsored National Disaster Resilience Competition following Superstorm Sandy. The Synthesis Report summarizes the different phases of the regional plan development across the 2-county study area (Phase II), as well as local and site plans that were developed in Phase III. Section 5 of the Synthesis Report includes lessons learned and policy recommendations for a resilience road map for Connecticut. Read the full Synthesis report and appendices HERE.

Announcements

DEEP Announces FY 2024/25 Clean Water Fund Priority List to Enhance Water Quality and Infrastructure Resilience

Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Katie Dykes has announced the FY 2024/25 Clean Water Fund Priority list. With this announcement, the State of Connecticut is continuing its strong investment in construction-ready municipal water pollution control projects that will protect the state’s waters from sewage pollution and help improve water quality.

The Clean Water Fund Priority List is the state’s roadmap for improving wastewater infrastructure in Connecticut. The municipal construction projects laid out in the Priority List are funded through low-interest loans and grants made possible by state and federal funds.

Last summer, municipalities submitted requests to the Department for wastewater needs totaling $2.4 billion over the next several years. Based on available funding and construction readiness, the new Clean Water Fund Priority List identifies approximately $500 million in fundable construction projects. Ninety-four percent (94%) of the fundable construction projects are located in Environmental Justice Communities.  

Any municipalities interested in learning more about available reserve funding should visit the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Clean Water Fund Financial Assistance webpage for details and applications. For further information, contact syed.bokhari@ct.gov.

Governor Lamont Announces State Grants To Protect 2,626 Acres of Open Space and Create Two New Urban Community Green Space

Governor Ned Lamont announced that his administration is awarding $14.5 million in state grants to aid in the purchase and protection of more than 2,626 acres of open space through 17 projects in 18 municipalities across Connecticut. Additionally, $343,015 in state grants are being awarded to create two new urban community green spaces in Stratford and Thomaston.

These funds are being provided through the state’s Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program and the Urban Green and Community Gardens Grant Program, both of which are administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). They mark the largest round of open space protection awards – both by acreage protected and by dollars awarded – in more than a decade.

The Connecticut General Assembly established a goal of protecting 673,210 acres (21%) of the state’s land base as open space. The goal calls for 320,576 acres (10%) to be held by DEEP as part of the state’s system of parks, forests, fisheries, and natural resource management areas, and 352,634 acres (11%) to be acquired by DEEP’s partners, which include municipalities, nonprofit land conservation organizations, and water companies.

As of December 31, 2023, DEEP estimates that its partners held approximately 253,682 acres (71.5%) of their share of the state’s open space goal, and that DEEP held approximately 263,528 acres (82.22%) of its share of the state’s goal. In total, 517,210 acres have been preserved (76.82% of the total goal), leaving an additional 156,000 acres remaining to meet the 21% open space goal.

Grants

CLCC: Climate Smart Land Stewardship Grant Program

The overarching goal of the Climate Smart Land Stewardship Grant Program is to increase the number of acres in Connecticut that are managed using climate smart land stewardship practices and encourage the use of climate smart practices among Connecticut’s land trusts. This grant program, and CLCC's accompanying outreach and technical assistance, will elevate the role of conserved lands in providing natural climate solutions by integrating climate mitigation, resilience, and adaptation into the stewardship of conserved lands throughout the state. This program will award $500,000 over multiple years for both planning and implementation grants. In 2024, grants will be awarded quarterly. In 2024, applications will be reviewed quarterly. Submission deadlines are at 5:00pm on: March 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1. Funding decisions are anticipated approximately six weeks after application deadlines.

EPA: Healthy Communities Grant Program for New England

Application Deadline: November 1, 2024

The Healthy Communities Grant Program, led by EPA New England, is a competitive grant initiative designed to help communities reduce environmental risks and improve human health and quality of life. This program funds projects that support at-risk communities, including those needing to build resilience, areas of environmental justice concern, and sensitive populations such as children, the elderly, tribes, and urban and rural residents. The program aims to assess, understand, and reduce environmental and human health risks, promote partnerships, and increase the capacity of communities and institutions to address these issues.

Eligible projects must be located in or directly benefit one or more of the Target Investment Areas and demonstrate how they will achieve measurable environmental and/or public health results in one or more of the Target Program Areas. Detailed descriptions of these target areas are available in the annual Request for Applications (RFA). The program seeks to achieve tangible benefits through community-based projects and collaborative efforts.

EPA: Community Change Grants

Application Deadline: November 21, 2024

The Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grant program (Community Change Grants), created by the Inflation Reduction Act, offers an unprecedented $2 billion in grants under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The Community Change Grants will fund community-driven projects that address climate challenges and reduce pollution while strengthening communities through thoughtful implementation. This historic level of support will enable communities and their partners to overcome longstanding environmental challenges and implement meaningful solutions to meet community needs now and for generations to come. There will be two tracks of funding under this opportunity. Track I will fund approximately 150 large, transformational community-driven investment grants of $10 million - $20 million. Track II will fund approximately 20 meaningful engagement grants of $1 million - $3 million. Grants cannot exceed 3-years in duration. Please review the NOFO for further information about the exciting opportunities under the Community Change Grants program and details about the application process.

Events

CT DEEP: Project SunBridge Kick-Off Meeting (Solar for All)

August 12, 10:00 a.m.



On April 22, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) was selected to receive $62.45 million in Solar for All funding through the Inflation Reduction Act’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. DEEP’s application, Project SunBridge, focused on multifamily affordable housing properties and included funding for financial and technical assistance to leverage the success of the state’s existing programs supporting distributed solar and storage deployment.

DEEP is now seeking stakeholder input into the development of an equitable and inclusive program design. Everyone is welcome to attend the public Project SunBridge kick-off meeting and provide written comments in response to the questions and prompts in this Request for Information! 

New Jersey Extreme Heat Resilience Action Plan

Building on the Statewide Climate Change Resilience Strategy, the New Jersey Extreme Heat Resilience Action Plan focuses on mitigating the effects of extreme heat, one of the deadliest impacts of climate change. Based on the research summarized in the New Jersey Scientific Report on Climate Change (2020) and the Human Health & Communities Addendum  (2022), New Jersey is warming faster than the rest of the Northeast region and the world, experiencing its third-hottest summer recorded in 2022. High temperatures are associated with immediate and long-term health concerns, diminished air quality, and increased food and water supply pressures. This plan identifies the challenges associated with rising temperatures and the actions of state departments and agencies to address them

Yale Center for Environmental Justice: New Haven People and the Environment Research Library

The Yale Center for Environmental Justice has just launched the New Haven People and the Environment Research Library (PERL), an online community and digital library for sharing and finding projects that explore the intersection of people and the environment in New Haven, Connecticut. Check out the new PERL website to access existing research, find others with similar community research interests and submit your own work.

EPA: Climate Change Indicators in the United States: Fifth Edition

The fifth edition of Climate Change Indicators in the United States documents how climate change is impacting the United States today, the significance of these changes, and their possible consequences for people, the environment, and society.

Using EPA's climate change indicators and relevant scientific literature, the report groups indicators into eight themes that help to show interconnections, cause-and-effect relationships, and how physical changes in the atmosphere affect people and the environment. Indicators related to human health and societal impacts of climate change cut across chapter themes and are integrated throughout the report. Each theme includes information on why the changes matter, as well as examples and discussion of the unequal impacts of climate change. The report also provides examples of what people and communities can do to address climate change, and what actions are already underway.

NVCOG: Equity Explorer

The Equity Explorer is a comprehensive dashboard that provides a unified platform for tracking and evaluating socio-economic and environmental datasets from several federal and state agencies. The Equity Explorer will be a resource for regional planning professionals, helping to ensure that all communities within the region are considered in the planning and development processes.

How to Use:

• Explore Data: View key indicators related to equity and sustainability.
• Analyze Trends: Understand disparities and opportunities in your community.
• Support Planning: Use data to inform decisions and promote fairness.

To learn more about NVCOG’s approach to equity, the methodology, the list of indicators, and the guiding equity policies, please visit our project page.

Bracing for Impact: UConn, Partners to Improve Grid Resistance

UConn Today - July 2, 2024

As extreme weather events grow more frequent, UConn and its partners are working to make the northeastern power grid more resilient. UConn is leading a collaboration with the University at Albany and several other partners lending their respective expertise in outage prediction and meteorology. The federal Department of Energy (DOE) is funding the effort through two significant grants totaling $2.63 million.

CIRCA: Serving Connecticut’s Coastal Communities and Beyond

UConn Today - July 23, 2024



Between scorching summers and unprecedented storms, the consequences of climate change have crashed down on Connecticut in recent years. Policymakers, urban planners, and resource managers are needing to make decisions with new threats in mind: more extreme weather events, heat, and sea level rise. This last threat is something James O’Donnell, professor of marine sciences and director of the Connecticut Institute for Resilience & Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) at UConn Avery Point, knows a lot about. A physical oceanographer, his research focuses on circulation and mixing in the ocean. These factors influence how sea levels will respond to climate change. As seas and temperatures rise, the Connecticut Institute for Resilience & Climate Adaptation uses research and community engagement to protect communities across the state.

Use This Tool to Track Your Neighborhood's Vulnerability to Extreme Weather

Fox 61 - July 24, 2024

The Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation at UConn has developed the Climate Change Vulnerability Index to map the potential risk down to one's street. It takes three elements to determine vulnerability: exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. In other words, the potential to change structures and systems to better handle severe weather.

Temperature Records Are Shattered as Extreme Heat Grips The West and East Coasts

NPR - July 7, 2024

Extreme heat continues to inflict wide swaths of the U.S. This weekend, the brunt of the hot temperatures is falling on the West Coast and parts of the East Coast.

In total, over 132 million people were under some form of a heat warning as of Saturday evening, according to Heat.gov. "These conditions will be extremely dangerous and potentially deadly if not taken seriously," the National Weather Service said.

Biden-Harris Administration, NOAA Propose $575 Million to Increase Coastal Climate Resilience

NOAA - July 26, 2024

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced today that the Department of Commerce and NOAA are recommending $575 million in funding across 19 projects to boost climate resilience in the nation’s coastal and Great Lakes states and territories. As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, NOAA’s Climate Resilience Regional Challenge is a competitive grant program, and awards are made under NOAA’s Climate-Ready Coasts and Communities Initiative and are funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in history. President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is driving more than $50 billion to build resilience to the effects of climate change in communities across the country.