July 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

CIRCA Climate & Equity Grant Program

The CIRCA-DEEP Climate & Equity Grant Program will be launching for a second round this summer – keep an eye out for upcoming announcements with more details, and in the meantime check out this StoryMap featuring the pilot round grantees here! Click HERE to access the Story Map .

CIRCA’s Climate Resilient Zoning Training

Interested in how to use zoning to increase a town's climate resilience? CIRCA’s Climate Resilient Zoning Training covers topics to help land use officials increase municipal climate resilience. 

The training explains how climate change impacts Connecticut, and how zoning authority can be used to address these issues. Topics covered include transferable development rights, overlay zones, minimum lot size, maximum lot coverage, parking minimums, design standards, landscaping and tree standards, policies for addressing flooding and heat. Three training modules are available online, and together fulfill one hour of state mandated training for Municipal Land Use Commissioners. Factsheets covering these topics in more depth are also available at the Climate Resilient Zoning Library. 

If you would like an in-person presentation with question and answer session of the Land Use Commissioner training, please contact CIRCA to arrange a date.

Grants

U.S. DOT: Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning

Application Deadline: July 22, 2024

The Pilot Program for TOD Planning provides funding to communities to integrate land use and transportation planning in new fixed guideway and core capacity transit project corridors. As required by statute, any comprehensive or site-specific planning funded through the pilot program must examine ways to improve economic development and ridership potential, foster multimodal connectivity and accessibility, improve transit access for pedestrian and bicycle traffic, engage the private sector, identify infrastructure needs, and enable mixed-use development near transit stations. The statute also requires that the planning work be associated with a new fixed guideway or core capacity transit project as defined in federal transit statute (49 USC 5309(a); also see the NOFO for specific definitions). FTA announced the availability of approximately $10.5 million in competitive grants for the Fiscal Year 2024. This year, applications with a substantial focus on affordable housing may receive 100% federal support. On June 5th, FTA hosted a webinar for this funding opportunity. During this event, U.S. DOT provided an overview of the program and described the eligibility requirements.

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: 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

Connecticut’s Changing Coast in the Era of Climate Change

with Dr. Juliana Barrett

Date: July 14, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.



Location: Pardee-Morris House: 325 Lighthouse Road, New Haven, Connecticut 06510

Dr. Juliana Barrett will explore the impact of climate change on our coastline and the impact of flooding and coastal erosion from hurricanes and superstorms. Juliana Barrett is with the University of Connecticut Sea Grant College Program. Her work focuses on climate change adaptation and coastal habitat management working with Connecticut’s municipalities, NGO’s, state and federal partners and most recently, UConn undergrads through the Climate Corps program. Prior to coming to Sea Grant in 2006 she worked with CT DEP on management plans for state natural areas and for The Nature Conservancy as the Director of the Connecticut River Tidelands Last Great Places Program. She has a doctorate in plant ecology from the University of Connecticut and is a co-author of the Vegetation of Connecticut and several guides describing coastal habitats of Long Island Sound. She likes nothing better than getting wet and muddy in Connecticut’s wetlands or hiking and kayaking through new places.

Long Island Sound Environmental

Justice Needs Assessment Report

The Long Island Sound Environmental Justice Needs Assessment Report covers a year-long needs assessment conducted in the Long Island Sound region to identify the needs of underserved communities. The report includes findings per region, methods, lessons learned, recommendations, and more. The project was led by New York Sea Grant and contractor Responsive Management, in close partnership with Connecticut Sea Grant, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and Restore America’s Estuaries. Additionally, community meetings for this effort would not have been possible without the following partners: Save the Sound, Junta for Progressive Action, Environmental Leaders of Color, and Dare to Dream Community Outreach.

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.

Inflation Reduction Act Home Energy Rebate Programs

On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law. The law included $391 billion to support clean energy and address climate change, including $8.8 billion in rebates for home energy efficiency and electrification projects. Through these IRA provisions, Connecticut is eligible to receive $49,830,560 for the Home Efficiency Rebate program (HER) and $49,732,517 for the Home Electrification and Appliance program (HEAR), together referred to as the Home Energy Rebate Programs. HER allows for “whole house rebates” related to energy savings. HEAR will offer rebates for electric appliances and other efficiency equipment. The rebates offered through HER and HEAR will help Connecticut households save money on energy bills, upgrade to clean energy equipment, improve energy efficiency, and reduce indoor and outdoor air pollution. 

DEEP held a public Technical Meeting on Thursday May 16, 2024, 10:30 AM – 4:30 PM to discuss these programs with stakeholders. This was a hybrid in-person and virtual meeting. Download the meeting agenda here and see the recording HERE.

UConn Avery Point Campus Seen as Ripe for Enhancements

UConn Today - June 11, 2024

For almost six decades, UConn Avery Point has provided students with a world-class education and the academic benefits of a waterfront location, along with the personalized attention and convivial atmosphere of a small college setting. Now, buoyed by those strengths and guided by its Strategic Plan, the University is eyeing Avery Point for potential enhancements that would build on its successes and promote holistic student success, while maintaining the welcoming atmosphere that makes it such an attractive choice. The Connecticut Institute for Resilience & Climate Adaptation (CIRCA), also located at Avery Point, also has become a critical regional asset to help communities that are vulnerable to the growing impacts of climate change. Those and other assets at Avery Point make it a valuable location worth enhancing, participants said at Tuesday’s event.

Connecticut Green Bank’s Flagship Financing Programs Now Include Resilience Improvements for Homes and Commercial Properties

Connecticut Green Bank - June 20, 2024

The Connecticut Green Bank is pleased to announce that two of its flagship financing offerings for homes and commercial buildings are expanding to include projects related to climate adaptation, resiliency, and water infrastructure. These additions allow home- and building-owners to protect their properties against extreme weather events and potential losses from climate change. The new measures added to the Smart-E and C-PACE programs are among the first steps forward in the Green Bank’s environmental infrastructure scope expansion, which applies the green bank model of leveraging public capital to attract multiples of private investment.

Opinion: Can lawmakers save your town from rising temperatures?

CT Insider - June 20, 2024



Rising temperatures from greenhouse gas emissions impact our low-wealth communities more than others. Take for example some neighborhoods in New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford and Norwalk where residents without air-conditioning can’t escape the heat or the effects of worsening storms. More high heat days mean greater incidence of asthma, COPD and premature birth in communities where we already see the greatest health disparities.

Yantic River flood prompts government agencies to develop mitigation plans: What's happening

Norwich Bulletin - June 25, 2024

With the right plans and implementations, Yantic River's flood this past January could be one of its last.The Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments (SECCOG), UConn-based Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA), GZA Geoenvironmental, and leaders from Norwich and Bozrah met Monday to discuss possible flood prevention strategies along the river, and then visited those sites. Learning about the history of impacted sites is important at the beginning of a flood mitigation study. There was a site walk for parts of the Yantic River Watershed in Bozrah and Franklin earlier this year, Director or Resilience Planning John Truscinski said.

Vermont Becomes 1st State to Require Oil Companies to Pay for Climate Change Damages

NPR - June 1, 2024

Vermont has become the first state to enact a law requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a share of the damage caused by climate change after the state suffered catastrophic summer flooding and damage from other extreme weather. Republican Gov. Phil Scott allowed the bill to become law without his signature late Thursday, saying he is very concerned about the costs and outcome of the small state taking on “Big Oil” alone in what will likely be a grueling legal fight. But he acknowledged that he understands something has to be done to address the toll of climate change.

We're in for a Brutal Hurricane Season, According to Predictions

NPR - June 21, 2024

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting a record number of hurricanes this season, which began on June 1 and runs through Nov. They're forecasting anywhere from 17 to 25 storms in the Atlantic basin, with at least eight hurricanes, and at least four major hurricanes. The average number of storms in a season is 14.Scientists think this storm activity could be due to strong winds, warmer ocean temperatures and even a volcanic mystery unfolding in the Atlantic.