|
At the Agencies
NOAA has announced nine research grants will go to organizations around the country seeking to better understand and measure the toxicity of harmful algal blooms, known as HABs.
Read more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $4,556,900 to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to improve the health of Ohio's rivers and streams. The funding is awarded under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, which authorizes EPA to provide grant money to states to implement nonpoint pollution control programs.
Read more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today (Nov 2) announced it has awarded $600,000 to the Maryland Coastal Bays Program to preserve the economic and ecological vitality of this vast coastal watershed. The EPA award provides funding to implement the EPA-approved Coastal Bays Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan (CCMP link), a consensus of the best means for restoring and maintaining the water quality and ecological integrity of the Maryland Coastal Bays.
Read more
|
|
In the News
In the face of intense hurricanes, nature has an important role to play in reducing flood risk for communities.
The Ambitious Plan to Save Chesapeake Bay's Shrinking Saltmarshes
The National Flood Insurance Program continues to undergo change.
Some of the change is aimed at providing a better customer experience for policyholders while other changes continue the implementation of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act and the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act. This new series of short videos explains the key elements of changes to the NFIP that are effective October 1, 2017.
|
In the States and Regions
East Coast
The Nature Conservancy and
Maryland Department of Natural Resources have announced the completion of the first stage of a major new project to restore floodplain connectivity to a nine-mile stretch of the Pocomoke River that had been dredged and channelized in the mid-20th century. By doing so, more than 125,000 pounds of nitrogen, phosphorous and sediment carried downstream by the Pocomoke River every year during rain events will settle in the surrounding wetlands, rather than flowing directly into the Chesapeake Bay where they impair water quality. The project is one of the largest ecological restoration projects in Maryland's history.
A new study conducted by The Nature Conservancy and funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) helps land managers and agencies identify "coastal strongholds" across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region - areas that because of their unique topographies, elevations and landforms give threatened habitats a chance to escape rising sea levels and continue to provide vital services to people and wildlife.
Gulf Coast
The epic flooding from Hurricane Harvey has gotten most of the attention, but scientists say the impact of so much freshwater rushing into Galveston Bay - an estimated 34 trillion gallons fell along the Texas-Louisiana coast - may have a dramatic impact of its own.
Read more
The drawn-out, tedious process of doling out $8.8 billion in civil restitution stemming from the BP oil spill reached a benchmark last week. The Texas Trustee Implementation Group Final 2017 Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment: Restoration of Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats; and Oysters was published on Oct. 18, revealing funding for 13 Texas projects.
West Coast and Pacific Islands
City leaders on Tuesday announced joint efforts to curb flooding at various low points throughout San Francisco by mapping them and supporting residents in readying for stormy weather through a number of new programs.
Additionally, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission said it has earmarked some $700 million to invest in expanding sewer infrastructure over the next 15 years.
Read more
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee agreed yesterday (Nov 9) to amend a national energy bill to include a feasibility study for offshore wind energy in the Marianas.
Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) offered the amendment during the mark-up of H.R. 4239, the SECURE American Energy Act.
If the study demonstrates that wind energy is a feasible alternative for electrical generation in the Marianas, the bill authorizes offshore leases to be offered.
Read more
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres had officially appointed Eliceo D. Cabrera to serve as the permanent administrator of the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality under the Office of the Governor.
Great Lakes
The 2017 algae bloom is over in western Lake Erie. And while it didn't directly threaten drinking water, its bright green hue prompted
national attention and hurt Lake Erie's tourism business.
Over the years, billions of dollars have been allocated to restoring the Great Lakes - whether its money spent cleaning up pollution, preventing invasive species, or educating the public. A new regional initiative will analyze how effective some of these efforts - and dollars - have been so far.
|
Announcements & More
Funding Opportunity
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Wildlife Habitat Council, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, USDA Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, FedEx, and Southern Company are pleased to solicit applications for the
2018 Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration program. The Five Star and Urban Waters program will award approximately $2 million in grants nationwide.
NOAA Section 309 Projects of Special Merit FFO now Available
2018 Projects of Special Merit Federal Funding Announcement was published on
grants.gov last week. The announcement number is: NOAA-NOS-OCM-2018-2005389. Proposals are due to NOAA on
Friday, January 5th.
The funding is open to eligible coastal management programs - 2 applications allowed per CZM program; $250k max per project; focus on
hazards or advancing comprehensive ocean and Great Lakes planning efforts.
Nominations sought for open positions on the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC): Accepted through November 27, 2017
NOAA Fisheries is seeking nominations to fill current and pending vacancies on the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC) due to term limits. MAFAC advises the Secretary of Commerce on all living marine resource matters that are the responsibility of the Department of Commerce. The Committee draws on its members' expertise and other sources to evaluate and make recommendations to the Secretary and NOAA on the development and implementation of agency regulations, policies, and programs critical to the mission and goals of the NOAA Fisheries Service.
FEMA Job Aid Available to Help Local Communities with Mitigation Planning Grant Sub-application
Developing a local hazard mitigation plan can help your community reduce the loss of life and property by lessening the impact of hazards. FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Program provides planning grants to communities looking to develop or update their hazard mitigation plans. A
new job aid is available for communities which provides HMA guidance to prepare a planning grant scope of work for a local mitigation plan. In this job aid, guidance is provided for assistance in developing a strong, comprehensive planning grant sub-application. Information about the Hazard Mitigation program is available at
www.fema.gov/hazard-mitigation-assistance. Information about the mitigation planning program can be found at
www.fema.gov/hazard-mitigation-planning.
Public Comment Period for the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4)
Public comment on the draft report is an critical component of the NCA process, and NOAA wants to encourage the public to review and comment on of the NCA4 no later than
January 31, 2018. To find and review the NCA4 visit:
review.globalchange.gov . To read the full notice, please
click here
.
To familiarize the public with the NCA and the Review & Comment website, the US Global Change Research Program is hosting a series of webinars on the following dates:
- Saturday, Nov 18, 3pm EST
- Wednesday, Dec 6, 5pm EST
- Tuesday, Jan 16, 8pm EST
Passcode: 9663019548#
Coastal Zone Management in Action!
NOAA posts coastal zone management in action stories on their website (
coast.noaa.gov/states/stories/index). The information in this searchable database is used in a variety of ways, including filling information requests from congress and the media, and fodder for speeches, handouts, and various outreach efforts. The information comes mostly from the NOAA liaisons and program staff and the reports state programs submit to NOAA each year. If you have questions about this effort or want to submit story ideas, please contact
Kitty.Fahey@noaa.gov or
Donna.McCaskill@noaa.gov. See few examples below.
Worth Exploring! Using Nature to Address Flooding
Nature offers a powerful set of tools for addressing hazards like flooding and erosion. Nature-based solutions use natural systems, mimic natural processes, or work in tandem with traditional approaches to address these specific hazards. Communities across the country- along rivers or coasts, large or small, rural or urban - can incorporate nature-based solutions in local planning, zoning, regulations, and built projects to help reduce their exposure to flood and erosion impacts.
OneNOAA Science Seminars, 2017
Date & Time: November 15, 2017 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm ET
Date & time: December 6, 2017 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm ET
Date & Time: January 25, 2018 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm ET
Seminars are open to the public. For remote access, location, abstracts and more, visit the OneNOAA Science Seminar Calendar at:
http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/seminars/
Seminars are posted in Eastern Time and subject to changes without notice; please check the web page for the latest seminar updates.
Events & Webinars
February 21 - 22, 2018
June 11- 14, 2018
July 2 - 5, 2018
December 8 - 13, 2018
|
|
