Funding Announcement:

Last week, the Federal Highway Administration announced nearly $830 million in PROTECT Act grants to make transportation infrastructure more resilient to climate change. This included Eight projects will receive approximately $119 million to protect, strengthen, or relocate coastal highway and non-rail infrastructure; and hundreds of millions more in planning, resilience and evacuation routes. There were recipients in nearly every coastal state. See the full list of grant recipients here: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/protect/discretionary/grant_recipients/

Up-coming opportunities:

CZM non-competitive “capacity” funding for BIL years 3, 4, & 5 (totaling $900K, or $300K/yr, per CZM Program) request for applications is coming soon! Deadline for submission is still be figured out, but per Joelle’s email from last week, likely Due in draft to NOAA on Tuesday July 2, 2024, and due in Grants.gov on Friday July 26, 2024.

CZM competitive BIL Year 3 NOFO will be released in June, with a (likely) Aug 15 LOI deadline.

On-going opportunities:

All information available at https://www.coastalstates.org/members-only/cso-work-groups/2023-funding-work-group/

This funding opportunity is a NOFO for the Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grant Programs from the EPA. The grant program offers $2 billion to benefit disadvantaged communities through “projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to address environmental and climate justice challenges.” States are not directly eligible, but any underserved community-based non-profit organizations (CBOs) and/or community is likely eligible. EPA is specifically interested in funding Territories! It's a rolling application for a year (closing on Thursday November 21, 2024) and allows for the potential resubmission of initially unsuccessful applications.

More detailed info about the grant program here: https://www.epa.gov/inflation-reduction-act/inflation-reduction-act-community-change-grants-program.

See here for the April regulatory update. More information on rulemaking developments is available on the Regulatory Resources page.

[NEW] FFRMS Mapping Tool Beta Version Released - Deadline May 28

On Apr. 11, 2024, the National Climate Task Force released a beta version for a new Federal Flood Standard Support Tool for public review and feedback. The tool is intended to automate the determination of whether the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard applies to a project based on whether a user-defined project area falls within a zone of modelled future flood risk (called the FFRMS Floodplain in the tool) according to either the Freeboard Value Approach or, for coastal areas, the Climate Informed Science Approach. Data are available for a small number of counties nationally; FEMA expects to provide data for all areas with existing digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps during summer 2024. CSO will coordinate through the Coastal Hazards Planning and Adaptation work group to develop feedback. CHPA members should submit feedback to Marisa Borreggine by Wednesday May 22, 2024. Comments may be submitted via Regulations.gov through Tuesday May 28, 2024.

[NEW] BOEM O&G Decommissioning Bond Rule Released

On Monday April 15, 2024, BOEM released a final rule increasing the financial assurances federal offshore oil and gas leaseholders must demonstrate in an effort to limit the number of abandoned wells in the Gulf of Mexico’s Outer Continental Shelf. BOEM will assess bond rates based on a lessee’s credit rating and reserve values and current value of oil and gas reserves on the lease.

[NEW] USACE Water Resources Planning Proposed Rule – CSO Comment Submitted

CSO submitted comments on Monday April 15, 2024 on the USACE proposed rule instituting long-awaited Agency-Specific Procedures (ASPs) to implement the 2014 Principles, Requirements and Guidelines for Water and Land Related Resources Implementation Studies (PR&G). The PR&G set decision making standards for federal water resource investments in projects like flood control, beach nourishment, habitat restoration, navigation improvements, and hydropower. 

Endangered Species Act Rules Finalized

USFWS and NOAA NMFS have finalized three Endangered Species Act rules affecting species listing and critical habitat designation processes, interagency consultation, and default protections for newly listed threatened species. A summary of key changes, including loosening criteria for critical habitat designation and allowing agencies to consider offsite offsetting measures alongside avoidance and reduction in incidental take statements, is available here. The new rules are scheduled to become effective Sunday May 5, 2024.

USACE Wetland Protection Initiatives

On March 22, 2024, USACE issued a memo outlining plans for enhancing the protection of the country's wetlands following the U.S. Supreme Court decision restricting the jurisdictional scope of the Clean Water Act over non-adjacent wetlands in Sackett v. EPA. Key actions include:

• Allocating $5M for Planning Assistance to States assistance to develop new or revised water-related programs or regulations in response to the Sackett decision
• Prioritizing wetland connectivity and physical & biological integrity improvements in CAP Section 206 Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration projects, using a remaining pot of IIJA funding and proposing $13M for the effort in the next budget cycle.
• Clarifying that non-jurisdictional waters remain eligible for use for compensatory mitigation.

[NEW] White House Releases Wetland and Water Protection Resource Guide

The White House Council on Environmental Quality released a Wetland and Water Protection Resource Guide for Tribes, States, Territories, local governments, private land owners, and non-governmental organizations to advance water resource protection. The Resource Guide highlights technical assistance and funding opportunities available across the federal government.

EPA Launches New Website to Improve Transparency in Permitting

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the launch of a new website, epa.gov/permits, a centralized web-based platform for information about federal environmental permitting. It highlights EPA’s permitting and environmental review programs and shares information on related statutes and environmental justice initiatives. In support of EPA’s commitments under Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41), it also displays the status of EPA permits for large scale infrastructure projects covered by this statute. The website is a resource for the public, permit applicants and federal agency partners. The new website provides: Centralized information about all EPA permitting programs, information on delegations of authority to states and descriptions of other requirements that are often applicable (such as Endangered Species Act and National Historic Preservation Act consultation); Public-facing reports and resources, including environmental justice and civil rights in permitting information; FAST-41 information, including an explanation of EPA’s roles under the Act and a table that shows the status of EPA permits needed for FAST-41 projects and project tracking; Inflation Reduction Act information regarding funding allocated to EPA for improving efficiencies in permitting. Learn more here and access the new site here.

FEMA Announces Second "Safeguarding Tomorrow RFL" Grant Program

FEMA announced its second Safeguarding Tomorrow through On-going Risk Mitigation Revolving Loan Fund program “Safeguarding Tomorrow RLF” grant program funding opportunity for $150 million. This opportunity will provide capitalization grants to eligible applicants to award low-interest loans to communities to reduce their vulnerability to disasters, foster greater resilience and reduce disaster impacts. The application period opens on Feb. 1, 2024. The funding notice is available at Grants.gov Eligible entities must apply for funding using the Non-Disaster (ND) Grants Management System (ND Grants). Applications must be received by Tuesday April 30, 2024 by 3 p.m. ET.