July 2023

New CIRCA Local Resiliency Guide

2023 Policy Guide to Local Energy Resilience for Connecticut

The goal of the local energy resilience initiative at CIRCA is to (a) help guide Connecticut communities through the morass of existing federal and state incentives; (b) help municipalities construct microgrids or renewable energy systems that are capable of islanding and operating independently from the grid during outages; and (c) to help municipalities make well-informed choices with respect to selecting and siting renewable energy or ESS generally. Without an understanding at the municipal level of the programs and challenges, the “sustained, cost-effective, affordable and orderly development of Connecticut’s clean energy industry”13 will be difficult, if not impossible, to advance. With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA or the Act) on the national level and the launch of several new incentive programs in Connecticut, there is no better time for localities in Connecticut to leverage state and federal incentive money to address their local energy needs. This guide summarizes several of the more relevant federal incentives and state programs specific to Connecticut towns and municipalities. Click HERE to access the full guide.

New CIRCA Fact Sheet

Conservation Commission Fact Sheet

Connecticut town commissions and boards can play a pivotal role in building climate change resilience into local decision making. Conservation Commissions have the authority to advise land use boards and can play a role in increasing climate resiliency by advocating for nature-based solutions for problems like flooding, excessive heat, erosion, shoreline stabilization or poor water quality. Learn more about the role and authority of Conservation Commissions and how natural resource conservation can help build climate resilience in CIRCA’s new Factsheet “Conservation Commissions and Natural Resource Resilience.” Click HERE for more information.

Upcoming CIRCA Events

Introducing the Connecticut Environmental Justice Screening Tool

July 10, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

This session will guide you through the mapping tool's interface, features, and datasets, revealing how it can be utilized to analyze and address environmental burdens in vulnerable communities. You'll also have the opportunity to engage with experts behind the development of CT EJScreen, who will share insights into the challenges and achievements of creating this comprehensive tool. This session marks the start of the public comment period for the tool's beta version. This webinar will equip policymakers, urban planners, environmental advocates, or just interested in environmental justice with valuable knowledge on leveraging geospatial data for positive community impact. Click HERE to register.

Sustainable CT: Planning for Extreme Heat - How to Use CIRCA's Climate Change Vulnerability Index

Rescheduled: July 13, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

The Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) developed the Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI) to represent a community’s vulnerabilities to two of the most pressing climate change-driven threats in Connecticut – flooding and extreme heat events. The CCVI aggregates three categories (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity) to calculate relative vulnerabilities across Connecticut. This webinar will focus on the extreme heat CCVI mapping tool and describe potential uses of the tool for local and regional planning, selection of climate adaptation and resilience projects that address extreme heat, and how zoning regulations provide a change to land use policy for heat adaptation. Click HERE to register.

Grants

NOAA Climate Resilience Regional Challenge

Letter of Intent Deadline: August 21, 2023

Full Application Deadline: February 13, 2024

Approximately $575 million is available for projects that build the resilience of coastal communities to extreme weather (e.g., hurricanes and storm surge) and other impacts of climate change, including sea level rise and drought. Funding was made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, a historic, federal government-wide investment that is advancing NOAA’s efforts to build Climate-Ready Coasts.This page is focused on the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge, which is administered by NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management.The focus of this grant program is on collaborative approaches to achieving resilience in coastal regions. Proposed projects should address risk reduction, regional collaboration, and equity, and build enduring capacity for adaptation. Virtual information sessions will be hosted on July 11, from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. and July 12 from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

USGS Coastal Science Navigator Public Launch Webinar

July 11, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Please join staff from the USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program for an introduction, demonstration, and Q&A discussion on our new Coastal Science Navigator. The Navigator is intended to help users discover USGS Coastal Change Hazards information, products, and tools relevant to your scientific or decision-making needs.

Governor Lamont Announces $8.8 Million in State Funding To Support 21 Climate Resilience Plans and

Project Development Grants

Governor Ned Lamont today announced that the State of Connecticut is awarding $8.8 million in grants through the inaugural round of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Climate Resilience Fund (DCRF). These state awards will support 21 innovative climate resilience plans and projects across 17 Connecticut municipalities and councils of governments.Through the DCRF, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is providing critical planning support to local governments, nonprofits, and others seeking to advance climate resilience projects, with the goal of enabling the recipients to in turn seek federal funding for construction and implementation phases. DEEP is utilizing DCRF funds to catalyze Connecticut’s resilience project pipeline and ensure our communities are competitive for federal resources, which are at historic levels as a result of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.

FEMA: Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool (RAPT)

The Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool gives everyone access to powerful data and GIS mapping that can help everyone understand their community.RAPT includes over 100 preloaded layers including community resilience indicators from peer-reviewed research, the most current census demographic data, infrastructure data, and data on weather, hazards, and risk. RAPT also includes easy to use analysis tools, the ability to add in data from other sources, and print and download functions.

Air Quality Emergencies to Become More Common in CT Due to Climate Change, Experts Say

CT Insider - June 8, 2023

As climate change leads to increasingly frequent and intense wildfires, Connecticut residents must prepare for a future where staying inside for days, planning events around predicted air quality and keeping N95 masks handy are part of a new reality, scientists and government leaders say.

EPA, State and Local Officials Celebrate Award of Over $8.8M in Rebate and Infrastructure Funding for 28 Zero-Emission Buses in Connecticut

EPA - June 15, 2023

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) New England Regional Administrator David Cash and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory joined elected officials and school leaders in New Britain, Conn. to celebrate the award of 25 zero emission school buses to DATTCO Inc. to provide school transportation services for the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System (CTECS). These new buses will be used in New Britain and eight surrounding communities. The buses were part of over $8.8 million in rebates awarded to Connecticut school districts last year under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Clean School Bus Program that will provide funding for 28 zero-emission buses and charging infrastructure in 12 communities throughout Connecticut.

Coastal Connecticut Communities Urged to Recreate Natural Barriers to Combat Sea Level Rise

WSHU - June 26, 2023

Connecticut coastal towns and cities are being urged to focus on solutions that recreate natural barriers as they seek to protect and preserve their communities from the impact of climate change and sea level rise. Scientific models predict a sea level rise of up to 20 inches by 2050.That’s why the restoration of estuaries and sea grasses should be a priority for coastal Connecticut communities, said James O’Donnell, the executive director of the Connecticut Institute of Resilience and Climate Adaptation at the University of Connecticut.

Connecticut: Get Ready for CHEAPR e-bikes

UConn Today - June 27, 2023

The Connecticut Hydrogen and Electric Automobile Purchase Rebate (CHEAPR) program will soon expand to include incentives for electric bicycles. The program is aimed at increasing the availability of sustainable transportation options for state residents by lowering the purchase or leasing costs for these technologies.

Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) Legal Research Fellow Louanne Cooley is also a bike advocate and a member of the Engineering for Human Rights Initiative (EHRI). She met with UConn Today to help answer questions about the CHEAPR program and the importance of affordable, sustainable transportation.

How to Prepare for the 2023 Hurricane Season

With Climate Change in Mind

NPR - June 1, 2023

The Atlantic hurricane season begins today. This year's storms will arrive as millions of people are still recovering from years of back-to-back hurricane devastation, from Texas all the way to the Northeast, and from the Caribbean to West Virginia.

The United States is feeling the effects of climate-driven storms. A hotter Earth makes storms more likely to get big and dangerous. The cost of damage from hurricanes has skyrocketed, overwhelming emergency agencies, insurance companies and household budgets, displacing entire neighborhoods and killing people.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $2.6 Billion Framework Through Investing in America Agenda to Protect Coastal Communities and Restore Marine Resources

NOAA - June 6, 2023

The U.S. Department of Commerce unveiled a $2.6 billion framework to invest in coastal resilience through President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). As part of the President’s Investing in America Agenda this initiative will support communities and people on the frontlines of climate change, dedicating nearly $400 million specifically for Tribal priorities and benefiting coastal and Great Lakes communities nationwide with an emphasis on environmental justice. Additional investments from the IRA will improve weather and climate data and services, support the Biden-Harris Administration’s America the Beautiful conservation initiative and strengthen NOAA’s fleet of research airplanes and ships that are used to study and collect data about the ocean and atmosphere. 

Ocean Warmth Set a Record for May

New York Times - June 15, 2023

Temperatures are already breaking records this year: Last month was the warmest May for the world’s oceans since record-keeping began in 1850, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The average ocean temperature throughout May was 1.53 degrees Fahrenheit, or 0.85 degree Celsius, higher than normal for the month. For the planet as a whole May was the third warmest on record, the agency said in its monthly climate update. North and South America had their warmest Mays on record.

Intensifying Rains Pose Hidden Flood Risks Across the U.S.

New York Times June 27, 2023

As climate change intensifies severe rainstorms, the infrastructure protecting millions of Americans from flooding faces growing risk of failures, according to new calculations of expected precipitation in every county and locality across the contiguous United States. The calculations suggest that one in nine residents of the lower 48 states, largely in populous regions including the Mid-Atlantic and the Texas Gulf Coast, is at significant risk of downpours that deliver at least 50 percent more rain per hour than local pipes, channels and culverts might be designed to drain.