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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
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Resilient East Hartford Public Meeting
Date: Monday June 9th
Time: 6:00 - 7:30 PM
Location: East Hartford Town Hall or Virtually
Join us for “Resilient East Hartford,” part of CIRCA’s Resilient Connecticut program, as we explore actionable strategies to address climate challenges in the community. This session will cover heat risk, stormwater flooding near the railroad underpass, and ways to improve downtown parking layout. To join virtually, see the information on the flyer to the right.
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CIRCA Researchers Publish Environmental Justice Paper
CIRCA researchers have published a new article in Sustainability titled "A State-Specific Approach for Visualizing Overburdened Communities: Lessons from the Connecticut Environmental Justice Screening Tool 2.0." The paper highlights how CT EJScreen 2.0 was developed to provide a more accurate and locally relevant assessment of environmental justice concerns in Connecticut. By integrating data on air pollution, health vulnerabilities, and socioeconomic stressors, the tool identifies census tracts that are disproportionately impacted and supports more informed, equitable policymaking. Read the full paper HERE.
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Resilience Hub Workshop Recap
On April 30th, CIRCA hosted a Resilience Hub Workshop at Hartford’s Swift Factory, bringing together community leaders, state agencies, and municipal staff to explore how resilience hubs can support emergency preparedness within the state. Highlights included a keynote from the City of Baltimore’s Erica Pinkett, a presentation from Dr. Eleanor Shoreman Ouimet from UConn Department of Anthropology and a panel featuring Connecticut-based community organizations. To view materials from the workshop, click HERE.
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As the Connecticut legislature wraps up its session this week, CIRCA has been tracking bills related to climate resilience. Here is a quick recap of important legislation passed this session.
First, Public Act 25-33 (formerly Senate Bill 9) passed the CT House and Senate with strong bipartisan support and is expected to be signed by Governor Lamont soon. This bill provides Connecticut municipalities and residents with new tools and protections as climate change continues to be an increasing threat to the state.
The most important provision in the Act allows the creation of Resiliency Improvement Districts. Municipalities can now create districts in areas with climate vulnerabilities to finance capital improvements related to climate change resilience, adaptation or mitigation through bonding or incremental tax increases. This will allow towns to generate revenue in and for the area in need that can be used directly for improvements or as matching funds for federal and state grants.
A host of provisions in the Act will help address flooding risk. Insurers are now required to provide notice about the availability of flood insurance and when buyers apply for a mortgage, they will be informed about flood damage risk. This will allow home buyers to make more informed choices when purchasing a home. New regulation for construction in coastal areas provides oversight in vulnerable areas, and municipal hazard mitigation plans must identify threats to critical infrastructure due to sea level change. The Act also addresses a gap in information on municipal culverts and bridges that may be vulnerable to flooding by requiring towns to submit geospatial location data to regional councils of government on an annual basis.
The Act also codifies changes in zoning authority to require zoning regulation to mitigate the impact of sea level change and allows for regulation to explicitly require or promote climate change resiliency and incentivize building incorporating flood risk reductions. Updates to statute now make Transferable Development Rights a more useful tool for municipalities to direct development to less vulnerable areas without loss of property owner’s rights.
Starting next year, state, regional and local Plans of Conservation and Development will be required to address climate impacts including flooding risk, sea level rise, and increasing heat. These plans help guide land use polices and are updated every 10 years and serve as a roadmap for future regulation and development.
Public Act 25-6 (Senate Bill 1404) which was signed into law in in May, provides critical updates to CT’s Transfer Act which will allow for re-use of previously developed property and hopefully contribute to better land use in the state. Regulatory burdens in the transfer Act have long been seen as a block to re-development and contributed to higher housing costs, and greater sprawl. More efficient and safe land use should contribute to climate resiliency.
Public Act 25-49 (House Bill 5002), the omnibus housing bill has been passed narrowly by both chambers of the legislature and includes climate resilient provisions promoting transit-oriented development, “missing middle” housing, and minimum parking requirements. These provisions increase climate adaptation, mitigation, and resiliency by helping to increase housing density, promoting better land use, and lowering transit generated greenhouse gas emissions.
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Community Investment Fund
Application Deadline: June 5, 2025
The Community Investment Fund 2030 (CIF) will foster economic development in historically underserved communities across Connecticut. CIF will provide a total of up to $875 million to eligible municipalities as well as not-for-profit organizations and community development corporations that operate within them. Grants are available for: 1) Capital improvement programs, such as brownfield remediation, affordable housing, infrastructure, clean energy development, and home or public facility rehabilitation; or 2) Planning for capital projects including activities such as community engagement processes, feasibility studies, development of project plan and construction budget.
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Connecticut Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
Application Deadline: August 2025.
The Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security is pleased to announce that the Hazard Mitigation Grant Application Period is accepting applications or letters of intent These grant opportunities provide funding for projects aimed at reducing the impact of natural disasters within your communities.
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Urban Act Grant Program
Application Deadline: Rolling Submission
The Urban Act grant program is open to all municipalities designated as economically distressed, public investment communities or urban centers. Funds are provided to improve and expand state activities which promote community conservation and development and improve the quality of life for urban residents of the state. Urban Act funds may be used to finance a wide range of projects, including economic and community development, transportation, housing, recreation development, solid waste disposal, public safety and social-services-related projects (e.g., child day care projects, elderly centers and shelter facilities for domestic violence victims).
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Climate Action Forum's Protecting Our Communities: A Whole-Society Approach to Resilience Event
June 6, 2025, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
When disruptions arise, it is often our neighbors, families, and local networks who step up first. In this Forum, we explore how communities can strengthen the ties that hold them together before, during, and after climate-related events. Featuring voices from across sectors who are community leaders, planners, and practitioners, this discussion will examine how local collaboration, trust, and shared responsibility can help ensure no one is left behind when it matters most. We’ll also explore how to support and sustain our informal networks, “zero responders”, who often prevent challenges from becoming full-blown crises. Join Sustainable Solutions Lab from for this in-person or virtual event.
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Connecticut Climate Action Planning- CT DEEP
June 13, 2025, 10:00 a.m. - 11:20 a.m.
Location: Gina McCarthy Auditorium, DEEP Headquarters 79 Elm Street, Hartford and via
Zoom
This meeting will open with reflections on this year’s legislative session with respect to climate action with the opportunity for questions from attendees. Following that discussion, DEEP will kick off the development of the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) to identify actions to reduce climate pollution while also improving air quality, lowering energy costs, and increasing community resilience. There will be an opportunity for public comment.
Register for in-person attendance by emailing deep.climatechange@ct.gov.
Register for virtual attendance here.
Anyone wishing to provide public comments may sign up ahead of the meeting by emailing deep.climatechange@ct.gov by 4 pm June 11th or signing up in person or via the chat function on Zoom during the meeting. DEEP will post a recording of the meeting to its website.
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Community Renewable Energy Siting Tool (CREST) Introduction and Demonstration
June 18, 2025, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
In May, the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) launched a web-based tool to assist with the potential siting of solar projects and further the goal of increasing our state’s supply of zero-carbon energy. CREST provides free access to various layers of state, federal, and institutional data – demographic, forestry, geology, land use, water, wildlife, and more – that can be used by municipal planners, solar developers, conservation organizations, members of the public, and others to visualize where renewable energy best fits into Connecticut’s diverse landscape. Learn more about CREST and how to use it from the developers of the tool at DEEP with input from UConn-CLEAR, primary partners with DEEP on the CREST.
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EPA Water Technical Assistance
EPA WaterTA aims to assist communities with applications for federal funding, quality infrastructure, and reliable water services in partnership with drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities and local government. If your community is facing drinking water, wastewater, or stormwater challenges, you can submit a request for no-cost, direct assistance using the WaterTA Request Form. Please note that WaterTA is not a grant program, nor does it provide direct monetary assistance.
| | State and Regional News Clips | | |
Bridgeport Flooding Project in Limbo as Officials Wait for Formal Notification of Trump Cuts
CT Post - May 6, 2025
The Resilient Bridgeport flooding mitigation project, aimed at protecting the South End of Bridgeport, faces uncertainty following the federal government's cancellation of a $47.5 million grant. The project, developed in response to Superstorm Sandy, includes critical infrastructure such as flood walls and stormwater pump stations. State officials have not received formal documentation of the cancellation, raising concerns about the project's future
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Weather Council Eyes Strengthening Homes As Protection From Inland Flooding
Newswire - May 12, 2025
Connecticut officials are advancing a comprehensive home resilience strategy aimed at protecting residents from the growing impacts of severe rainstorms and related damage. At its second public meeting last week, the Severe Weather Mitigation and Resiliency Advisory Council — established by Insurance Commissioner Andrew Mais in October 2024 — shared early recommendations focused on homeowner education, fortified construction, and creative financing solutions.The council, composed of insurers, builders, nonprofit leaders, public advocates, and state legislators, expects to release its final report by the end of June.
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The Decline of Key Atlantic Currents Is Underway, and It’s Been Flooding Parts of the US for 20 Years
LiveScience - May 16, 2025
New research has linked sea level rise and an increase in flooding in the U.S. Northeast over the past 20 years to the breakdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).
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Residents in Norwich gather to hear about progress on flood prevention in Yantic River
Eyewitness New 3 - May 21, 2025
Over a year ago, a major flood of the Yantic River caused businesses to close and families to evacuate their homes. A man even had to be rescued inside a flooded Domino’s. Residents in the area gathered for a public workshop, hosted by the Southern Connecticut Council of Government's (SECOG) and CIRCA, to hear what’s being done to help keep this from happening again.
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Temperatures are at an all-time high in Connecticut. It has health experts worried
The Middletown Press - May 29, 2025
Connecticut's annual average temperature has increased incrementally every decade since 1895 and will continue to grow, experts say. According to UConn's Connecticut Institute for Resilience & Climate Adaptation, average temperatures are expected to rise about 5°F by 2050, with the indices of hot weather, summer droughts and extreme rain to increase too. Heat-related illnesses can take many forms, like heat exhaustion and respiratory, cardiac and kidney issues, which experts say may become worse and more common as the global temperature rises.
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NOAA Ending Its "Billion-Dollar Disasters" Database
CBS - May 8, 2025
NOAA announced that it is decommissioning several databases, including its widely reported annual compilation of billion-dollar weather and climate disasters.
The announcement was made on NOAA's website under "notice of change," which said it would no longer be updated due to "evolving priorities, statutory mandates, and staffing changes." The move was first reported by CNN.
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The Resilience Roundup highlights CIRCA's presence in the news, provides links to recent local/state/national news articles related to resilience and adaptation, and announces upcoming events and seminars.
The Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation's (CIRCA) mission is to increase the resilience and sustainability of vulnerable communities along Connecticut's coast and inland waterways to the growing impacts of climate change and extreme weather on the natural, built, and human environment. The institute is located at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus and includes faculty from across the university. CIRCA is a partnership between UConn and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP).
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