September 2023

CIRCA Releases CT EJScreen 2.0

CIRCA is pleased to announce the release of CT EJScreen 2.0. This updated version, developed after the public comment period, incorporates advanced features and an enriched user interface, facilitating an in-depth exploration of environmental justice concerns and feedback from various stakeholders. EJScreen 2.0 offers the first screening of the impact on the communities disproportionately burdened by potential pollution, social stressors, and health sensitivities. We invite you to engage with this enhanced tool as we continue our commitment to advancing the discourse on environmental justice.  To learn more, visit the Connecticut Environmental Justice Screening Tool Website HERE.

Save The Date: Resilient CT Summit

Friday December 1st: Hartford CT

Do you live in the Capitol Region? If so, we want your input!

CIRCA and the Capitol Region Council of Government (CRCOG), are working to update the Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP), this time the incorporating challenges associated with climate change directly into the plan to produce a “Hazard Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Plan (HMCAP)”. The plan will outline a set of actions that can be taken to reduce losses of property and life due to natural disasters like floods, severe wind events, winter storms, wildfires, droughts, extreme heat events, and earthquakes; and will outline a set of actions to reduce impacts of these events when made worse by the effects of climate change. As part of the plan update, CRCOG and CIRCA are looking for people who live and work in and near the CRCOG region to provide input.  To learn more about the plan update and complete the survey, click HERE.

Grants

EPA: Region 1 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers Request for Applications

Application Deadline: September 29, 2023

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Region 1 Office has announced a grant competition for an "Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center" (EJ TCTAC). The agency is offering this funding opportunity of up to $10 million to help communities and other environmental justice stakeholders in the New England states access federal assistance and resources to address environmental and energy justice concerns. EPA Region 1 includes the states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut and 10 Tribal Nations. The EJ TCTACs will provide training and other assistance to build capacity for communities and environmental justice stakeholders navigating federal grant application systems, writing strong grant proposals, and effectively managing grant funding.

NOAA Climate Resilience Regional Challenge

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. Click HERE for a recorded webinar for more information.

Sea Grant: Long Island Sound Resilience Grant

Writing Assistance Program

With funding from US EPA through the Long Island Sound Study (LISS), New York Sea Grant and Connecticut Sea Grant announced a funding opportunity open to municipalities and community organizations. This new program funds grant preparation and writing support to develop a grant application for sustainable and resilience projects that impact a community(ies) within or partially within the Long Island Sound Coastal boundary.

Funding is to be awarded in a range of $5,000- $9,950 per application directly to the applicant’s selected grant writing support contractor on a cost reimbursable basis. Match will not be required. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until all available funding is allocated, which may be no later than September 30th, 2023. A Connecticut Applicant Informational Webinar was held on December 13th - click HERE for a recording.

CT DEEP: Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition (OSWA) Grant Program

Application Deadline: October 2, 2023

The Department is now accepting applications for the 26th competitive grant round of the Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program (OSWA). The Department is also accepting applications from targeted investment communities and distressed municipalities to the Urban Green and Community Garden Program. The Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition (OSWA) Grant Program provides financial assistance to municipalities and nonprofit land conservation organizations to acquire land for open space, and to water companies to acquire land to be classified as Class I or Class II water supply property. Awards are granted to projects that offer the highest conservation and recreational value and that leverage the greatest percentage of private and municipal funding. The Department also accepts applications from distressed municipalities under 

Transformational Habitat Restoration and

Coastal Resilience Grants

Proposal Deadline: November 17, 2023

$240 million in funding is available for habitat restoration and coastal resilience through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. Projects selected through this funding opportunity will have a transformative impact for coastal communities and tribes across the country. They will help sustain our nation’s fisheries, make significant strides in the recovery of threatened and endangered species, and help protect coastal communities and ecosystems from the impacts of climate change. They will support efforts such as reconnecting rivers to their historic floodplains, out planting corals to rebuild reefs, building living shorelines that protect coasts from erosion and sea level rise, and more.

Applicant Webinars

A pre-recorded applicant webinar is available for download in the “For Applicants” section below. We will also hold three live webinars with information for potential applicants:

August 29, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Recording Available

September 6, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Register HERE

September 13, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Register HERE

NOAA’s Climate Ready Workforce for Coastal and Great Lakes States, Tribes, and Territories Initiative

Letters of Intent Deadline: November 30, 2023

Full Proposals Deadline: February 13, 2024.

Sea Grant and the NOAA Climate Program Office, with support from the NOAA Office for Coastal Management, seek to establish programs aimed at at placing people across the country into good jobs that advance climate resilience and assisting employers in developing a 21st century workforce that is climate literate, informed by climate resilience, and skilled at addressing consequent challenges. NOAA will assist communities in coastal and Great Lakes states, territories and tribes so they may form partnerships that train workers and place them into jobs that enhance climate resilience. NOAA envisions making between 10-20 awards under this competition, at amounts ranging from $500,000-$10 million each. NOAA expects projects to range in duration from 24 months to 48 months, beginning no earlier than August 1, 2024. This opportunity is open to state, tribal, territorial and local governments, institutions of higher education, and non-profit organizations in coastal states or territories. Resources from NOAA’s Climate Program Office, Office for Coastal Management, and National Sea Grant Office and its partners will be available to provide technical assistance to applicants and recipients to support these innovative efforts. 

Events

Niantic River Watershed Committee's State of the

Watershed Summit

September 12, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

The Meeting will include a review of the past decade of accomplishments in the watershed and plan for future projects including: Watershed Plan Update, Water Quality Monitoring, Stormwater Improvements, Trends in Shellfish, Trends in Finfish, Trends in Eelgrass Abundance, and Education and Outreach and more. The meeting will be hosted at Waterford Town Hall Auditorium.

Resources

FEMA Factsheets

FEMA releases new factsheets about flooding that may be helpful for Connecticut towns. 

*Click on the title to view the factsheet*

Hurricane Ida in New York Fact Sheet 1: What Building Owners and Tenants Should Know About Urban Flooding

This fact sheet describes urban flooding and how it can create unsafe conditions and damage buildings.

Hurricane Ida in New York Fact Sheet 2: Flood Warning and Inundation Mapping

This fact sheet describes how flood warning systems, flood alerts, and flood inundation products convey flood risk information.

Hurricane Ida in New York Fact Sheet 3: Understanding Stormwater Runoff in Highly Urbanized Areas

This fact sheet explains stormwater runoff, stormwater drainage systems, and ways communities manage runoff and reduce the impacts of urban flooding.

Hurricane Ida in New York Fact Sheet 4: Considering Policies and Regulations to Reduce Risks Caused by Urban Flooding

This fact sheet summarizes the recommendations from technical reports FEMA prepared for New York City. Communities use different mechanisms to put recommendations into practice.

Climate Change Has Hit CT Hard This Year.

Are We Ready for More?

CT Mirror - August 2, 2023

The climate change-related weather impacts in the state are being felt across many aspects of daily life, the jurisdictions of many departments, and with greater extremes than ever. But with so much uncertainty, how does the state prepare and, more to the point, minimize or even prevent the impacts? It will probably take coordination, creativity and cold, hard cash.

Connecticut and UConn are Leaders in Clean

Energy and Sustainability

UConn Today - August 2, 2023

Connecticut and UConn are leading remarkable efforts to combat the devastating effects of climate change and secure a sustainable future powered by clean energy.

One of the nation’s top public research universities, UConn has a wide array of talented faculty, staff, students, and alumni working to solve sustainability challenges that affect communities in Connecticut and around the world.

Danbury Area Rebuilding Gravel Roads After Summer Floods — And Readying for Climate Change’s Impact

Newstimes - August 19, 2023

The hot and rainy summer the Danbury area is experiencing has highlighted the importance of building resiliency against the effects of climate change, local emergency response experts say. In the last few months, communities statewide have faced heat waves, torrential rains and flooding, resulting in washed away roads, fallen trees, power outages and other damages. Emergency crews have worked to repair the damage but say the increasing frequency of the storms make it hard to keep up. 

FEMA to Highlight Hazard Mitigation Projects Nationwide, Announce Additional Climate Resilience Funding During Disaster Resilience Month

FEMA - August 1, 2023

To celebrate Disaster Resilience Month, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell will travel across the country to highlight community mitigation projects nationwide throughout the month of August. During August, the agency will also announce the final project selections for the FY2022 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities and Flood Mitigation Assistance annual grant programs, along with funding allotments for the 2023 funding cycle for both programs. In total, President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided $7 billion for FEMA to help communities build resilience and reduce disaster loss and suffering, including $900 million last funding cycle.

FEMA Announces Nearly $3 Billion in Funding Selections to Drive Resilience to Climate Change, Extreme Weather Events

FEMA - August 25, 2023

The nationwide funding includes $1.8 billion for critical resilience projects funded by the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) national competition and $642 million for Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) community-scale flood mitigation projects. The top five primary hazard sources of the projects selected in the national competition include flooding, infrastructure failure, fire, drought, and dam or levee break hazards. 

'We're all Maui': Climate Change Tests Emergency

Alert Systems Across US

Reuters - August 26, 2023

A fire suddenly swallows a Hawaiian town, killing scores. Wildfire smoke from Canada unexpectedly drifts across the U.S. Northeast, choking millions. Record rains surprise Vermont, triggering landslides. This summer has been one of weather extremes across the United States, a season of intense heat waves, torrential storms and runaway wildfires that have tested how well-prepared public safety officials and the emergency warning systems they oversee are for the changing climate.