The Baker-Polito Administration has announced more than $3.2 million in funding to support local efforts to proactively plan for and adapt to coastal storm and climate change impacts, including storm surge, flooding, erosion and sea level rise.
These Coastal Resilience grants, provided by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), are being awarded to Braintree, Chatham, Chelsea and Everett, Dennis, Duxbury Beach Reservation, Inc., Gloucester, Hull, Ipswich, Kingston, Marion, Mattapoisett, Nantucket, Provincetown, Salem, Wareham and Winthrop.
Under the Baker-Polito Administration, 67 projects have been funded through this grant program, representing an investment of over $9.1 million.
“ The severe winter storms that affected our coastal communities in recent years have reminded us all of the importance of integrating climate change projections in planning, infrastructure retrofits and shoreline improvement projects ,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito . “ These grants, as part of our integrated effort to work with communities and stakeholders to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts, are helping to build a more resilient Commonwealth for generations to come. ”
CZM’s Coastal Resilience Grant Program provides financial and technical support for innovative local efforts to increase awareness and understanding of climate impacts, plan for changing conditions, redesign vulnerable community facilities and infrastructure and implement non-structural measures to increase natural storm damage protection, flood and erosion control and community resilience.
Grants can be used for planning, public outreach and feasibility assessment and analysis of shoreline vulnerability, as well as for design, permitting, construction and monitoring of projects that enhance or create natural resources to provide increased shoreline stabilization and flood control.