Opinion

Another round of grant funding opened recently for projects that strengthen communities’ resilience to climate change and protection from extreme weather. These grants are funded through the Community Flood Preparedness Fund.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is encouraging communities to take advantage of this fifth round of grant funding, which supports a variety of projects including flood mitigation measures, stormwater management initiatives, coastal resilience projects, and green projects, that feature natural solutions to flooding.  Other grant rounds have supported projects in localities from Petersburg to the Town of Chincoteague on the Eastern Shore to Buchanan County in Southwest Virginia. 

The announcement of the grant funding comes as Southern Environmental Law Center lawyers argued in court last week to reinstate Virginia in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). RGGI, a multi-state carbon emissions reduction program, was the state’s only dedicated funding source for community-based climate resiliency projects. CBF filed a legal brief in court to support the effort.  

RGGI has been instrumental in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as funding the Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF). CFPF in turn supported these climate adaptation grants. After Virginia withdrew from RGGI, no money was allocated in the second year of the state budget for CFPF.  

The grant round will close  on Nov. 9. For more information on eligibility requirements and the application process, please visit here.  https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/dam-safety-and-floodplains/dsfpm-cfpf

Jay Ford, Virginia Policy Manager at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said, “We’re coming out of the hottest summer on record, and a year where communities across Virginia suffered through extreme weather causing school closures and damage to their homes and businesses. The need for effective climate resiliency projects has never been more urgent and the Community Flood Preparedness Fund gives localities the opportunities to invest in their communities prior to damage occurring. …

“This highlights one of the many reasons Virginia should return to RGGI as soon as possible. CBF continues to advocate for additional General Assembly funding for the CFPF and the state's participation in RGGI to reduce our emissions and strengthen our resilience to inevitable extreme weather.”