In This Issue:
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News from Resilient Virginia
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National and International News
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2022: Community Action, Environmental Justice, Preparedness, and Growth |
2022 was a year for community action, environmental justice, preparedness, and organizational growth for Resilient Virginia. Last year, the organization:
- Increased membership by 131% from 2021 numbers;
- Developed and produced 8 Resiliency Academy sessions with a registration increase of about 25% from 2021 registration numbers;
- Hosted an Annual Meeting, our first-ever hybrid event, where we met with about 70 colleagues in Charlottesville and virtually;
- Launched a Member Portal where Resilient Virginia members can access slides and recordings from previous events and connect with other members of the organization;
- Took steps toward launching the Resilient Virginia Collaborative Alliance;
- Partnered with Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia to build workforce capacity through engagement with over 40 undergraduate and graduate students;
- Partnered with Sobis Inc, under a grant from Piedmont Environmental Council, to develop Albemarle County’s Climate Vulnerability and Risk Assessment;
- Partnered with Sobis Inc, Leslie King Consulting, and other Lynchburg-based organizations and institutions to start Lynchburg Rising – an environmental justice project funded by a grant from the US EPA Office of Environmental Justice;
- Advocated for regional resilience through participation in Resilient Fairfax’s Community Advisory Group and Roanoke’s Flood Resilience Plan Steering Committee;
- Advocated for a statewide approach to resilience through participation in VA DEQ’s Flood Resilience Outreach Strategy Plan NGO advisory group and VA DOT’s Environmental Stakeholders Engagement Group.
You can read our full 2022 Annual Report on our website. |
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Guiding the Next Generation of Resiliency Leaders |
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For the first two weeks in January, we worked with UVA students on a 2-week externship during their winter break. This year, we had two teams of students working on case studies on Rural Community Resilience and the Impacts of CFPF Funding on Communities.
Our first project focused on how rural communities in central and southwest Virginia view resiliency and the extent to which they are addressing it in their planning and policies. This project was completed by two students, Ellie Toler, Junior, Global Environments and Sustainability, and Kathleen Villanueva, Junior, Foreign Affairs. After looking through the town's Comprehensive Plan and the district's Hazard Mitigation Plan to identify the extent to which resiliency has been included, Ellie and Kathleen interviewed three local government officials to further their understanding of Wytheville's view of and capacity for resiliency planning. We are now working on getting their work pulled together into a white paper.
Our second project focused on the impact of Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF) support on small rural community resiliency. The CFPF has been providing the Commonwealth’s communities with funding for flood resiliency planning and project implementation since 2021. The project was undertaken by Tara Andrews, Senior/Master’s, Public Policy and Economics; Will Denniston, Senior, Public Policy and Leadership; and Holly Sims, Senior/Master’s, Environmental Science. The students researched the CFPF applications and publicly available information for projects funded in Christiansburg, Scottsville, and Buchanan County. They then interviewed local government officials and engineering consultant representatives to learn about the status of their projects, next steps, and potential future utilization of new funding opportunities through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Their reports of findings will be utilized by Resilient Virginia in future white papers and articles.
Students have been offered a free years’ membership to Resilient Virginia, as well as opportunities to engage with us during our 2023 Conference taking place this summer.
We are very thankful to the community leaders who agreed to work with us and the students on these projects. |
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Providing a Space for People to Talk About Their Experience with Flooding |
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Lynchburg Rising is on a roll.
On December 13th, we held our first neighborhood meeting for community members in the White Rock Hill neighborhood. This is the first of 4 neighborhoods where we will provide a space for community members to open up about their experience with flooding. At the meeting, Leslie King from Leslie King Consulting provided a comfortable space for people to talk about their community's assets and strengths, environmental justice, and offer their ideas on what can be done at both the individual and community levels. Bill Bohn from Sobis Inc. also provided large printouts of the White Rock Hill neighborhood and attendees were invited to mark where they have seen or personally experienced flooding.
Our next meeting will be on February 4th in the Diamond Hill Neighborhood.
To learn more about Lynchburg Rising, visit our website. |
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Angela Orebaugh Retires from Resilient Virginia Board of Directors |
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After many years as a member of Resilient Virginia's Board of Directors, Angela Orebaugh is retiring from the board. We would like to thank Angela for her dedication to our organization and her work in the Commonwealth of Virginia. |
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Virginia Department of Transportation Resilience Plan |
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In Virginia, our changing climate is exacerbating current hazards, such as recurrent flooding, extreme weather events, and rising sea levels. As this happens, we need to make sure our transportation system ensures the safe movement of people and goods. The Virginia Department of Transportation is working to address these challenges and improve the resilience of at-risk infrastructure and has recently developed a Resilience Plan to formalize a framework for incorporating resilience into transportation planning, project development, delivery, operations, maintenance and asset management. |
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Board Adopts [Fairfax] County's First-Ever Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan
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Fairfax County Virginia passed its first ever Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan to address warmer, wetter, and weirder weather. Included are 48 strategies that aim to reduce their risks to climate impacts such as flooding, extreme heat, and severe storms. |
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Mid-Atlantic Regional Climate Impacts and Summary: Fall 2022 |
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The NOAA Mid-Atlantic RISA team published their regional climate impacts and summary for Fall 2022. Highlights of the season include: - Most of the region experienced temperatures that were within two degrees of normal for the fall season, which is similar to what has been observed for the past five seasons. However, more of the region experienced temperatures that were 1–2 degrees below normal than since the start of the MARISA climate summary series in 2018.
- The majority of the region saw near-normal precipitation this season, experiencing between 125 and 75 percent of their normal fall precipitation amounts.
- The first week of November was unusually warm. On November 7, Lynchburg, Virginia recorded its warmest November day on record with a high of 84 degrees Fahrenheit.
- The Mid-Atlantic region is projected to experience a similar number of consecutive dry days in the future under a lower emissions scenario and only small increases in the number of consecutive dry days in the high emissions scenario.
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Virginia Announces Additional Community Flood Preparedness Fund Grant Awards
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Virginia recently announced close to $52 million in supplemental awards from the Community Flood Preparedness Fund. These awards are going to help both inland and coastal communities address flood protection and resilience efforts.
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The Department of Conservation and Recreation is seeking public comment on the Community Outreach and Engagement Plan that was published to support the development and updates of the Coastal Master Resilience Plan and the Virginia Flood Master Protection Plan. Comments can be made until 1/31/23. |
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DCR is looking to develop a revised loan and grant structure that combines the Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF) and the Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund (RVRF). Generally, the CFPF is geared towards
larger, community-scale projects, while
the RVRF is more directed towards
individual property and buildings. |
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Climate-Proof Towns are Popping Up Across the U.S. But Not Everyone Can Afford to Live There |
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We’ve seen how resilient communities can weather storms, but what about those who can't afford to move into these communities. What about the communities who can't afford resilience? Often, low-income communities don't have the capacity to adapt - their homes are older, poor-quality structures; they don't have the ability to retrofit their homes and buildings to withstand the extreme weather they are now facing; many are renters who rely on someone else for maintenance and upkeep; and affordable housing is more likely to be built in a floodplain because the land is cheaper. In order to overcome these challenges, local governments need to accelerate adaptation efforts for communities with a focus on marginalized areas. We need to push for resilience measures and initiatives that will positively impact all people and all communities.
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COP27: Key Takeaways and What's Next |
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COP27 was held last November in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh. There is so much to digest about this year's conference but World Resources Institute does a great job summarizing the key takeaways: - A fund was established to help countries who are facing severe damage due to climate change. After years with little to no progress on this, countries finally established funding arrangements, including a fund for loss and damages.
- Progress has been made in adaptation but not at the scale or speed necessary. A few specific things to note: developed countries did not make significant headway in their commitment to double adaptation finance from 2019 levels by 2025; parties fell short on defining the Global Goal on Adaptation and instead established a framework to guide its formation; and the Adaptation Fund received $230 million in pledges and contributions which will be given to countries most vulnerable to climate impacts.
- Climate finance took center stage at COP27 this year, reflecting developing countries' concerns that developed countries have not come through on their previous commitments to provide $100 billion annually.
- Countries at COP27 only agreed to outcomes that will equal modest emissions reductions.
- Phasing away from fossil fuels was a contentious topic, particularly the debate on whether it is only coal that should be phased out or if all fossil fuels need to be phased out.
- The Global Stocktake moved from the technical to the political. The Global Stocktake is a process where countries assess collective progress toward the Paris Agreement goals every 5 years. They are halfway through the first round and determined that they need to now focus on the political phase of the process.
- New African initiatives were launched, including a blended finance mechanism from 3 financing partners of AFR100 and the African Cities Water Adaptation Fund.
- Rules for carbon markets were not finalized as most had hoped for. Instead, the parties agreed to continue negotiations over the next two years.
- Nature-based solutions were included in the UN Climate Negotiations' cover for the first time ever. Parties were encouraged to consider nature-based solutions while ensuring relevant social and environmental safeguards.
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Record Drought Gripped Much of the U.S. in 2022 - Nation Struck with 18 Billion-Dollar Disasters |
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In 2022, the U.S. saw 18 separate billion-dollar disasters, putting the year in third place for most billion-dollar disasters behind 2020 (22 events) and 2021 (20 events). The 2022 billion-dollar disasters led to the deaths of at least 474 people and damages totaled about $165 billion. During this time, the U.S. experienced an average but destructive hurricane season, an above average tornado year, and wildfires that scorched the west and Alaska. |
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Biden-Harris Administration Announces First-Ever Federal Building Performance Standard, Catalyzes American Innovation to Lower Energy Costs, Save Taxpayer Dollars, and Cut Emissions |
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On December 7th, the White House Council on Environmental Quality announced the Federal Building Performance Standard with the goal of cutting energy use and electrifying equipment and appliances in 30% of building space owned by the Federal government by 2030. To reach this goal, agencies will buy American-made products such as heat pumps, electric water heaters, and other energy efficiency and building system technologies supported by the Inflation Reduction Act. |
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Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation |
In September, The White House debuted its Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation (CMRA) portal. This tool can be used by community organizations, as well as local, Tribal, state, and federal governments to develop equitable climate resilience plans. In addition, CMRA points users to federal grant funding that can be used for climate resilience projects. |
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Climate Action and the Inflation Reduction Act |
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) provides more than $369 billion for climate solutions and environmental justice in the United States. To get the most impact from this investment, businesses, individuals, state and local governments, and community partners need to know what is out there and how to take advantage of the incentives. C40 Cities and Climate Mayors recently published a guidebook that is designed to help local leaders understand the Act and what resources are available to them through the law. |
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Climate Adaptation Implementation Plan |
The "Climate Adaptation Implementation Plan" is the US Environmental Protection Agency Region 3's response to "Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad" (Executive Order 14008) and EPA Administrator Regan's direction to update regional Implementation Plans. The Plan identifies key programmatic vulnerabilities and actions that will be taken over time to address the impacts of climate change. |
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Funding for Economic Development |
Looking for economic development funding? Head over to the U.S. Economic Development Administration's website and see if any of their funding programs would work for you. Programs include: - American Rescue Plan
- Assistance to Coal Communities (ACC)
- Build to Scale
- Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act
- Economic Adjustment
- Economic Recovery Corps
- Equity Impact Investments
- Local Technical Assistance
- Planning
- Public Works
- Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs and Recompetes
- Research and National Technical Assistance (RNTA)
- Revolving Loan Fund (RLF)
- Scaling Pandemic Resilience Through Innovation and Technology (SPRINT) Challenge
- STEM Talent Challenge
- Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms
- University Centers
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Resilient Events Calendar |
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This Winter, check out the many webinars, conferences, and community meetings that are happening in Virginia and around the nation.
A few of special interest:
February 7th, 9th, and 15th the U.S. DOT Federal Transit Authority is holding informational webinars on their latest competitive grant funding opportunity. February 22nd the Resilient Nation Partnerships Network and the USDA are hosting the February Resilience Exchange where rural and agricultural resilience will be discussed. February 28th, March 28th, April 25th, and May 23rd SERCC, NIDIS, and NOAA NWS are hosting the Southeast Monthly Webinar Series. |
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Continue your support throughout the year by using GoodShop where a percentage of your purchase is contributed to Resilient Virginia.GoodShop.com Find lots of discounts and many participating stores for office supplies, general shopping, and special event gifts. Feel free to send your suggestions for stories, as well as comments on existing stories. Contact: osso@resilientvirginia.org |
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Thank you to our Annual Sponsors |
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