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星期二, 8月 31, 2021

Baker-Polito Administration Awards $21 Million in Climate Change Funding to Cities and Towns

Baker-Polito Administration Awards $21 Million in Climate Change Funding to Cities and Towns

93% of Communities Participating in Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program 


EASTHAMPTON
– Building on its commitment to creating a more climate change resilient Commonwealth, the Baker-Polito Administration today announced $21 million in grants to cities and towns through the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program, representing a doubling of the program budget since last year. To date, this brings total awards through the MVP program to over $65 million. The grant program, which was created in 2017 as part of Governor Charlie Baker’s Executive Order 569, provides communities with funding and technical support to identify climate hazards, develop strategies to improve resilience, and implement priority actions to adapt to climate change. The grants are in addition to the Administration’s proposal to invest $900 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) into key energy and environmental initiatives, including $300 million to support climate resilient infrastructure.

“With the ongoing success of the MVP program, we are pleased to double the program’s funding this year to support local climate change resilience projects throughout the Commonwealth,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Massachusetts communities are implementing important, nation-leading efforts to adapt to climate change. Our Administration is committed to working with municipalities across the Commonwealth to tackle these urgent challenges, which is why we have proposed a significant increase in funding for climate adaptation projects through our federal ARPA spending plan.”

“The MVP program is a vital tool in our efforts to prepare and strengthen our coastal and inland communities to address the impacts of climate change,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “We are thrilled to welcome 16 new towns to the program as they take important steps in planning for the future, and to award funding to 66 priority implementation projects that range from upgrading or removing high-risk dams and culverts to investing in Environmental Justice communities.”

Through this latest round of funding, 93% of Massachusetts cities and towns, or 328 municipalities, are now enrolled in the MVP program. The program pairs local leadership and knowledge with a significant investment of resources and funding from the Commonwealth to address ongoing climate change impacts, such as inland flooding, storms, sea level rise, and extreme temperatures. Of these funds, $20.6 million was awarded to 66 cities, towns, or regional partnerships to implement projects that build local resilience to climate change in the Commonwealth’s fifth round of MVP Action Grant funding. Additionally, $400,000 was awarded to 16 towns to pursue a community led planning process to identify vulnerabilities to climate change and priority actions. When complete, these municipalities will be eligible for the next round of implementation funding.

“The MVP program has been recognized as a national model for building climate resiliency through strong state and local partnerships, and we are proud to have enrolled 93% of the municipalities in Massachusetts in this critical effort,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides. “Every region in Massachusetts experienced extreme weather throughout the summer, including excessive heat, record precipitation, and flooding, and the MVP program offers vital technical and financial assistance to help municipalities address vulnerabilities and create stronger, more liveable climate resilient communities.”

The $21 million announced today will go towards MVP Planning Grants and Action Grants. Planning Grants support communities in working with a state-certified technical assistance provider to lead a community-wide planning workshop to identify key climate-related hazards, vulnerabilities and strengths, develop adaptation actions, and prioritize next steps. Results of the workshops and planning efforts inform existing local plans, grant applications, and policies. Communities are then eligible for competitive MVP Action Grant funding to implement priority on-the-ground projects. Projects are focused on proactive strategies to address climate change impacts and may include retrofitting and adapting infrastructure, actions to invest in and protect environmental justice communities and improve public health, detailed vulnerability assessments or design and engineering studies, stormwater upgrades, dam retrofits and removals, culvert upgrades, drought mitigation, energy resilience, and projects that focus on implementing nature-based solutions such as wetland restoration and floodplain protection.

“The grant allows Easthampton to act on our deep commitment to a resilient, environmentally aware ecosystem,” said Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle.The Cherry Street project serves as a model for future grants.”

"These grants provide critical funding to Easthampton, Southwick, and communities throughout our region for initiatives that focus on the consequential impacts of climate change,” said State Senator John Velis (D - Westfield). “Projects funded by the MVP program, like the Cherry Street restoration in Easthampton, allow our municipalities to address local climate hazards and build a more resilient and environmentally friendly infrastructure."

“I am very excited that Easthampton is receiving this MVP Action Grant,” said State Representative Dan Carey (D - Easthampton).This grant for Cherry Street’s green infrastructure and slope restoration construction is a perfect example of the partnership between state and municipal government.  The state funding from this grant will help to make necessary improvements in our community.  It is crucial that we address climate change on the local level and this project will make the area more resilient to ongoing and future climate change impacts.”



The following communities will receive funding to complete the MVP planning process in 2021-2022: 

Applicant

MVP Program Region

Total Award

Boylston

Central

$20,000

Clarksburg

Berkshires & Hilltowns

$15,000

Egremont

Berkshires & Hilltowns

$40,000

Hawley

Berkshires & Hilltowns

$27,000

Huntington

Berkshires & Hilltowns

$38,000

Ludlow

Greater Connecticut River Valley

$31,000

Millville

Central

$27,000

Oxford

Central

$26,900

Raynham

Southeast

$15,000

Savoy

Berkshires & Hilltowns

$15,000

Southbridge

Greater Connecticut River Valley

$22,000

Tolland

Berkshires & Hilltowns

$27,000

Tyringham

Berkshires & Hilltowns

$20,000

Warren

Greater Connecticut River Valley

$26,895

Webster

Central

$25,000

West Bridgewater

Southeast

$22,000

Total (16)

 

Total: $397,795

 

The following communities were awarded Action Grants: 

Applicant

Project Title

Grant Award

Acton & Acton-Boxborough Regional School District

Climate Action Plan and Electrification Roadmap

$157,940

Andover

Shawsheen River Watershed Land Conservation Planning and Prioritization for Climate Resilience and Environmental Justice

$131,700

Ashfield

Baptist Corner Road Stream Crossing Ecological Improvements

$448,600

Athol

Greening Lord Pond Plaza Phase 2

$213,630

Belchertown

Land Conservation and Restoration of the Scarborough Brook Headwaters for Climate Resilience

$480,025

Belmont

Stormwater Flood Reduction and Climate Resilience Capital Improvement Plan

$195,000

Bolton & Clinton

Nashua River Communities Resilient Lands Management Project

$302,691

Braintree

Smith Beach Green Infrastructure Project

$47,500

Bridgewater

High Street Dam Removal

$750,000

Buckland, Ashfield, & Hawley

Watershed-Based Assessment and Climate Resiliency Plan for Clesson Brook

$100,117

Burlington

Vine Brook Watershed and Urban Heat Island Assessment

$108,500

Chelsea

Battery Storage System and Solar at Chelsea City Hall

$624,000

Conway

South River Flood Resiliency Project

$191,200

Deerfield

Healthy Soils, Green Infrastructure Policy and Climate Resiliency Public Engagement in Deerfield

$40,951

Dennis

Pound Pond, Dennis- Flood Mitigation and Storm Drainage Improvements

$120,010

Easthampton

Cherry Street Green Infrastructure and Slope Restoration Construction

$2,000,000

Everett & Chelsea

Island End River Flood Resilience Project

$716,500

Falmouth

Conceptual Design of Flood-Resiliency Improvements for Sewer Infrastructure

$104,040

Fitchburg

Bolstering Public and Private Action to Improve Flood Resilience in Baker Brook

$173,350

Foxborough

Advancing Green Infrastructure in Foxborough for Enhancing Climate Resilience through Planning and Design

$166,543

Framingham

Walnut Street Neighborhood Flood Mitigation - Design & Permitting

$269,030

Gloucester

Gloucester Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP)

$69,890

Groveland

Johnson Creek Watershed Flood Resiliency Project

$82,186

Hampden & East Longmeadow

Hampden/East Longmeadow Infrastructure Assessment and Prioritization of Nature-Based Solutions and Public Outreach and Participation

$389,092

Haverhill

Little River Dam Removal and River Restoration

$475,000

Ipswich

Ipswich River Sewer Interceptor Bank Biostabilization Project

$117,803

Lenox, Pittsfield, Stockbridge, & New Marlborough

Housatonic Stream Restoration for Regional Flood Resilience Project

$295,190

Leominster

Monoosnoc Brook Bank Stabilization Project

$167,625

Leverett

Shutesbury Road Culvert Enhancement

$258,750

Lynn

Barry Park Green Infrastructure Project

$147,367

Lynnfield

Richardson Green Conservation Acquisition

$1,638,750

Malden

Malden River Works for Waterfront Equity and Resilience

$354,600

Marlborough

Regulatory Updates to Support Climate Resiliency

$56,250

Marshfield

Marshfield Long-term Coastal Resiliency Plan

$78,030

Mashpee

Watershed-based Solutions to Increase Resilience to Harmful Algal Blooms in Santuit Pond in a Warmer and Wetter Climate

$131,691

Melrose & Upper Mystic Communities

Working Across Boundaries to Minimize Stormwater Flood Damage in the Upper Mystic Watershed

$108,655

Melrose, Malden, & Medford

Melrose, Malden, and Medford Building Resilience, Efficiency, and Affordability Project

$101,108

Mendon

Mendon Town Hall Campus Green Stormwater Infrastructure: Design through Contractor Mobilization

$169,905

Methuen & Lawrence

Searles Pond/Bloody Brook Corridor Resilience Planning

$80,250

Millbury

Armory Village Green Infrastructure Project- Phase II

$366,000

Millis

Flood Resiliency Plan

$170,000

Natick, Framingham, & Ashland

Building Relationships and Resilience with MetroWest Environmental Justice Neighborhoods

$127,150

Natick & Charles River Watershed Communities

Building Resilience Across the Charles River Watershed Phase II

$233,085

New Bedford

New Bedford Green Infrastructure Master Strategy and Implementation Roadmap

$432,440

Northbridge

Carpenter Road Causeway Alternatives Analysis and Source Water Green Infrastructure Protection Plan

$146,100

Norwood

Traphole Brook Flood Prevention and Stream Restoration Project

$682,421

Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, West Tisbury, Edgartown, Chilmark, Aquinnah, & Gosnold

Martha's Vineyard and Gosnold Climate Action Plan, Phase II

$173,843

Peabody & Salem

Peabody-Salem Resilient North River Corridor & Riverwalk Project

$150,000

Pepperell

Sucker Brook Continuity Restoration

$492,030

Plymouth

Subterranean Resiliency: Predicting, Assessing and Mitigating Saltwater Intrusion

$304,915

Revere

Gibson Park Resiliency Design and Permitting

$161,516

Sandwich

Dynamic Adaptation Pathways and Prioritized Resilient Design Solutions for Historic Sandwich Village

$79,789

Saugus

Saugus Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan

$74,500

South Hadley

Queensville Dam Removal Feasibility Study and Buttery Brook Watershed Enhancement

$125,000

Southborough

Planimetric Impervious Surface Mapping Project

$22,875

Southwick

Klaus Anderson Road/Johnson Brook Replacement Culvert and Green Infrastructure

$728,300

Springfield

Trees, Homes, and People/ Creating a More Resilient Living Environment

$2,000,000

Tewksbury

Stormwater Analysis for Nature-Based Solutions and Community Co-Benefits

$193,935

Waltham

Bringing Climate Resilience to Beaver Brook

$362,000

Watertown

Equity-Based Community Greening Program

$94,240

Wellfleet

Herring River Restoration Project Phase 1 Final Construction Plans and Bid Specifications

$589,960

Wellfleet, Truro, Eastham, Brewster, Barnstable, & Bourne

Regional Low Lying Road Assessment and Feasibility

$236,258

Westford

Westford Tree and Invasive Species Inventory and Management Plan with Tree Planting Plan

$79,200

Westhampton

Resilience Building through Community Visioning and Planning

$237,516

Winthrop, Boston, & Revere

Belle Isle Marsh: Evaluating Nature Based Solutions to Protect Abutting Communities and Critical Shorebird Habitat from Coastal Inundation

$145,307

Wrentham

Climate Resilience and Low Impact Development Regulatory Integration and Green Infrastructure Master Plan

$113,344

Total (66)

 

$20,585,193

In June 2021, the Baker-Polito Administration re-filed its plan to immediately put to use part of Commonwealth’s direct federal aid from the American Rescue Plan Act to support key priorities including housing and homeownership, economic development and local downtowns, job training and workforce development, health care, and infrastructure. As part of the Administration’s proposal to jump-start the Commonwealth’s economic recovery and support residents hardest-hit by COVID-19, such as lower-wage workers and communities of color, Governor Baker would direct $900 million to key energy and environmental initiatives, including $300 million to support climate resilient infrastructure. The funding would be distributed through programs like EEA’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program and would fund priority climate adaptation projects and investments aligned with the priorities identified in the state hazard mitigation and climate adaptation plan. Investments that would be supported through the funding include the acquisition of land specifically targeted at reducing flooding and the Urban Heat Island Effect.

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