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Community Resilience Planning in Coastal North Carolina

Community Resilience Planning in Coastal North Carolina. Sixth Annual Unifour Air Quality Conference June 15, 2012 Linda B. Rimer Ph.D. Background: Iowa Assistance. 2008 floods & tornadoes 2009 EPA & FEMA partner & provide smart growth assistance to 5 community.

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Community Resilience Planning in Coastal North Carolina

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  1. Community Resilience Planning inCoastal North Carolina Sixth Annual Unifour Air Quality Conference June 15, 2012 Linda B. Rimer Ph.D. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

  2. Background: IowaAssistance • 2008 floods & tornadoes • 2009 EPA & FEMA partner & provide smart growth assistance to 5 community U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

  3. FEMA-EPAMemorandum of Agreement • Incorporate sustainability and smart growth practices into hazard mitigation planning, and long term disaster recovery and hazards resilience into smart growth assistance http://www.epa.gov/dced/pdf/2011_0114_fema-epa-moa.pdf U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

  4. FEMA-EPAMemorandum of Agreement Four goals: • Enhanced agency coordination • EPA Smart Growth Program • FEMA Long-term Disaster Recovery Program • FEMA Mitigation Planning Program • Smart growth assistance 3. Community resilience & climate change adaptation 4. Cross training & joint training U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

  5. Background: Coastal Community Resilience Pilot Projects • Purpose: • Help communities use the best available data to determine how climate change might impact local land use and infrastructure investments • Develop strategies that reduce vulnerability to known hazards, build long-term community resilience, & provide economic, environmental, & social benefits. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

  6. Background: Coastal Community Resilience Pilot Projects • Identified North Carolina: abundant data, tools (iRISK), research • Held 2011 June scoping workshop • Advisory committee formed to support community selection U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

  7. Pilot Project Locations • Solicited proposals & selected 2 communities • New Bern • Wilmington U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

  8. Wilmington and New Bern, NC Both communities and surrounding regions are facing impacts from: Sea level rise More intense coastal storms Changes in precipitation Opportunity to integrate sustainable community and brownfield grants. Wilmington population 202,667 New Bern population 29,524 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

  9. Wilmington Pilot • Conduct a vulnerability assessment of select water and sewer infrastructure in the city’s service areas to potential flood risks posed by sea-level rise and more intense coastal storms associated with climate change. • Identify land use and infrastructure strategies for reducing exposure of future infrastructure to impacts of sea level rise based on assessed vulnerabilities; and • Identify approaches to integrate land use and infrastructure strategies into existing plans and policies and anticipated plan updates. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

  10. New Bern Pilot • Explore opportunities for utilizing sustainable community and green infrastructure approaches to mitigate and reduce vulnerability to flooding including those associated with sea level rise, • Identify barriers and opportunities within existing land use regulations to support sustainable community and green infrastructure solutions; • Increase consistency between the Craven County Hazard Mitigation Plan; local comprehensive plans and land development regulations; and • Improve public awareness and understanding of the vulnerability of the City to flooding including risks from sea level rise, and the role of land use and community design solutions in helping to mitigate that risk. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

  11. Project Partners Wilmington/New Hanover/Cape Fear Public Utility Authority New Bern FEMA EPA HQ, Region 4 & EPA Climate Ready Water Utilities NOAA NC Department of Public Safety Emergency Management Geospatial and Technology Management U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

  12. Current Status • Wilmington • Scope of work completed • Contractors on board • Kick off conference call • Workshop date in the fall • New Bern • Scope of work completed • Contractors on board • Kick off conference call • Workshop date August-September U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

  13. Agency Commitments Adaptation will require that the EPA anticipate and plan for future changes in climate and incorporate considerations of climate change into many of its programs, policies, rules and operations to ensure they are effective under future climatic conditions: Lisa Jackson, EPA Administrator When I talk about climate resilience, I’m talking about how we need to forcefully communicate the risk we face in not building resilience to climate change at the local level: W. Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

  14. Contacts Linda Rimer, US EPA: Rimer.Linda@epamail.epa.gov AdhirKackar, US EPA: kackar.adhir@epa.gov Sarah van der Schalie, NOAA: sarah.vanderschalie@noaa.gov U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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