Bridgeport, Norwalk and Stamford receive state funds for climate resiliency projects
The inaugural round of grants allocated by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection”™s (DEEP) Climate Resilience Fund has resulted in $8.8 million distributed across 21 climate resilience plans and projects in 17 municipalities and councils of governments.
“Investing in reducing climate-changing emissions and preparing for future extreme storms and events by building community resilience is critical to Connecticut”™s future, particularly for our most vulnerable communities,” DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said. “Through this funding, DEEP is providing planning support to municipalities and nonprofits, and building the state”™s resilience project pipeline to ensure our communities are well-positioned to compete for the historic federal funding available, that projects get built, and that our communities are better protected from climate-related impacts.”
The fund”™s climate resilience planning grants are awarded to four Fairfield County recipients. The community-based Groundwork Bridgeport Inc. is receiving $249,816 for the development of a neighborhood-level plan to reduce heat island impacts in the East Side neighborhood. The plan will identify cool corridors (travel routes) for reducing urban heat island effect and the team will also coordinate with the City of Bridgeport on street upgrades to support cooling.
The City of Bridgeport is receiving $250,000 to conduct a comprehensive climate risk and vulnerability assessment, and develop a prioritized list of strategies, actions, and projects. The city will also identify funding opportunities, assess municipal level match funding, and identify implementation strategies.
The City of Norwalk is receiving $246,283 to develop a citywide flood resilience workplan to prioritize and execute resilience strategies, related land-use planning, and identify site-specific projects to mitigate climate impacts. The plan will also provide a framework of nature-based solutions that, if implemented will increase community resilience and improve water quality.
The City of Stamford is receiving $210,750 to develop a neighborhood-level plan for the Downtown, West Side, and Waterside neighborhoods for addressing heat risk and resilience, including identify longer-term planning, policy, and regulatory strategies, and develop near-term actions to complement ongoing emergency preparedness and response efforts.
Stamford”™s municipal government is also receiving two grants for resilience project development grants: $481,125 will be used to conduct modeling, identify alternatives, and develop conceptual designs for reducing stormwater flooding in the Cummings Pond watershed in the Cove and East Side neighborhoods, and a separate $598,125 will finance flooding issues in the Toilsome Brook watershed, specifically in the Ridgeway-Bullshead, Turn of River-Newfield, and Glenbrook-Belltown neighborhoods and also develop concept-level flood mitigation recommendations that will include drainage system improvements, stream daylighting, and relocating or elevating structures and infrastructure.