The Virginia Institute of Marine Science will get nearly $835,000 in federal funds to support “nature-based infrastructure” to help coastal Virginia counter and recover from flood events.
The money is part of the competitive Coastal Resilience Grants program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to help vulnerable communities protect against storms and extreme weather. The program requires a 50 percent match from a nonfederal source, which brings the project total to more than $1.25 million. The matching funds will come from VIMS, the College of William and Mary Coastal Policy Center and The Wetlands Watch.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe said the funding will provide critical assistance to the state’s “most at-risk communities.”
“The coastal regions of the commonwealth continually face threats of flooding and are especially at risk during disasters,” McAuliffe said in a statement.
Hampton Roads is experiencing the second-highest rate of sea level rise in the country, behind Louisiana. Brian Moran, the state’s chief resilience officer and secretary of public safety and homeland security, called the safety of Virginians and infrastructure in coastal regions a “major concern.”
“These funds will assist localities in implementing successful natural infrastructure plans, including water quality improvements and flood-risk reduction,” Moran said.
At VIMS, Mark Luckenbach, associate dean of research and advisory services, said the grant will enable them to inventory resources and coastal flood risks in the coastal zone, develop designs and identify co-benefits of using “natural and nature-based features to build resilience to flooding.”
VIMS will partner on the project with the Virginia Coastal Policy Center, The Wetlands Watch, Albemarle-Pamlico National Partnership and several state agencies. The marine institute, based in Gloucester Point, is affiliated with the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.
U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine noted that every dollar invested in resilient infrastructure saves up to $4 in future losses from a weather disaster.
“Each year, coastal Virginia sees major storms and flooding,” Warner and Kaine said in a joint statement. “And it’s wise to invest in resilient infrastructure upfront — not just after an extreme weather event — and to put the expertise of leading scientists at places like VIMS to good use.”
Nature-based infrastructure includes tidal wetlands and living shorelines that can help to blunt and even absorb the effects of rising seas and recurrent flooding.
According to NOAA, VIMS will use the funds to develop informative tools to allow planners in 37 coastal counties to determine where best to install natural infrastructure and to better understand other benefits, such as improved water quality.
“From restoring estuaries that provide natural shoreline protection to reducing coastal flooding impacts, the projects supported by these grants assist in ensuring the safety and vibrancy of our nation’s coastal communities and economies,” Russell Callender, NOAA’s assistant administrator for the National Ocean Service, said in a statement announcing the grants.
For 2017, NOAA recommended funding 19 research projects in 17 states and Puerto Rico totaling $13.8 million. Those projects would restore 1,100 acres of habitat and help 350 coastal communities prepare to withstand the impacts of extreme weather.
NOAA received more than 167 proposals seeking more than $135 million. A review panel of coastal management experts and scientists from across the country chose which projects to recommend for funding.
NOAA’s program has funded coastal resilience projects since 2015.
Dietrich can be reached by phone at 757-247-7892.
