The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) Coastal Program has announced five new projects to promote flood hazard preparedness and resilience in New Hampshire communities along the Atlantic Coast and Great Bay estuary.
Together, these projects mobilize over $521,000 to focus on municipal and state coastal resilience planning and make available dedicated resources and technical assistance to New Hampshire’s coastal zone municipalities.
The largest project, a Project of Special Merit grant competitively awarded to the Coastal Program by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office for Coastal Management, will provide funding for the Coastal Program and partner organizations to assist 10 Great Bay municipalities to carry out their coastal resilience planning and outreach priorities.
In addition to that effort, the Coastal Program selected four innovative projects for funding through its 2016 Design Solutions for Coastal Resilience grant opportunity.
This funding announcement comes three months after the New Hampshire Coastal Risk and Hazards Commission released its final report and recommendations entitled, Preparing New Hampshire for Projected Storm Surge, Sea-Level Rise and Extreme Precipitation.
The bipartisan Commission unanimously adopted the final report, which summarizes New Hampshire’s vulnerabilities to projected coastal flood hazards and puts forth essential, science-based guidance for the State and 17 coastal zone municipalities to minimize flood risk and enhance resilience.
The Commission’s 35 recommendations and associated actions focus on improving science-based understanding of current and future coastal flood risks, completing detailed assessments of coastal vulnerabilities and implementing actions that protect and adapt New Hampshire’s coastal economy, built structures and facilities, natural resources, and recreational, cultural and historical resources.