WA - Olympia Sea Level Rise team eyes NOAA climate grant - Seeking $75 million funding for coastal resilience projects
The Sea Level Rise Collaborative Team is eyeing a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant, potentially providing the region with $15 million to $75 million to bolster Olympia’s resilience against extreme weather.
The NOAA Climate Resilience Regional Challenge is a federal funding opportunity with $575 million available in funds. The grant program focuses on collaborative approaches that address risk reduction, regional collaboration, and equity and building enduring capacity for adaptation.
At the Sea Level Rise Collaborative-Executive Committee Meeting on Friday, September 1, Olympia Climate Program Manager Dr. Pamela Braff said they already submitted a letter of intent and hoped to be invited to submit a full grant application. The Sea Level Rise Collaborative includes Olympia, Port of Olympia and LOTT Clean Water Alliance.
Braff explained that financial support under NOAA’s Track Two Pathway would be utilized to implement various adaptation actions. These actions may include acquiring vulnerable land; building natural infrastructure; hybrid green (natural) and gray (structural construction activities; strengthening or protecting public access to coastal natural resources; building the region's capacity for ongoing actions that increase resilience; planning and preparing for community-led relocation and updating state and local codes and policies.
