Press Release: 8/31/2022

Baker-Polito Administration Awards Over $32 Million in Climate Change Funding to Cities and Towns Bringing Total Investment to $100 Million

Baker-Polito Administration Awards Over $32 Million in Climate Change Funding to Cities and Towns Bringing Total Investment to $100 Million



97% of Communities Now Participating in Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:



8/30/2022




  • Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs



WILLIAMSBURG — The Baker-Polito Administration today announced $32.8 million in grants to cities and towns through the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ (EEA) Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program, continuing its historic investment in building climate change resilience throughout the Commonwealth. The grant program, which was launched in 2017 as part of Governor Baker’s Executive Order 569, provides communities with funding and technical support to identify climate hazards, develop strategies to improve resilience, and implement priority actions to adapt to climate change. With today’s announcement, the Administration has now awarded $100 million to 97% of the Commonwealth’s cities and towns through the MVP program.



“Since we started the program in 2017, the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program has played a large role in helping cities and towns across the state fight climate change by investing $100 million in 341 municipalities, or 97% of the Commonwealth’s communities,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “With this latest round of MVP funding, we are making the single largest investment in the program by directing nearly $33 million towards critical climate resilience projects throughout Massachusetts.”



“This is the sixth round of MVP funding, and we are making a major push forward by funding more climate resilience implementation projects than ever before,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “It has been rewarding to see projects move through the phases from planning to design to construction and implementation over the last five years, and we are starting to see the tangible difference these projects are making in our communities as we prepare for a changing climate.”



The MVP Program pairs local leadership and knowledge with a significant investment of resources and funding from the Commonwealth to address ongoing climate change impacts, such as inland flooding, increase in storm events, sea level rise, drought, and extreme temperatures. Of the $32.8 million in grants announced, $32.6 million was awarded to 73 municipal projects that build local resilience to climate change in the Commonwealth’s sixth round of MVP Action Grant funding. Additionally, $157,700 was awarded to six towns to pursue a community-led planning process to identify vulnerabilities to climate change and priority actions. When complete, these municipalities will be eligible for the next round of implementation funding.



“Every year the real need for climate resilience funding becomes even more important for our municipal partners, who have remained steadfast in their commitment to the hard work of preparing their communities for climate change,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Beth Card. “It is extremely gratifying to see more dollars than ever before being put towards local projects, such as drought mitigation, stormwater and culvert upgrades, and land acquisitions, which will have numerous positive impacts on the state’s residents for many years to come.”



The following communities will receive funding to complete the MVP planning process:















































Grantee 



MVP Program Region 



Total Award 



Hancock 



Berkshires & Hilltowns 



$27,000 



Hanover 



Greater Boston 



$36,700 



Lee 



Berkshires & Hilltowns 



$27,000 



Middlefield 



Berkshires & Hilltowns 



$27,000 



Monroe 



Berkshires & Hilltowns 



$25,000 



West Stockbridge 



Berkshires & Hilltowns 



$15,000 



Total (6) 



 



Total: $157,700 




 



The following projects are receiving Action Grants: 






























































































































































































































































































































































































Grantee 



Project Title 



Grant Award 



Andover & Lawrence 



Shawsheen River Nature-Based Flood Resilience 



 $271,705  



Ayer & Devens 



Ayer-Devens Main Streets Regional Pocket Forests Pilot Project  



 $282,624  



Belchertown 



Scarborough Brook Watershed Improvements 



 $139,500  



Berlin 



Horseshoe Pond Acquisition Project  



 $874,268  



Beverly 



Bass River District Resilience Plan  



 $200,000  



Boxford 



Increasing Watershed Scale Resiliency in Boxford Through Culvert Upgrades in the Howlett Brook Watershed 



 $265,900  



Brockton 



Trout Brook Flood Resilience 



 $157,300  



Brookline 



Climate Crisis Action and Resilience Plan Update 



 $75,000  



Cambridge 



Cambridge Community Corps Climate Readiness Initiative 



 $150,000  



Chatham, Provincetown, Harwich, Mashpee, & Falmouth 



Regional Low Lying Road Assessment and Feasibility 



 $205,479  



Chatham Brewster, Harwich, & Orleans 



Pleasant Bay Climate Adaptation Action Plan 



 $292,710  



Chelsea, Revere, & Winthrop 



Envisioning Resilience in the North Suffolk Region through Community Preparedness 



 $87,500  



Chelsea 



Eastern Ave. Alternatives Analysis + Conceptual Design  



 $333,492  



Chelsea, Somerville, Everett, Malden, Revere, & Winthrop 



Equitable Coastal Resilience and Redevelopment in Lower Mystic  



 $556,000  



Chester, Blandford, & Middlefield 



Evaluating & Planning for Resilient Rural Dirt Roads 



 $317,550  



Dedham & Neponset Watershed Communities 



Neponset Watershed Regional Adaptation Strategy and Flood Model 



 $389,457  



Dennis 



Pound Pond - Flood Mitigation and Storm Drainage Improvements Dennis, Massachusetts - Phase 2 Final Design  



 $73,628  



Dracut 



Design and Permitting for Collinsville Dam Removal Project 



 $174,000  



Easthampton 



Emerald Place Resiliency 



 $117,800  



Essex 



Apple Street Roadbed Elevation and Culvert Replacement Project 



 $222,037  



Everett & Chelsea 



Island End River Flood Resilience Project 



 $2,998,600  



Everett, Malden, Chelsea, & Arlington 



Beat the Heat: Wicked Cool Outdoors / Venza el Calor: Súper Fresco Afuera 



 $339,915  



Fairhaven 



Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment 



 $40,000  



Fall River & Westport 



South Watuppa Pond Green Infrastructure Blue Water Restoration 



 $379,875  



Fall River 



Fall River CSO Treatment Study 



 $1,163,000  



Fitchburg 



Generating Resiliency in Downtown Fitchburg with Nature-Based Solutions  



 $109,000  



Framingham 



Walnut Street Neighborhood Flood Mitigation -Permits & Easements 



 $155,000  



Great Barrington 



Lake Mansfield Recreation Area Improvements Phase 1 



 $992,500  



Hatfield 



Climate-Smart Comprehensive Planning for Hatfield 



 $283,900  



Hudson, Framingham, & Natick 



SuAsCo Natural Climate Solutions Project 



 $314,393  



Hull 



Hull Climate Adaption Roadmap; Alternatives Analysis for the Hampton Circle Area 



 $198,624  



Lincoln 



Town of Lincoln Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (L-CAP) Proposal 



 $100,000  



Longmeadow 



Toward the New Normal: Envisioning an Inclusive & Resilient Longmeadow 



 $235,555 



Lowell 



Resilient Urban Forest Master Plan and Urban Heat Island Assessment 



 $93,000  



Malden 



Malden River Works for Waterfront Equity and Resilience 



 $200,550  



Mashpee 



Increasing Resilience to Harmful Algal Blooms in Santuit Pond Stormwater Retrofit Implementation - Phase 1 



 $469,037  



Mattapoisett, Fairhaven, Marion, Rochester, & Acushnet 



Mattapoisett River Valley Water Supply Resilience Project 



 $4,500,000  



Medford 



Interconnected Resiliency Network & Resilient Communications 



 $416,738  



Medford 



Andrews School Resilient Emergency Shelter 



 $670,568  



Middleborough 



Picone Farm Preservation for Climate Resiliency, Flood Storage, Water Quality & Food Security 



 $1,364,325  



Monson 



Chicopee Brook Flood Resilience Improvements 



 $295,000  



Montague 



Incorporating Climate Resiliency into the Montague Comprehensive Plan 



 $80,000  



Monterey 



Enhancing Flood Resiliency Through the Evaluation and Redesign of Critical Infrastructure Along the Konkapot River - Phase II Final Design & Permitting 



 $124,071  



Natick & Charles River Watershed Communities 



Building Resilience Across the Charles River Watershed Phase III 



 $333,070  



New Bedford 



Kempton Street Corridor Green Infrastructure 



 $161,800  



Northampton 



Climate Resilient Downtown Affordable Housing 



 $921,300 



Oak Bluffs 



Vulnerability Assessment and Permit Level Design of Coastal Resilience Improvements for Dukes County Ave Pump Station 



 $69,529  



Plympton 



Preserving Turkey Swamp: A Keystone Goal 



 $502,500  



Reading & Mystic River Watershed Communities 



Maillet, Sommes, Morgan Constructed Stormwater Wetland  



 $2,116,578  



Revere 



Diamond Creek Catchment Improvements Investigation and Assessment 



 $235,509  



Revere, Saugus, Malden, Everett, & Lynn 



Regional Saugus River Watershed Vulnerability and Adaptation Study  



 $150,872  



Richmond & West Stockbridge 



Resilient Stormwater Action and Implementation Plan  



 $265,408  



Rowe, Heath, Shelburne, & Conway 



Community Driven Forest Climate Adaptation: Implementing the Forest Climate Resilience Program in the Mohawk Trail Woodland Partnership  



 $164,450  



Salem 



Collins Cove to Willows Resilience Study 



 $234,565  



Seekonk 



Attleboro Dye Works Dam Removal: Design & Permitting 



 $191,000  



Sherborn 



Sherborn's Climate Activation and Resilience Plan- A Model for Climate Mobilization for the MetroWest Region 



 $38,145  



Shrewsbury 



Regulatory Update for Sustainable Parking Requirements 



 $90,000  



Shrewsbury 



Climate Action and Resilience Plan  



 $100,000  



South Hadley 



Queensville Dam and Buttery Brook Restoration 



 $162,000  



Stoneham 



Stoneham High School Wetland Restoration 



 $108,700  



Stoughton 



Stoughton Town-wide Drainage Model, Vulnerability Assessment, and Adaptation Strategies to Mitigate Future Flooding 



 $218,175  



Stow 



Stow Acres North Acquisition and Climate Resilience Master Plan 



 $1,135,000  



Sutton 



Manchaug Village Water Resource Resiliency Action Plan 



 $75,000  



Templeton 



Old Royalston Road Culvert Replacement 



 $503,225  



Uxbridge 



Home Brew Dam and Whitin Pond Dam Removal 



 $185,450  



Waltham 



Designing a Resilient Chester Brook Corridor 



 $143,900  



Ware 



Muddy Brook Subwatershed Resiliency Master Plan 



 $42,740  



Whately 



Whately Energy Resilience and Education 



 $304,778  



Williamsburg 



Williamsburg Public Safety Complex 



 $1,831,137  



Woburn & Mystic River Watershed Communities 



Hurld Park - Heat Resilient Park 



 $271,425  



Worcester 



Drainage and Green Infrastructure Master Plan  



 $1,253,091  



Wrentham & Norfolk 



Eagle Dam Removal Phase II 



 $41,337  



Yarmouth 



Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Plan 



 $80,089  



Total: 73 



 



Total: $32,640,374 




 



“The MVP grant program is among the most relevant and the most effective in the Commonwealth,” said State Senator Jo Comerford (D-Northampton). “I'm absolutely delighted to see substantial funds flowing to western Massachusetts thanks to the stellar work of EEA officials and municipal leaders alike. I look forward to offering sustained support for this critical initiative.”



“We are witnessing the elevated impact of climate change in our small towns, including storms that wipe out culverts, bridges, and roads,” said State Senator Adam Hinds (D-Pittsfield). “I am proud of the relationship between the legislature and the administration to act forcefully in support of our municipalities that often struggle to keep up with demand.”



“Communities often struggle with figuring out how to stretch dollars to fund critical projects. The infusion of funds to Northampton, Williamsburg, and Hatfield in my district will go a long way to support projects that will help ensure these communities are climate ready,” said State Representative Lindsay Sabadosa (D-Northampton). “I am extremely grateful that the Commonwealth has acknowledged the importance of offering tangible support to these cities and towns today.”



As the MVP program reaches its five-year anniversary, EEA is formulating a process, trainings, and resources, called “MVP Planning 2.0,” for updating MVP plans and the priority actions identified within them. EEA is seeking to develop an updated process that is inclusive, engaging, equitable, collaborative, and actionable. The update process will take into account newly available climate change tools and projections, the ongoing Massachusetts Climate Assessment, data from the first iteration of MVP planning grants, and feedback from the many MVP stakeholders who have made the program a success to date. The revamped process and resources are expected to launch in Spring 2023.



Furthermore, MVP supports the implementation of the State Hazard Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Plan (SHMCAP), released in September 2018, which provided a national model of integrating hazard mitigation priorities with forward-looking climate change data and solutions. The plan is implemented within state government by the Resilient MA Action Team (RMAT), an inter-agency team led by EEA and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, and staffed by designated Climate Change Coordinators from each Executive Office. The Resilient MA Action Team provides guidance and decision-making for plan implementation, further refines priority actions, and ensures actions are integrated into agency practice and policy. Recently, the RMAT launched the Climate Resilience Design Standards Tool to integrate best available statewide climate change projections to inform climate resilient planning and design of infrastructure, buildings, and natural resource assets. This tool was used in the 2022 MVP Action Grant and Community One Stop for Growth application processes.



Currently, RMAT and EEA are developing the MA Climate Change Assessment, a statewide analysis detailing how Massachusetts people, environments, and infrastructure may be affected by climate change and related hazards through the end of the century. This assessment will directly inform the first five-year update to the SHMCAP, which will be released in Fall 2023.



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