Sen. Carper Highlights Federal Program to Help Coastal Communities Prepare for Extreme Weather

WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, underscored the ongoing need to help communities across the country prepare for extreme weather. As part of that effort, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced two new grant programs to help improve the resilience of our nation’s coastal communities to extreme weather events, climate hazards, and changing ocean conditions. The grants, which are separated into the National Ocean Service 2015 Regional Coastal Resilience Grant Program and NOAA’S Fisheries Coastal Ecosystem Resiliency Program, help state and local governments and organizations come up with plans to help coastal communities and ecosystems prepare for and recover from future or potential risks of extreme weather and other climate hazards.  

“Unfortunately, extreme weather appears to be the new norm, and we see its devastating impact across the country – from droughts to floods to wild fires to tornadoes to hurricanes,” Sen. Carper said. “Coastal communities and states, including my home state of Delaware, know all too well the toll extreme weather can have on our shoreline, property, economy, and lives. As the frequency and intensity of these events increases, we cannot afford to risk the damaging effects of being ill-prepared again and again. Extra planning, combined with strategic investments, can help mitigate the damage. The federal government must be a partner in this effort. These grant programs from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will help coastal communities make plans to protect themselves from the risks posed by extreme weather and climate change, and will help ensure those communities have access to the resources they need to put those plans into place. But in order to fully address this issue, it will take a government-wide effort and coordination among agencies, like NOAA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. I will continue to work with the Administration and agencies across the federal government to make sure we’re doing all that we can to protect our communities and save taxpayer dollars.”

For years, Sen. Carper has focused on efforts to help federal, state, and local governments find ways to address the increasing costs of extreme weather events and climate change. The senator has held hearings to focus on the federal government’s efforts to prepare for extreme weather events and explore opportunities to make our communities more resilient. Last year, as Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, he held the hearing “Extreme Weather Events: The Costs of Not Being Prepared.”

For further information about the grant programs, please visit the NOAA Fisheries Coastal Ecosystem Resiliency Grants webpage at http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/funding/coastalresiliency.html and the NOAA Ocean Service Regional Coastal Resilience Grant Program webpage at http://www.coast.noaa.gov/resilience-grant. To apply, please visit http://www.grants.gov/.

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