WA Coastal Communities Receive $75.5M From NOAA to Prepare for Climate Change Impacts

Murray, Cantwell secured $575 million for NOAA’s new competitive grant program in the Inflation Reduction Act

Funding will help WA’s coastal regions build out climate-ready infrastructure, including roads & wastewater systems

WASHINGTON DC – Today, U.S Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (D, WA-06) announced that the State of Washington will receive $75,587,097 through two grants from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to help improve climate reliance of the state’s coastal communities.

The funds come from the NOAA Climate Resilience Regional Challenge, a competitive grant program established under the Sen. Cantwell-authored provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). 

“No one knows the impact of climate change on coastal communities more intimately than Washington state. Our coastlines, marine habitats, and the communities that call them home are absolutely central to Washington state’s economy and culture, which is why it was so important to me to secure resources to bolster Washington state’s climate resiliency when negotiating the Inflation Reduction Act. The over $75 million in funding announced today is going to restore marine habitats and shorelines, improve stormwater drainage, build a climate-informed workforce, and much more. These awards are going to make a big difference for those that call our coastlines home,” Dijo el senador Murray.

“Washington’s beloved coastlines are on the front lines of climate change. These infrastructure investments will make us more resilient – realigning State Route 112 near Neah Bay, restoring vital habitat along Puget Sound, improving stormwater drainage systems, and boosting shoreline recreational access,” Dijo el senador Cantwell. “These projects bring state, tribal, and local stakeholders together with other partners to better protect Washington’s coast and the Salish Sea for years to come.”

“This funding is a big deal for our region.  With 3,000 miles of coastline and more than 70,000 miles of rivers and waterways, our state is particularly prone to the threats posed by the climate crisis – including sea level rise, coastal erosion, and loss of vital habitats and ecosystems,” said Rep. Kilmer. “That’s why I am thrilled that NOAA is delivering new federal funding for the Washington Coastal Climate Resilience Initiative to help complete major projects across our region – like realigning SR112 on the Peninsula, restoring critical shoreline, improving stormwater drainage, and protecting and restoring important fish habitat. These transformational projects will create jobs, protect the environment, and make coastal communities more resilient.”

The two grants awarded in Washington state include:

$73,587,134 for The Washington State Coastal Climate Resilience Initiative: Accelerating Implementation of Twenty Years of Partnership Efforts

Over 20 years of foundational work by the Washington State Coastal Climate Resilience Partnership produced a shared, regional vision for improved climate resilience. This project consists of five transformational adaptation actions including executable projects that will result in habitat restoration, the realignment of State Route 112, shoreline restoration, and stormwater drainage improvements. Funds will also be used to advance project planning and design, grow an invigorated, climate-informed workforce, and strengthen regional coalitions that will advance integrated and equitable coastal management across Washington’s entire coastal zone. The Partnership is facilitated by the Department of Ecology’s Coastal Zone Management Program.  Project collaborators include the Washington State Department of Transportation, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington State Employment Security Department, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Samish Indian Nation, Tulalip Tribes, Makah Tribe, Snohomish County, Snohomish Conservation District, Pacific Conservation District, Washington Sea Grant, University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, Friends of the San Juans, and Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians.

$1,999,963 for King County

Washington’s Puget Sound basin is home to more than five million people and is the most densely populated region in the Pacific Northwest, supporting key urban centers including Seattle and Tacoma and 19 federally recognized Coast Salish Tribes. This project will enhance regional collaboration by providing staffing and programming support to the Puget Sound Climate Preparedness Collaborative, a network of local and county governments, tribes, regional agencies, and other organizations working to build community, economic, and environmental resilience to climate change. With this funding, the collaborative will strengthen local and regional capacity, partner with Coast Salish Tribes to increase regional understanding of climate change impacts, and establish a knowledge base of climate preparedness resources.

As Chair of the Appropriations Committee, Sen. Murray secured critical funding in the FY24 spending bills for coastal communities to boost climate resiliency; this included $34 million for the Tribal Climate Resilience Program to support tribes across Washington state and the entire country in combating the climate crisis. As Assistant Majority Leader in the last Congress,  Sen. Murray secured a historic $2.6 billion investment through the Inflation Reduction Act in climate resilience for coastal communities and habitat restoration along coastlines.  

As chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Sen. Cantwell authored and secured a historic $3.31 billion in IRA funding to build climate resilience and support coastal communities. As part of that effort Sen. Cantwell worked with the Department of Commerce and NOAA to create the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge competitive grant program and secure $575 million in funding for the program, which helps pay for infrastructure and habitat restoration projects in coastal communities and around the Great Lakes.  According to NOAA, last year saw the nation’s highest number of billion-dollar disasters in a calendar year, with an unprecedented 28 weather and climate disasters leading to a combined total of more than $93 billion in losses.  This program will help coastal communities that are grappling with the impacts of climate change increase their resilience to these extreme events.

In February of this year, Rep. Kilmer escrito a NOAA Administrator Dr. Richard Spinrad in support of the Washington State Coastal Climate Resilience Initiative. For years, Rep. Kilmer has advocated for increased federal funding for Tribal relocation and resilience efforts. His Tribal Coastal Resiliency Act aims to provide federal resources to coastal Native American Tribes, allowing Tribal governments to directly compete for Coastal Zone Management Grant Program grants, instead of relying on state prioritization. 

Low-lying areas across Washington state could be permanently underwater by 2050, including parts of Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia. In Grays Harbor County, more than 20% of the population is located in the 100-year floodplain, along with nine schools, three police stations, and three fire stations. Communities in these areas will benefit the most from technical assistance and coastal resiliency construction grants to help prepare for the threat of extreme weather and flooding associated with climate change.

The grants awarded in the State of Washington are two of 19 total Climate Resilience Regional Challenge grants awarded by NOAA today; a full list can be found AQUÍ.

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