Today Virginia Governor Ralph Northam released Virginia’s Coastal Resilience Master Plan, which aims to protect communities vulnerable to flooding and provides a roadmap for adapting to climate change. The master plan includes priority resiliency projects, financing strategies, and a plan for coordination among state, federal, and local governments. The plan builds on a framework issued last year and incorporates public comment from recent meetings across coastal Virginia.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation Virginia Executive Director Peggy Sanner issued this statement.
“Climate change, increasingly frequent storms, and sea level rise are already harming communities across Virginia and challenging the decades-long Chesapeake Bay restoration effort. The Coastal Resilience Master Plan is Virginia’s road map for adapting to the climate change era.
“Importantly, the plan prioritizes natural approaches to flooding, such as creating living shorelines of marsh grass to protect coastlines rather than using hardened riprap or bulkheads. These nature-based solutions help reduce pollution to waterways and benefit coastal ecosystems.
“Virginia’s resilience efforts must also lead to more work in communities where long-term disinvestment has increased vulnerability to flooding.
“With this plan, Governor Northam and his Administration have established a sound basis for a resilient Chesapeake Bay and coastal region that can continue to thrive in the coming years.”
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