State Awards $11.1 Million in Climate Change Funding To Cities And Towns09:17AM / Thursday, September 17, 2020 | |
FITCHBURG, Mass. — Continuing investment in climate change resiliency, the Baker-Polito Administration announced $11.1 million in grants to cities and towns through the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program.
This announcement brings total state investment in climate change resilience through the MVP program to over $44 million since 2017. The popular grant and designation program 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. The grants were announced by Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito in Fitchburg as part of the Baker-Polito Administration's celebration of Climate Week in the Commonwealth.
"Projects like those receiving awards today are not only critical for the resilience of our communities, but also create local jobs, contribute to the economy, and avoid future costs," Governor Charlie Baker said. "As we celebrate Climate Week, I am proud of the $44 million we've invested since 2017 through MVP, and we look forward to continuing the strong partnerships we've built with cities and towns to prepare for climate change impacts throughout the Commonwealth."
"The continued success of the MVP program shows how important building resiliency in Massachusetts communities is to our municipal partners and residents," Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito said. "We are thrilled to reach 89 percent participation in this voluntary program and are excited to continue to invest in efforts to build climate resilience in the Commonwealth."
With this announcement, 89% of Massachusetts cities and towns, or 312 municipalities, are now enrolled in the MVP program, which pairs local leadership and knowledge with a significant investment of resources and funding from the Commonwealth to address ongoing climate change impacts like sea-level rise, inland flooding, storms, and extreme temperatures. The program was created was created in 2017 as part of Governor Baker's Executive Order 569.
The $11.1 million announced will go towards MVP Planning Grants and Action Grants. Planning Grants support communities in working with a state-certified technical assistance provider to lead a community-wide planning workshop to identify key climate-related hazards, vulnerabilities and strengths, develop adaptation actions, and prioritize next steps. Results of the workshops and planning efforts inform existing local plans, grant applications, and policies.
Communities are then eligible for competitive MVP Action Grant funding to implement priority on-the-ground projects. Projects are focused on proactive strategies to address climate change impacts and may include retrofitting and adapting infrastructure, actions to invest in and protect environmental justice communities and improve public health, detailed vulnerability assessments or design and engineering studies, stormwater upgrades, dam retrofits and removals, culvert upgrades, drought mitigation, energy resilience, mosquito control initiatives, and that focus on implementing nature-based solutions such as wetland restoration and floodplain protection.
"In this fourth round of MVP Action Grants, we are seeing the continuation of many projects we helped fund in the planning stage that are now ready for on-the-ground implementation," Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides said. "We are pleased to see the hard work of our municipal partners pay off in this way and are also excited for the many new communities that are just starting to take action to build resilience to climate change through the MVP planning process."
The following communities will receive funding to complete the MVP planning process in 2020-2021:
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Applicant
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MVP Program Region
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Grant Award
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Ashburnham
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Central
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$22,000
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Ashby
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Central
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$27,000
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Berkley
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Southeast
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$15,000
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Carlisle
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Northeast
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$27,000
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Cheshire
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Berkshires & Hilltowns
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$32,000
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Chester
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Berkshires & Hilltowns
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$26,500
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Foxborough
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Greater Boston
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$17,000
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Granville
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Berkshires & Hilltowns
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$27,000
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Hampden
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Greater Connecticut River Valley
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$40,000
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Hardwick
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Greater Connecticut River Valley
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$20,000
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Heath
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Berkshires & Hilltowns
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$27,000
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Holbrook
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Greater Boston
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$32,000
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Hopedale
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Central
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$15,000
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Leyden
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Greater Connecticut River Valley
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$27,000
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Mount Washington
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Berkshires & Hilltowns
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$20,000
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New Braintree
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Greater Connecticut River Valley
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$20,000
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Otis
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Berkshires & Hilltowns
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$20,000
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Petersham
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Greater Connecticut River Valley
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$20,000
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Richmond
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Berkshires & Hilltowns
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$20,000
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Stockbridge
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Berkshires & Hilltowns
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$38,000
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Upton
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Central
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$20,000
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West Brookfield
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Greater Connecticut River Valley
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$20,000
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Westhampton
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Berkshires & Hilltowns
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$20,000
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Whitman
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Greater Boston
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$29,000
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Wilbraham
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Greater Connecticut River Valley
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$32,000
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Wilmington
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Northeast
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$31,000
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Total (26)
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$644,500
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The following communities were awarded Action Grants:
Applicant
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Project Title
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Grant Award
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Agawam
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Agawam Stormwater Master Plan
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$216,750
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Arlington & Resilient Mystic Collaborative
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Wicked Hot Mystic
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$186,200
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Athol & North Quabbin Community Coalition
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Lord Pond Plaza Improvement Project
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$117,760
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Auburn
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Leesville Pond Water Quality Protection and Community-Wide Resiliency Improvements
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$209,895
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Belchertown
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Enhancing Water Supply Reliability: Resilient Water Storage and Water Conservation – Design & Implementation
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$698,356
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Blandford
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Resilient Community-Driven Master Plan + Resilient Regulatory Work
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$102,824
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Bolton, Harvard, & Devens
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Apple Country Ecological Climate Resiliency and Carbon Planning Assessment
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$250,000
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Boston
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City of Boston Heat Resilience Planning Study
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$280,070
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Braintree
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Monatiquot River Restoration – Construction
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$750,000
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Cambridge & Metro Mayors
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Building Resilience to Climate Driven Heat in Metro Boston
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$268,820
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Chelsea
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Urban Heat Island Mitigation Project
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$262,996
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East Longmeadow
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Comprehensive Master Plan
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$84,833
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Easthampton
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Green Infrastructure Planning and Resiliency Design for Cherry Street
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$175,957
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Fall River, Dighton, Somerset, & Swansea
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Regional Emergency Water System Interconnectivity Analysis
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$100,650
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Fitchburg
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John Fitch Highway – A Resilient Road Corridor
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$271,787
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Granby
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Resilient Regulatory Work and Refocusing on Climate Resilience Pathway in Master Plan
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$34,272
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Great Barrington
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Climate Action, Resilience, and Equity Great Barrington (CARE GB)
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$70,400
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Haverhill
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Little River Dam Removal Feasibility Study
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$129,693
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Holyoke
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Holyoke Urban Forest Equity Plan
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$135,032
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Lakeville, Middleborough, Freetown, Rochester, Taunton, & New Bedford
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Assawompset Ponds Complex Watershed Management and Climate Action Plan
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$93,236
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Lawrence
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Flood Study and DPW Yard Adaptation Plan
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$213,418
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Leominster
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Monoosnoc Brook Bank Stabilization Project
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$200,661
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Lexington & Resilient Mystic Collaborative
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Upper Mystic River Watershed Regional Stormwater Wetlands
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$670,000
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Littleton
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Watershed Protection for Climate Resiliency- Brown's Woods Acquisition
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$763,050
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Lowell
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Claypit Brook Climate Resilience Stormwater Management Capital Improvement Plan
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$138,000
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Lynn
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Strawberry Brook Green Infrastructure Implementation
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$199,090
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Malden
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Malden River Works
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$150,015
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Medford
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Conceptualization and Community Building for Equitable, Community-Driven Resilience Hubs in Medford
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$202,485
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Milford
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Green Stormwater Infrastructure in Milford Town Park
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$419,123
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Millbury
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Armory Village Green Infrastructure Project - Phase II
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$125,600
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Natick & Charles River Watershed
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Building Resilience Across the Charles River Watershed
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$264,171
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Newburyport
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Resilient Critical Infrastructure: Adapting a Wastewater Treatment Facility, Underground Electric Lines, and Public Rail Trail to Future Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge
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$1,000,000
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Plympton
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Building a Municipal Resilience Portfolio: Assessment of Critical Land in the Winnetuxet River Corridor
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$41,929
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Provincetown
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Permit Level Design of the Ryder Street Outfall Relocation and Drainage Improvements
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$70,465
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Revere
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Coastal Resilience Feasibility Study for the Point of Pines and Riverside Area
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$210,689
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Salisbury
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Resilient Rings Island: Preventing a Neighborhood from Being Stranded by Flooding
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$250,000
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South Hadley
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Climate Resilient South Hadley
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$105,000
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Springfield
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People-Focused Resilient Redesign and Retrofits for Community/Civic Infrastructure and Critical Facilities
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$210,422
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Stow & Hudson
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Assessing the Health of Lake Boon – A Key to Climate Resiliency in Stow & Hudson, MA – and Beyond
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$154,000
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Williamstown & Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership
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Mohawk Trail Woodland Partnership Forest Stewardship, Resilience, and Climate Adaptation
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$164,575
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Windsor
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River Road Site 1 Culvert
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$460,000
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Total (41)
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$10,452,224
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MVP supports implementation of the State Hazard Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Plan,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, an inter-agency team led by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs 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. The RMAT is also developing climate resilience standards and guidelines for state agencies and a project climate risk screening tool for the annual capital planning process and state-funded infrastructure grant programs to ensure that investments are climate-smart. These tools are anticipated to be launched on ResilientMA.org in early 2021.
"I am proud to be able to partner with the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Secretary Theoharides to promote the MVP program in the Worcester Middlesex District," State Senator Dean Tran said. “The grants issued under this program by the Baker-Polito Administration will tremendously assist cities and towns in planning for climate change resiliency and implementing priority projects."
"The Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program is vital to helping cities and towns address climate change at the local level," State Rep. Natalie Higgins said. "I am excited that Leominster secured funding for the Monoosnoc Brook Bank Stabilization Project through the MVP Program this year."
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