The destructive August flooding in Connecticut is just the latest in a string of severe weather events statewide in recent years brought on by climate change. Among the state’s key leaders addressing these challenges is Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Katie Dykes, who has spearheaded numerous efforts to build climate resilience statewide.
Dykes emphasized that every Connecticut town faces unique vulnerabilities, and the solutions must be tailored to their specific risks.
“It’s hard to pick just one [priority project],” said Dykes. “For each of our towns, what they need to focus on is going to be slightly different.”
A key initiative of DEEP in response to this is the Climate Resilience Fund, established in 2022. The fund helps municipalities across the state assess their climate risks and develop strategies to mitigate them.
“We awarded nearly $9 million to 21 different community projects for planning and risk assessment,” Dykes explained, highlighting the program’s goal to ensure communities not only identify their most pressing risks but also engage local stakeholders to prioritize projects.
Beyond identifying risks, DEEP’s approach aims to help municipalities access federal funds to implement their projects.
“We actually want to give towns funding to help them hire consultants, engineers, and even grant writers to apply for federal funding,” said Dykes.
Additionally, DEEP proposes sharing the local or state match required for federal grants to ease the financial burden on communities.
One other source of funding for climate resilience improvements would have been the passage of Senate Bill 11. However, lawmakers did not pass that bill through last session. While Dykes said she will support the bill should it ever get reintroduced, she is heartened by assorted other measures the state government has taken to help towns and cities improve their climate change resilience.
“There was a significant increase in bond authorization for the DEEP Climate Resilience Fund,” she noted, adding that $10 million has been authorized for a low-interest loan program to help municipalities with infrastructure projects aimed at mitigating storm-related risks.
Another innovative solution DEEP supports is stormwater authorities, which enable cities to incentivize property owners to reduce paved surfaces and implement stormwater management measures on their land. These authorities also provide municipalities with a revenue source to fund broader flood prevention projects.
“Cities like New London and New Britain have already adopted this approach,” Dykes said, highlighting its potential to manage stormwater more effectively.
This story was first published Oct. 8, 2024 by Connecticut Public.