Virginia Releases Coastal Resilience Framework, Next Step in A Statewide Strategy

Governor Northam announces master planning framework

Snapshot: The State of Virginia has developed a Master Planning Framework for its coastal region that will be the basis of a coordinated strategy for dealing with sea level rise and flooding. The Framework has basic principles outlined that will guide all state actions on resilience and these actions put Virginia in the lead nationally for a strategic response to climate change.

Backstory: In November, 2018, Governor Northam issued Executive Order 24 that called for the development of this master planning framework, along with other statewide actions to address resilience needs. This represented the start of an effort to push a statewide, high level approach to flooding and sea level rise.

This Coastal Resilience Master Planning Framework talks about the reasons for the climate change impacts affecting coastal Virginia and discusses specific impacts. Most importantly, it lays out the principles that the Northam Administration sees as essential in the State’s efforts to address those climate change impacts:

• Acknowledge climate change and its consequences, and base decision making on the best available science.

• Identify and address socioeconomic inequities and work to enhance equity through coastal adaptation and protection efforts.

• Recognize the importance of protecting and enhancing green infrastructure like natural coastal barriers and fish and wildlife habitat by prioritizing nature-based solutions.

• Utilize community and regional scale planning to the maximum extent possible, seeking region-specific approaches tailored to the needs of individual communities.

• Understand fiscal realities and focus on the most cost-effective solutions for protection and adaptation of our communities, businesses and critical infrastructure.

Having this set of principles is unique and puts Virginia on a course to set the pace for coastal resilience nationally. The last principle is very significant, “understand fiscal realities,” because laden in that phrase is the hard choice that governments will need to make when it is apparent that there is not enough money (or time) to save everything from flooding. This phrase hints at the need for “strategic coastal relocation,” or what is more commonly known as retreat.

What makes this document even more critical is the surrounding policy and funding atmosphere. In the 2020 General Assembly session, landmark legislation was enacted that addressed a range of needs in Virginia’s regulation of and funding for climate change. Most central to the Coastal Master Planning work was Virginia’s joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which will generate millions of dollars to be spent on flood protection projects under the Community Flood Preparedness Fund.  Having funding available for the refinement of this framework into an action strategy, for conducting needed studies, and for implementing the master plan recommendations is unique.