Northam Releases Virginias First Coastal Resilience Master Plan

Northam FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE · December 7, 2021 Office of the Governor Alena.Yarmosky@governor.virginia.gov Governor Northam Releases Virginia’s First Coastal Resilience Master Plan ~

Commonwealth of Virginia

Office of Governor Ralph S Northam

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE · December 7, 2021

Office of the Governor

Alena.Yarmosky@governor.virginia.gov

Governor Northam Releases Virginia’s First Coastal Resilience Master Plan

~ Virginia takes monumental action to build a resilient coast,

combating climate change and rising sea levels ~

HAMPTON —Governor Ralph Northam today released the Virginia Coastal Resilience

Master Plan, providing a foundational and fundamental step towards protecting

Virginia’s coast

Virginia's coastal areas face significant impacts from rising sea levels and increased storm flooding The Commonwealth, regional and local entities have to take

meaningful and continuous action to ensure the long-term sustainability of Virginia’s coastal resources and communities

“We must acknowledge that climate change is permanently altering the physical limits

of our coastal lands,” said Governor Northam “The only way we can adapt and

maintain our thriving communities is with thoughtful planning, reliance on science, and

a willingness to make tough decisions This Master Plan will guide decisions by the Commonwealth and our local government partners.”

Earlier this year, the Commonwealth worked with 2,000 stakeholders to build the Coastal Resilience Master Plan This plan documents which land is exposed to

coastal flooding hazards now and into the future, as well as the impacts of those future scenarios on coastal Virginia’s community resources and manmade and natural

infrastructure

The Master Plan concluded that between 2020 and 2080:

 the number of residents living in homes exposed to extreme coastal flooding is projected to grow from approximately 360,000 to 943,000, an increase of 160%;

 the number of residential, public, and commercial buildings exposed to an extreme coastal flood is projected to increase by almost 150%, from 140,000 to 340,000, while annualized flood damages increase by 1,300% from $0.4 to $5.1 billion;

 the number of miles of roadways exposed to chronic coastal flooding is

projected to increase from 1,000 to nearly 3,800 miles, an increase of nearly 280%; and

 an estimated 170,000 acres, or 89%, of existing tidal wetlands and 3,800 acres,

or 38%, of existing dunes and beaches may be permanently inundated,

effectively lost to open water

The Coastal Resiliency Database and Web Explorer is a publicly available database that shows the impact of coastal flood hazards, current and proposed resilience projects, as well as funding sources This database will serve as a vital tool to support resilience efforts at the state, regional, and local levels

“The Master Plan recognizes that flooding affects many Virginians but does not do so equally This initial effort highlighted many unmet needs in underserved

communities,” said Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources and Chief

Resilience Officer Ann Jennings “Working closely with the Office of Diversity, Equity

and Inclusion, DCR will continue outreach and engagement for those communities moving forward.”

“This work is the culmination of a significant collaborative effort on the part of

stakeholders across coastal Virginia, and in particular, the Technical Advisory

Committee (TAC), who advised us during this process,” said Rear Admiral (Retired) Ann C Phillips, Special Assistant to the Governor for Coastal Adaptation and

Protection “The TAC, and seven TAC Subcommittees, including Agency Directors

and Commissioners, Academia, the eight Coastal Planning District and Regional Commission Directors, USACE, DoD and other Federal partners, Tribal

Representatives, NGOs and other invited stakeholders, worked tirelessly this year We are deeply grateful for their continued support and advice to adapt and protect Coastal Virginia.”

The Commonwealth intends to develop successive updates of the Master Plan on at least a five-year cycle, managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation in consultation with the Chief Resilience Officer, the Special Assistant to the Governor for Coastal Adaptation and Protection, and the Technical Advisory Committee

The next phase of the Master Plan is anticipated by 2024, will aim to address

recommendations of the TAC to broaden the analysis of natural hazards by including rainfall-driven, riverine, and compound flooding, expand and improve the inventory of resilience projects by continuing to add efforts and working with project owners to better understand the benefits of projects, and extend this critical work beyond the coastal region to encompass statewide resilience needs

“The Master Plan reflects the Technical Advisory Committee's hard work and

dedication to the safety and economic resilience of Virginia’s coastal communities,”

said Elizabeth Armistead Andrews, Professor of the Practice and Director, Virginia Coastal Policy Center, William & Mary Law School “Now comes the long-term work

of successfully implementing the Plan, which will require adequate funding and

policies to address the distinct needs of our rural, urban, Tribal, and socially

vulnerable communities.”

“This Coastal Master Plan gives Virginia its first strategic approach to dealing with sea

level rise,” said Wetlands Watch Executive Director Skip Stiles “This Plan, together

with a range of other initiatives taken during the Northam Administration, constitutes a body of work that places Virginia in a national leadership role for addressing climate change and resilience needs.”

“A strength of Virginia’s Plan is its reliance on science,” said Dr Mark Luckenbach, Associate Dean of Research and Advisory Service, Virginia Institute of Marine

Science, William & Mary “Members of the Technical Advisory Committee drawn from

Virginia institutions of higher education helped ensure that the Plan was informed by state-of-the-art science, as well as policy and legal reviews As the Commonwealth moves forward with implementing and updating the Plan, Virginia’s universities are poised to provide data, analyses and expertise on wide-ranging topics that will be essential to its success.”

“As Chair of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, we enthusiastically support

the continued development of the Coastal Resiliency Master Plan,” said Clark Nexsen Senior Principal Chris Stone “All along our coastal communities, sea level rise,

increased storm intensity and frequency, recurrent coastal flooding along with

increased levels of precipitation are negatively affecting our residents and businesses And while it may be impossible to eliminate these risks, with this announcement today,

we can reduce that risk, increase our resilience, and protect the natural and cultural resources of our coastline, leading to a more economically diverse, prosperous, and resilient region for future generations.”

“As a stakeholder in the creation of the Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan, the Navy remains committed to continue being an engaged partner with the

Commonwealth to continue the important work of addressing climate resiliency and to

ensure strategy alignment as we moved forward on these efforts,” said Rear Admiral Charles W Rock, Commander Navy Region, Mid-Atlantic “We have long

recognized the interconnected relationship of community and military and have

proactively engaged with surrounding communities through multiple forums to help address climate resiliency efforts.”

“Outside of New Orleans, the Hampton Roads region is the most threatened area in the nation due to sea level rise and intense flooding caused by climate change,”

Hampton Mayor Donnie Tuck “The Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan is a bold

step in addressing our region’s resiliency concerns.”

An overview of the Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan may be found here

The Governor's Letter for the Master Plan may be found here

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