State to get $834,991 from NOAA to reduce impacts of storm flooding

Governor Terry McAuliffe announced July 14 that Virginia will receive $834,991 in federal funds from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Coastal Resilience Grant appropriations to reduce the impacts of storm flooding through natural and nature-based infrastructure in the Commonwealth.

According to the news release from the Governor’s Office, NOAA received more than 167 project proposals requesting at total of $135 million. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) proposal was one of 19 proposals selected and the only Mid-Atlantic project funded.

“The coastal regions of the Commonwealth continually face threats of flooding and are especially at-risk during disasters,” McAuliffe was quoted as saying in a news release. “This critical funding will allow VIMS to target our most at-risk communities and implement natural infrastructure solutions to our flooding problems.”

The VIMS project will address flooding issues across coastal Virginia by developing informative tools that allow local planners in 37 coastal counties to determine suitable areas to implement natural infrastructure solutions. These funds will help support a $1.2 million project to improve flooding conditions in the region, the news release stated.