A new National Drought Resilience Partnership and expanded use of the State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs were among the climate adaptation strategies President Obama announced last week as part of a wide-ranging Climate Action Plan.
The plan, which the President outlined during a speech at Georgetown University, represents a mix of old and new ideas aimed at achieving three overarching goals: reducing U.S. carbon emissions, preparing the U.S. for climate change impacts and leading international efforts to fight climate change. The overall plan does not need congressional approval, though some lawmakers have already signaled they will attempt to influence portions of it through the annual appropriations process.
The plan includes several efforts to build infrastructure resiliency, such as:
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Directing federal agencies to remove regulatory barriers to making “climate-resilient investments”;
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Supporting “agency grants [and] technical assistance” in several sectors, including water management;
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Directing EPA to “integrate considerations of climate change impacts and adaptive measures into … its Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds”;
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Establishing a “State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness” to make recommendations on how the federal government can support local adaptation and resilience efforts; and
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Requiring the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop “a comprehensive, community-based resilience framework to provide guidelines for consistently safe buildings and infrastructure.”
While introducing his adaptation goals, President Obama suggested that assistance would be available to build “hardened water systems.” He also pointed to Miami Beach as an example of a community already working to protect its water supply against “seeping seawater.” Other portions of the plan’s adaptation component would establish a new cross-agency National Drought Resilience Partnership to help communities plan for and reduce drought impacts, develop adaptation strategies for freshwater bodies and other environmental resources, and boost climate research and assessments of climate change impacts on regions of the U.S.
Most of the President’s plan, and the reaction to it, focused on his ordering EPA to develop regulations to limit carbon pollution from power plants. Under the directive, EPA would propose the emissions rule for existing power plants by June 2014 and finalize it one year later.