Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $52 Million in Climate Resiliency Funding to Communities

Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $52 Million in Climate Resiliency Funding to Communities:

 

Most Funding Ever Awarded through the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program

 

Leominster, MA -- Healey-Driscoll administration today announced a landmark commitment of $52.4 million in grants dedicated to advancing climate resilience across Massachusetts. This significant investment is the largest in the history of the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program. This year, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) is providing an additional $7 million to help communities impacted by devastating inland flooding in 2023. Governor Maura Healey and EEA Secretary Rebecca Tepper made the announcement in Leominster, a community profoundly impacted by catastrophic flooding last September.  

 

“We have seen the devastation caused by extreme weather and heard the calls for help. Today, we are continuing our promise to help communities in addressing last year's challenges and taking proactive steps to reduce future climate risks,” said Governor Healey. “These grants are more than just financial support – they are a strong statement of our commitment to resilience. Our goal is to empower every community to adapt, thrive, and lead in the face of climate challenges.” 

 

“As a former mayor, I've witnessed firsthand the challenges posed by climate change on our communities. These grants are crucial because they empower us to take proactive steps against future flooding and relieve the immense burden that climate change places on the shoulders of local leaders,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “By securing these funds, we ensure our community's resilience and ability to thrive amidst environmental challenges. This initiative not only sets a powerful example for sustainable development but also underscores our collective responsibility in safeguarding our future and mitigating the economic impacts that would otherwise burden our municipality.” 

 

The MVP Program combines local leadership and expertise with a significant investment of resources and funding from the state to tackle the ongoing impacts of climate change, such as inland flooding, more frequent and severe storms, rising sea levels, drought, and extreme temperatures. The MVP Action Grant will be used to carry out priority climate change adaptation measures identified through the MVP Planning process, or a similar climate change vulnerability assessment and action planning. A total of 71 projects have been awarded grants, including 62 for municipalities, seven for regional planning agencies, and two for tribes. 

 

“Every year, our communities need more support dealing with climate change, especially when it comes to reducing flooding. We are going all in to provide every resource,” said Secretary Tepper. “We are committed to making serious investments in local projects, like enhancing stormwater systems and culverts. These upgrades are critical for bringing down flood risks and protecting the health and safety of Massachusetts residents.” 

 

In April 2023, Governor Healey launched the pilot round of MVP Planning 2.0, which marks the next phase of the administration’s flagship program. This program supports communities in updating their climate change resiliency plans with a focus on environmental justice and other priority populations most impacted by climate change and helps in putting these plans into action. The next application for this program is expected to be announced later this year. MVP is a priority program of ResilientMass, the state’s initiative to reduce risk and build local resilience to climate change impacts.

 

“The City of Leominster is pleased to have been out front in creating a Climate Action Plan with the assistance of the state’s MVP Program. Since that time, we have partnered with the MVP program on several occasions to allow us to bring our most critical environmental projects to reality,” said Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella. “With this new round of grants, communities across Massachusetts can continue to invest in environmental solutions to prepare us for future climate changes. A huge thank you to the Healey-Driscoll Administration for continuing this important program.”   

 

The City of Leominster is receiving $487,483 to enhance flood resilience in the high-risk Burrage & Mascoma neighborhood. The funding will support collaborative efforts with private property owners to develop solutions considering current and future impacts of increased precipitation and stormwater runoff. Additionally, Leominster will benefit from a $458,400 grant awarded to the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission. This funding will facilitate the development of interactive map-based tools, utilizing municipal and community-sourced data such as images, videos, and firsthand accounts, to illustrate the impacts of the September 2023 flood emergency. These tools will serve as a historical record of the event and provide crucial information on sustainable land use practices aimed at mitigating flooding challenges. 

 

The following communities will receive funding to complete the MVP action process:  

Grantee	Project Title	Total Award
Amherst (Public Works Department)	Phase 2: Fort River Watershed Improvements for Flood & Water Quality Resilience	$1,179,700
Ashburnham	Whitney Pond Dam Removal and River Restoration	$377,652
Ashfield	Ashfield Rural Climate Resilience and Living Culture Project	$166,001
Athol	Greening the Lord Pond Plaza	$3,000,000
Barnstable	Sandy Neck Beach Facility Coastal Resiliency Project	$2,833,849
Billerica	Flowing Toward Resilience: Climate Change and Hydraulic Capacity of Culverts	$129,500
Bolton	Future Resilient Field at Derby	$488,824
Boston (& Revere)	Resilient Bennington Street & Fredericks Park Project (Phase II)	$456,500
Boston	Community-Based Flood Resilience and Green Infrastructure Planning	$449,710
Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization & Metropolitan Area Planning Council (& Chelsea, Everett, Framingham, Revere)	NO-HEAT: Neutralizing Onerous Heat Effects on Active Transportation	$1,001,100
Bridgewater	Hanson Farm Conservation Restriction Purchase	$3,000,000
Cambridge (& Mystic River Communities)	Developing Successful, Cost-Effective, Urban Forest Strategies for Areas of High- and Low-Tree Mortality Across the Mystic Watershed	$276,800
Dartmouth	Nature-Based Solutions Retrofit of Critical Infrastructure within Coastal Flood-Prone Areas Town of Dartmouth - Phase 2	$113,100
Deerfield	Bloody Brook Resilience Hydrologic/Hydraulic Modeling	$170,300
Dudley	Stormwater Retrofit Program at the Dudley Municipal Complex	$281,000
Everett (& Chelsea)	Island End River Flood Resilience Project	$5,000,000
Everett (& Chelsea, Malden, Arlington)	Wicked Cool Mystic - Súper Fresco Místico	$687,000
Fitchburg	Nature-base Solutions for a Resilient Coolidge Park	$323,160
Franklin Regional Council of Governments (& Regional Communities)	Resilient Together: Building Partnerships in the Greater Connecticut River Watershed	$646,025
Georgetown	Georgetown Park & Ride Library Street Resiliency Improvements	$68,265
Greenfield	Building Community and Resilience through Plantings at Millers Meadow	$37,830
Hampden	Town of Hampden Main Street Bridge Replacement and Green Solutions Project	$275,450
Harwich	Red River Valley Preserve Watershed Resiliency Project	$1,800,000
Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band	Nukkone Mayash (the Old Ways)	$823,446
Haverhill	Little River Dam Removal and River Restoration	$3,000,000
Holyoke	Green Infrastructure Construction in the Day Brook Watershed	$1,229,730
Kingston	Purchasing the Correira Bogs in Kingston, MA	$1,620,000
Lanesborough (& Mount Washington, Blandford, Goshen, Middlefield, Shutesbury)	Western Massachusetts Unpaved Road Project	$432,096
Lawrence	Green Lawrence Blue Merrimack: Stormwater Resilience Master Plan	$1,601,840
Leominster	Burrage & Mascoma Neighborhood Area Flood Mitigation Project	$487,483
Lowell	Saint Louis Sponge Park Phase 2	$979,120
Martha's Vineyard Commission (& Regional Communities)	Martha's Vineyard Public Food Forest Plan	$97,764
Mashpee	Increasing Resilience to Harmful Algal Blooms in Santuit Pond: Construction of Town Landing Resilience Improvements	$1,669,956
Medford	Resilient Urban Forest Master Plan	$220,900
Medford	Strengthening Medford Connects: An Interconnected Resiliency Network for Future Resilience Hubs	$746,580
Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) (& Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Revere, Winthrop)	Lower Mystic Cool Communications to Build Regional Heat Resiliency	$490,813
Middleborough	School Street Parking Lot Project	$171,230
Monson	Chicopee Brook Flood Resilience Improvements	$487,500
Montachusett Regional Planning Commission (& Leominster)	Looking Upstream, Learning Downstream: A Geo-Spatial Chronicle and Lessons Learned from the Leominster Flood Emergency of 9/11/2023	$458,400
Natick (& Charles River Communities)	Charles River Watershed Flood Mitigation Plan Implementation	$330,492
Natick	Natick High School Constructed Wetland and Subwatershed Evaluation	$266,400
Newton	Flood Storage and Bank Restoration Along Cheesecake Brook	$1,240,995
North Adams (& Clarksburg)	North Adams Flood Resiliency	$1,061,203
North Andover	Cochichewick Brook Riverine Floodplain Management Study and Plan	$133,150
Northampton	Northampton Critical Infrastructure Flood Resiliency Project	$337,615
Norwood	Norwood Nature Based Solutions to Reduce Flooding and Heat	$144,300
Old Colony Planning Council and Plymouth County (& Brockton, Plymouth, Abington, Easton, Duxbury)	Building a Climate Resilient Food System in Plymouth County	$245,500
Orange	Fisher Hill School Solar/Bess and Outdoor Classroom	$390,290
Oxford	Petroleum to Pollinator: Design to Restore a Former Gas Station Back to Nature	$206,100
Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (& Regional Communities)	Toward Greater Resilience in our Drinking Water Supply: A Regional Plan for the Pioneer Valley (1st Phase)	$420,223
Pittsfield	Unkamet Brook Restoration	$275,000
Plymouth	Plymouth Downtown Resiliency Project: Green and Heat Island Reduction Infrastructure	$360,265
Provincetown	Resilient Central Vacuum Station	$1,000,000
Reading (& Upper Mystic River Communities)	Resilient Facilities Project: Finding Solutions for Flood-Prone Sites that Serve Priority Populations	$522,500
Salem	Resilient Together: The Point	$466,380
Shutesbury	Library Solar with Ford Lightning Battery Backup	$222,105
Somerville (& Everett, Medford, Cambridge, Winthrop, Chelsea, Revere)	Centering Social Equity in Regional Systems: Lower Mystic Resilient Community Centers Network	$310,100
South Hadley	Pearl Street/Elmer Brook Culvert Replacement	$1,283,063
Stoneham (& Upper Mystic River Communities)	Stoneham High School Wetlands Restoration Project	$2,346,126
Stoughton	Stoughton Town-Wide Culvert Assessment	$312,982
Sudbury	Locally Grown Sudbury	$92,500
Townsend	Climate Resilient Drainage Masterplan - Townsend, MA	$154,500
Tyngsborough	Bridge Meadow Brook Culvert Replacement	$326,500
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)	27 Aquinnah Circle Land Improvements	$717,500
Washington	Depot Brook Flood Resilience Project	$311,994
Watertown	Equity-Based Community Greening Program: Phase 2	$976,270
Wenham (& Hamilton, Ipswich)	Miles River Watershed Action Plan	$60,048
Westport	East Beach Voluntary Buy-Out Pilot Program	$60,000
Whately	The Future Looks Like Whately: Planting Resilience through Nature-Based Solutions	$82,542
Wilmington (& North Reading)	Building the Climate Resilience of the Martins Brook Floodway	$321,560
Yarmouth	Route 28 Corridor Resiliency	$167,301
	Total (71)	$52,424,128