EPA Climate Change, Water News and Other Federal News

EPA Climate Change and Water News

Other Federal News

U.S. Geological Survey Moves to Create Climate Change Vulnerability Database
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is moving to create a registry of climate change vulnerability to better protect wildlife, ecosystems, and dams.  The registry will collect and display information on climate change adaptation projects underway across the country and will pool from federal, state, local, and tribal governments.  A notice to gather information for the registry was filed on August 15, 2013 in the Federal Register.  The USGS will collect comments on the proposal for a 60-day period, after which it will go to the White House Office of Management and Budget. For more information, see: http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2013-20361_PI.pdf.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Conducts North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study
Following Hurricane Sandy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) was directed by Congress to conduct a comprehensive study of the consequences of Hurricane Sandy and to develop a strategy to reduce risk and increase resiliency to populations affected and those areas vulnerable to tidally-influenced flooding and storm surge within the boundaries of the USACE North Atlantic Division.  This project, the North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study, will look at tidal flood risks and sea level rise vulnerability of coastal communities from Maine to Virginia.  The Study will include a coastal framework as well as storm suite modeling, coastal GIS analysis, and related evaluations for the affected coastlines.  The study will identify existing green infrastructure, include an evaluation of the performance of green infrastructure during Hurricane Sandy and other recent storms, and consider the performance of green infrastructure in reducing the impacts of coastal storm flooding, as well as other impacts at a larger scale and as a system.  Additional information can be found at: http://www.nad.usace.army.mil/compstudy.

Federal Interagency Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force Releases Strategy
President Obama's Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, chaired by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, and made up of almost two dozen federal agencies and programs, has released a rebuilding strategy to serve as a model for communities across the nation facing greater risks from extreme weather and to continue helping the Sandy-affected region rebuild.  The strategy contains 69 policy recommendations, many of which have already been adopted, that will help homeowners stay in and repair their homes, strengthen small businesses and revitalize local economies, and ensure entire communities are better able to withstand and recover from future storms.  To learn more visit: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/sandyrebuilding.