Memorandum Marks Commitment to Coordinated
Efforts
SAN
FRANCISCO, July 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Seven
regional and state public agencies have executed a new memorandum
of understanding committing each agency to a joint work program to
address increased threats of flooding and sea level rise in the
nine-county San Francisco Bay Area
region.
The agencies participating in the agreement signed last Friday
include the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG); the Bay
Area Air Quality Management District; the California State Coastal
Conservancy; Caltrans District 4; the Metropolitan Transportation
Commission (MTC); the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality
Control Board; and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and
Development Commission (BCDC). The partners' amplified coordination
will be guided by the inter-agency Bay Area Regional Collaborative
(BARC). The memorandum is intended to align the partners' efforts,
expertise and core functions to deliver priority, multi-benefit
projects to reduce flooding risks in vulnerable communities along
the San Francisco Bay shoreline.
"The scale of the Bay Area's need for projects to adequately
adapt to the threats of flooding and sea level rise is vastly
greater than the resources available," explained BARC Chair
Jesse Arreguin, who also serves as
mayor of Berkeley and as vice
president of the ABAG Executive Board. "By working together with a
shared purpose, the Bay Area will be in a better position to
compete with other metro areas for the limited dollars that are
available."
Through coordinating their respective roles and authorities, the
partner agencies aim to:
- Speed implementation of adaptation projects to better prepare
communities, businesses, infrastructure, and the environment for
the expected impact of flooding and sea level rise.
- Increase the Bay Area's ability to compete for state and
federal grants.
- Help cities, counties and special districts plan and fund
climate adaptation projects.
- Build consensus on project priorities through a strategic,
data-driven and equitable approach that incorporates local sea
level rise adaptation plans.
- Support multi-jurisdiction partnerships to advance
multi-benefit projects at scale.
- Create a cooperative environment in which various agencies and
municipalities support each other's goals and support each other's
climate adaptation projects.
"We need unprecedented coordination to prioritize flood risk
management projects in the places that need them most," said
ABAG Executive Board President and Napa
County Supervisor Belia
Ramos. "We must accelerate our pace and plan at a scale
commensurate with the threat. This MOU is an important step in
documenting how the seven agencies will coordinate in support
of the cities, counties, special districts, community-based
organizations, and private interests that all have critical roles
to play in implementing effective
projects."
"There is a funding gap of at least $110B in green, grey and hybrid solutions to
adapt the Bay Area to mid-century sea level rise projections,"
noted BCDC Chair Zack Wasserman.
"This MOU establishes a structure and process to support
coordinated planning, project prioritization, and project delivery
to reduce inter-agency and inter-jurisdiction competition for
funding."
California State Coastal Conservancy Executive Officer
Amy Hutzel noted that, "Some of the
Bay Area region's most flood-prone areas include
under-served communities that lack the resources to
plan and build specific flood risk management projects on their
own. I'm excited to work with my partner agencies in this
coordinated effort to ensure vulnerable communities can
implement adaptation projects that make them safer and more
resilient to the growing threats of sea level rise, while
preserving and enhancing the Bay's natural resources."
BARC was created by the state Legislature in 2004 to foster the
coordination of the Bay Area's regional agencies on issues of
regional significance. More information may be found on the BARC
website.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/state-regional-agencies-join-forces-to-prepare-bay-area-for-sea-level-rise-increased-flooding-302203080.html
SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission