Now through May 12, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation will collect public comment on a draft grant manual for the Community Flood Preparedness Fund. The grant manual is available for public review at the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall.

Virginia’s coastal and inland flood preparedness involves large-scale planning, data collection and analysis, and project design and implementation. In 2020, Gov. Ralph Northam signed legislation creating the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund, which authorizes a grant and loan program to assist Virginia communities impacted by recurrent flooding, sea level rise and severe weather events.

The fund will be administered by DCR, the agency responsible for coordinating flood-protection activities, in cooperation with the Virginia Resources Authority.

It is capitalized by the sale of carbon emission allowances under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which Virginia joined in January. The fund will receive 45 percent of the proceeds from quarterly RGGI auctions. The January auction generated approximately $19.5 million for the fund. DCR is proposing an initial grant round of $18 million. Unspent funds will be used for future grants.

The fund is designed to improve resilience and flood protection across the commonwealth. In the coastal region, it will provide funding for the implementation of the Coastal Resilience Master Plan.

The draft grant manual is posted at the Town Hall website: https://townhall.virginia.gov/l/GDocForum.cfm?GDocForumID=543. More information is available at www.dcr.virginia.gov/cfpf.