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D.C. Law 21-185: Commission on Climate Change and Resiliency Establishment Act of 2016
November 18, 2016
In November 2016 the District of Columbia Council passed legislation to establish a new Commission on Climate Change and Resiliency to act in 2017. (Act B21-0369 established the first Commission on Climate Change and Resiliency for DC in 2015). The 2016-2017 Commission is responsible for identifying best practices in resiliency, conducting vulnerability assessments for critical infrastructure and systems, and making recommendations for legislative or regulatory changes needed to reduce vulnerabilities, among other duties.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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FHWA's Risk-Based Asset Management Planning Rule
October 24, 2016
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued this final rule to implement new planning requirements established by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) and the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST). MAP-21 and FAST require state departments of transportation (DOTs) to transition to performance-based decision-making, a large part of which is the development of a risk-based asset management plan. The new requirements are intended to ensure that federal transportation funding is spent more wisely, with specific performance targets in mind and in consideration of the likely costs to construct, operate, and maintain transportation assets over their full lifetime.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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Public Assistance Required Minimum Standards FEMA Recovery Policy (FP-104-009-4)
September 30, 2016
The Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Assistance grant program provides federal assistance to to state, local, and tribal governments to support their disaster recovery effort following a Presidential disaster declaration. Specifically, the program provides assistance for debris removal, emergency protective measures, and permanent restoration of infrastructure.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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City of Coral Gables: Legal Considerations Surrounding Adaptation to the Threat of Sea Level Rise
September 28, 2016
This comprehensive report discusses the policy options available to the City of Coral Gables, Florida, as it prepares for sea level rise and other effects of climate change. It also explores potential legal issues likely to arise as climate change adaptation measures are implemented. It explores these challenges in light of Coral Gables’s (and all of South Florida’s) unique vulnerability to climate change, as a result of its low elevation above current sea level and its porous limestone base, which makes protecting areas of South Florida like Coral Gables with sea walls, dikes, or canals impractical.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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California AB 2480: Source watersheds, financing
September 27, 2016
California Assembly Bill 2480 formally recognizes the state’s watersheds as water infrastructure. The law makes it possible to funnel infrastructure financing towards the restoration of five watersheds that feed Northern California’s primary reservoirs, along with the state’s traditional water infrastructure like dams, canals and levees. Watersheds - which include forests, meadows, streams and rivers - are cited for their significance as key water supply assets in the face of climate change.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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California AB 2800: Climate change: infrastructure planning
September 26, 2016
The California legislature passed legislation (AB 2800) to ensure that the planning and design of state infrastructure projects consider future climate change impacts -- citing prolonged heat waves, extreme precipitation events, severe drought, increasing wildfires, and other potentially dangerous climate impacts on critical infrastructure. Assembly Bill 2800 requires the California Natural Resources Agency to create a Climate-Safe Infrastructure Working Group, and for state agencies to take into account the current and future impacts of climate change when planning, designing, building, operating, maintaining, and investing in state infrastructure.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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California SB 1000 - Land use: general plans: safety and environmental justice
September 24, 2016
Senate Bill 1000 requires cities and counties of California to include an Environmental Justice element in their General Plans. The intent of the bill is to ensure that local governments proactively plan for and address environmental justice when developing their long-term goals, policies, and objectives for land use and any future growth. With this legislation, all cities and counties need to identify their “disadvantaged communities” and develop strategies to mitigate and reduce environment-related health risks.
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Presidential Memorandum - Climate Change and National Security
September 21, 2016
President Obama issued a memorandum in 2016 that requires the federal government to fully consider the impacts of climate change in the development and implementation of all national security policies and plans.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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Massachusetts EO 569: Establishing an Integrated Climate Change Strategy for the Commonwealth
September 16, 2016
Massachusetts Executive Order 569, "Establishing an Integrated Climate Change Strategy for the Commonwealth," directs executive agencies to develop and implement a statewide Climate Adaptation Plan, and to build a framework for each state agency and municipality in Massachusetts to assess their vulnerability to climate change. Section 3 of the Order states that the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs and the Secretary of Public Safety are to coordinate efforts across the Commonwealth to strengthen the resilience of communities, prepare for the impacts of climate change, and to prepare for and mitigate damage from extreme weather events.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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California AB-2139 Ocean Protection Council: Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia
September 14, 2016
Signed by California Governor Jerry Brown in September 2016, Assembly Bill 2139 created a task force to study the effects of ocean acidification and hypoxia, and to make recommendations to policymakers. The task force is designated to ensure that the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) decisions are supported by the best available science on ocean acidification and hypoxia, and to provide the Council strategies to address these impacts. Beginning January 1, 2018, and annually thereafter, at its first meeting of the year, the OPC is to adopt recommendations for further actions to address ocean acidification and hypoxia.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
