Laws and Regulations in Rural and Small Communities
This tab includes laws, proposed legislation, regulations, agency guidance, and executive orders relevant to adaptation in rural and small communities.
Resources are automatically presented by rating, but can be sorted by date or title. Apply additional filters to narrow by resource type, state, region, impact, or jurisdictional focus.
18 results are shown below.
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Resource
January 19, 2017
The Georgetown Climate Center report, Lessons in Regional Resilience, documents lessons learned from regional climate collaboratives, which are bringing together local governments and other stakeholders to coordinate climate change initiatives at a regional level. This synthesis report shares lessons from each of the collaboratives in individual case studies, and offers insight to their goals, planning processes, and funding sources. The report is intended to help local governments consider models for coordinating at the regional level to facilitate planning and action to prepare for the impacts of climate change and draws on examples from six regional collaboratives from around the country.
Related Organizations: Georgetown Climate Center
Authors or Affiliated Users: Annie Bennett , Jessica Grannis
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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This report summarizes selected local land use ordinances and regulations that include specific mention of sea level rise or that incorporate appropriate policy responses that may be used to address sea level rise. While developed for The Nature Conservancy Long Island, it is a useful resource for any coastal state.
Related Organizations: Pace University School of Law, Land Use Law Center , The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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January 2019
Georgetown Climate Center (GCC) prepared this report to help the Eastern Shore Climate Adaptation Partnership (ESCAP) identify strategies for adapting to increasing sea-level rise and flood risk in the Eastern Shore region of Maryland. This publication is a part of a series of reports assessing the sea-level rise vulnerability of communities in Maryland's Eastern Shore, as well as potential adaptation responses. ESCAP worked with the Eastern Shore Regional GIS cooperative to assess sea-level rise vulnerabilities in the six counties and two municipalities that participate in ESCAP.
Related Organizations: Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, Georgetown Climate Center
Authors or Affiliated Users: Jessica Grannis , Katie Spidalieri , Jennifer Li
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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May 13, 2014
On May 13, 2014 the town of Oxford, Maryland adopted a pioneering ordinance to create a Stormwater Management and Shoreline Protection (SMSP) Fund. Oxford commissioners unanimously agreed to increase the town’s property tax rate in order to collect fees for the maintenance, enhancement, improvement and repair of the Town’s stormwater management and shoreline protection improvements, facilities and systems. The fund will raise approximately $100,000 per year to help mitigate ongoing and increasing impacts from flooding throughout the community.
Related Organizations: University of Maryland, EPA Environmental Finance Centers
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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August 2, 2012
This article examines legal strategies to help state and local governments reconcile these governance challenges when adapting to sea level rise (SLR). In the context of Connecticut state law, this article examines how land use regulations can be used to ensure that coastal development is more resilient to SLR impacts and less harmful to coastal ecosystems.
Related Organizations: National Sea Grant Law Center
Authors or Affiliated Users: Jessica Grannis , Julia Wyman, Meagan Singer, Jena Shoaf, Colin Lynch
Resource Category: Solutions
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Resource
February 21, 2013
On February 21, 2013 the Town of Centreville, Maryland approved Ordinance 06-2012 to develop a stormwater utility to finance the operation, construction, and maintenance of storm water devices, for stormwater planning, reviewing of development plans for compliance with stormwater management codes, and for protection of local waterways.
Related Organizations: Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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September 16, 2014
Approved by Governor Jerry Brown on September 16, 2014, the California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act implements new groundwater rules for California. Effective as of January 1, 2015, the three-bill package will create local agencies to oversee groundwater extraction, changing the state’s historic practice of allowing landowners to extract any water that lies beneath their land.
Related Organizations: California Department of Water Resources
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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July 1, 2012
Connecticut’s Public Act 12-148, ‘An Act Enhancing Emergency Preparedness and Response,’ was signed into law by Governor Malloy in July 2012 to improve the ability of the state, municipalities, and utility companies to better prepare for natural disasters and other emergencies. The legislation is designed to strengthen infrastructure, bolster local preparedness training, improve communication between state and local leaders, and to hold utilities accountable for preparedness planning. Public Act 12-148 will help improve emergency preparedness for natural disasters and intense weather events by:
- Establishing standards for the utility, telecommunication, and cable companies during emergency events and establishing penalties in the event the companies do not meet these standards;
- Requiring utility companies, telecommunication companies, and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Service Providers to submit emergency plans for restoring service;
- Creating a microgrid pilot program to be administered by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection;
- Studying the feasibility of requiring backup power for telecommunications towers and antennas;
- Encouraging the coordination of underground infrastructure projects; and
- Requiring the development of procedures to expedite the process of road-clearing following an emergency.
Related Organizations: Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP)
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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September 30, 2010
California Senate Bill 1006, Chapter No. 632, chaptered by the Secretary of State, was enacted September 30, 2010. This bill amends existing law requiring the Strategic Growth Council to take certain actions with regard to coordinating programs to address climate change impacts and to award financial assistance to a city, county, or nonprofit organization for the preparation, planning, and implementation of urban greening projects and urban greening plans. The bill also requires the council to manage and award revolving loans or grants to specified local entities for these urban greening projects and plans.
Related Organizations: State of California
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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Resource
2011
The City of Binghamton, New York’s erosion control ordinances require property owners seeking permits for construction to submit an Urban Runoff Reduction Plan (URRP) to demonstrate how they will manage stormwater after construction. The URRP must show how the development will manage a 10-year, 24-hour storm event and include green infrastructure techniques. Like Seattle Washington’s stormwater ordinance, the clear requirement to include green infrastructure takes the code beyond simple retention, specifying the best management practices (BMPs) that the city most wants to see, such as green roofs.
Related Organizations: City of Binghamton, New York
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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