The Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA), UConn School of Law’s Center for Energy & Environmental Law (CEEL), and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) hosted an event entitled, Creating a Resilient Connecticut: A CIRCA Forum on Science, Planning, Policy & Law on Friday, May 11, 2018 at the UConn School of Law in Hartford, CT.

This exciting forum combined science, policy, and planning at the state and local levels and highlighted work undertaken over the past two years by CT DEEP and UConn/CIRCA to address the resilience of vulnerable communities along Connecticut’s coast and inland waterways to the growing impacts of climate change. Important research is leading to the creation of products for assessing vulnerabilities and strategies to mitigate potential damage from climate change and storm impacts.

View the AGENDA  or event website

Watch a recording of the Forum including a welcome by CT DEEP Commissioner Rob Klee announcing recent news of the Connecticut Legislature’s passage of, “An Act Concerning Climate Change Planning and Resiliency.”  Harriet Tregoning, former HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Community Planning and Development, provided the keynote address entitled, “Connecticut’s Future in a Disaster-Prone World”. 

Slides from each presenter, in order of appearance:

James O’ Donnell	CIRCA	Sea Level Rise in Long Island Sound
Manos Anagnostou	UConn Engineering	Statewide Riverine Flood Vulnerability Assessment
William Rath	UConn Law, CEEL	Legal & Policy Analysis to Support Resilience Measures
DeAva Lambert	CT DEEP	Tracking Connecticut’s Coast Using Aerial Photography
Christine Kirchoff	UConn Engineering	Resilience of Wastewater & Drinking Water Systems
Peter Miniutti	UConn Landscape Architecture	Vulnerability Assessment & Planning in New London
Harriet Tregoning	Keynote Speaker	Connecticut’s Future in a Disaster Prone World
Katie Lund	CIRCA	CIRCA’s Grant Programs
Amanda Kennedy	SCRCOG	Southeastern CT Critical Facilities Assessment
Joanna Wozniak-Brown	NWHCOG	Municipal LID Design and Enhancing Rural Resiliency
Mike Jastremski	HVA	Planning for Flood Resilient and Fish Friendly Road-Stream Crossings in CT’s Northwest Hills
Shubhada Kambli	City of Hartford	Hartford Climate Stewardship Initiative & Green Infrastructure Specialist
James O’Donnell	CIRCA	Coastal Road Flooding in CT

Posters presented, in alphabetical order, by organization:

CRCOG	Capitol Region Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan Update
City of New Haven	Assessing Impacts of Tides & Precipitation on Downtown Storm Sewer System
City of New Haven	Commercial Industrial Toolbox
RiverCOG	Flood Susceptibility Mapping for the Lower Connecticut River Valley
SCRCOG	Innovative Municipal Scale Coastal Resilience in Southern CT
WestCOG	Regional Flood Mitigation Rating System
UConn	Developing a Drinking Water Resiliency Plan for Connecticut Private Well Assessment and Recommendations
UConn	Marsh Restoration Using Dredged Material for Coastal Resilience

Additional Forum Resources:

Sea Level Rise Projections for the State of Connecticut

Floodplain Building Elevation Standards

Height Restrictions on Elevated Buildings

Oceanfront State Coastal Management Programs

Statutory Adoption of Updated SLR Scenarios

 

This work is made possible through a Municipal Resilience Planning Assistance grant from the State of Connecticut Department of Housing CDBG-Disaster Recovery Program and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Grant products will be available in Dec. 2018.

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