To: Board of Supervisors
From: John Kopchik, Director, Conservation and Development
Report Title: Senate Bill 1 Grant Opportunity
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
ADOPT a resolution to approve and authorize the Conservation and Development Director, or designee, to apply for and accept a grant of up to a maximum of $1,500,000 from the California Ocean Protection Council, Senate Bill 1 Grant Program, for the preparation of the Contra Costa County Resilient Shoreline Plan that would create focused adaptation strategies and implement actions for the communities along Contra Costa County’s shoreline.
FISCAL IMPACT:
If awarded, the Senate Bill 1 Grant Program Grant funds will be distributed among the lead applicant (County) and any partners, which will include community-based organizations, local shoreline governments, and technical subconsultants. This partnership will improve capacity and develop priorities to address sea level rise within our respective jurisdictions. Measure X funds for climate equity and resilience as well as water policy planning funds through the County’s Water Agency support the work of the Department of Conservation and Development staff who will be administering the grant. The Senate Bill 1 Grant Program does not require a County match.
BACKGROUND:
Sea level rise is altering the physical environment and is a continual challenge to the 1.16 million people of Contra Costa County. With warmer temperatures and more extreme weather, sea level rise modeling indicates the County’s shoreline, comprised of built and natural infrastructure, can expect to be subject to more severe and frequent flooding. The assets at risk include homes, businesses, industrial sites, hazardous materials sites, brownfields, the U.S. Navy’s Military Ocean Terminal at Concord, railroads, wastewater treatment facilities, electrical substations, natural gas and crude oil pipelines, prime agricultural resources, and in-Delta Legacy Communities. The Contra Costa County shoreline is also home to four refineries, two of which have converted their operations to process renewable fuel. Additionally, a majority of the county’s impacted communities are located along the shoreline.
The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) has been leading the Bay Area’s planning response to sea level rise and has conducted numerous studies and reports on the impacts of sea level rise in the region. The County has participated in these and other regional efforts - BCDC’s Contra Costa Adapting to Rising Tides study, BCDC’s East Contra Costa Adapting to Rising Tides study, and the Delta Stewardship Council’s Delta Adapts Vulnerability Assessment - that broadly characterize sea level rise risks to subregions of the County’s shoreline.
According to an April 2023 joint presentation by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission/Association of Bay Area Governments and BCDC, the cost to adapt to sea level rise in the Bay Area is estimated to be approximately $110 billion. Of the $110 billion, it is estimated that $13 billion is needed to fund adaptation in Contra Costa County alone. Contra Costa County was identified as one of three Bay Area counties with significant adaptation implementation gaps.
In May 2023, the Board established the Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Ad Hoc Committee (Committee), composed of two County Supervisors with staff support by the Department of Conservation and Development (DCD), to address sea level rise adaptation and resilience. The Committee will lead the effort to prepare the Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Plan (Plan). The Plan will be developed and guided by community input with the goal to build capacity to prepare for, and recover from, the disruptions of sea level rise.
The costs in staff time and materials for DCD work activities associated with the Committee will be funded by water policy planning funds collected through the County’s Water Agency and the Measure X - Climate Equity and Resilience Investment allocation administered by DCD. However, additional funding will be necessary to develop a robust sea level rise adaptation plan.
The Senate Bill 1 Grant Program operates through the California Ocean Protection Council and will provide funding to local and regional governments to develop sea level rise adaptation plans and implementation projects under the direction of Senate Bill 1. Track One of the Senate Bill 1 Grant Program supports projects in the pre-planning, data collection, and planning phases. Track One proposals will be accepted through a rolling, quarterly, non-competitive process, provided the proposals satisfy the criteria in the Senate Bill 1 Grant Program Sea Level Rise Adaptation Criteria and Solicitation.
DCD has initiated the Resilient Shoreline Coalition, consisting of a growing list of collaborators and partners that have supported the County's pursuit of grant funding for the Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Plan. Outreach to shoreline cities, special districts, and community-based organizations to gauge interest in being a partner on this grant will continue until all shoreline cities and other shoreline stakeholders are briefed.
Staff recommends the Board approve the submittal of the Senate Bill 1 Grant Program grant application to develop the Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Plan.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Should the Board not approve the grant application, the County would miss an opportunity to leverage State funds for developing a resilient shoreline plan.
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
and for Special Districts, Agencies and Authorities Governed by the Board
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IN THE MATTER OF A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY AUTHORIZING PREPARATION AND SUBMITTAL OF A SENATE BILL 1 GRANT PROGRAM TRACK ONE PROPOSAL TO THE CALIFORNIA OCEAN PROTECTION COUNCIL
WHEREAS, climate change is accelerating rising sea levels, increasing storm frequency and intensity, and moving groundwater toward the surface. The confluence of more intense winter storms, extreme high tides, and higher runoff, with higher sea levels, will increase the frequency and duration of shoreline flooding long before areas are permanently inundated by sea level rise alone, threatening our economy, public health, and natural resources; and
WHEREAS, Contra Costa County is one of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties and is one the five Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta counties, with nine cities and fifteen unincorporated communities along the 90-plus miles of shoreline; and
WHEREAS, the San Francisco Bay Area is a vibrant, diverse, ecologically unique, innovative, and pioneering region that will be deeply and deleteriously affected by climate change without tremendous effort and investments to adapt to a constantly changing shoreline. The San Francisco Bay shoreline constitutes approximately one-third of the California coastline, but the Bay Area is estimated to experience two-thirds of the negative economic impacts due to the flooding that would occur absent adequate measures to adapt and protect people, places, and habitats; and
WHEREAS, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the largest freshwater tidal estuary of its kind on the American west coast, providing invaluable ecological, economic, and cultural resources to Contra Costa County and the entire Delta region as well as drinking water for much of the population in California; and
WHEREAS, the Bay-Delta ecosystem is already stressed by human activities that have drastically lowered its adaptive capacity, and climate change will further alter the ecosystem by inundating or eroding remaining wetlands, changing sediment dynamics, altering species composition and the food web, increasing the acidity of waters, changing freshwater flows, altering salinity levels, and impairing water quality. Moreover, further loss of tidal wetlands will increase the risk of shoreline flooding; and
WHEREAS, flood damage to vital shoreline development, public infrastructure, and facilities such as neighborhoods, commercial centers, airports, seaports, regional transportation facilities, landfills, contaminated lands, and wastewater treatment facilities absent adaptation will require costly repairs and likely will result in the interruption or loss of vital services, large-scale social dislocation, and degraded environmental quality; and
WHEREAS, the increasingly frequent and severe impacts of climate change in the Bay and Delta do not conform to jurisdictional boundaries or the planning and regulatory authority of any one agency or organization; and
WHEREAS, the impacts of sea level rise in Contra Costa County have been well documented through numerous studies developed by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, Contra Costa County, the Delta Stewardship Council, and other organizations; and
WHEREAS, Contra Costa County recognizes the urgency of taking bold action to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change, ensuring a sustainable and prosperous future for all residents; and
WHEREAS, climate change impacts in Contra Costa County will be most acutely felt by children, seniors, low-income populations, communities of color, and residents with unstable economic or housing situations; and
WHEREAS, the Vulnerability Assessment developed for the Envision Contra Costa 2045 General Plan indicates that the most vulnerable County residents, including households in poverty, low-income households, and persons experiencing homelessness, are more likely to be severely impacted by a changing climate, including flooding and sea level rise; and
WHEREAS, the Senate Bill 1 Grant Program provides a unique opportunity for Contra Costa County to access funding, technical assistance, and resources to build the capacity of Contra Costa County communities and jurisdictions along the shoreline to be resilient against the impacts of rising seas and develop cross-jurisdictional partnerships and collaboratives at a scale that addresses the needs and priorities of Contra Costa County’s unique shoreline communities; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County is eligible to receive State funding for the development of sea level rise adaptation plans and implementation projects and related work through the California Ocean Protection Council’s Senate Bill 1 Grant Program; and
WHEREAS, authorization, like a resolution, is required showing that the grantee is authorized to sign the grant agreement with the California Ocean Protection Council before such funds can be claimed through the Senate Bill 1 Grant Program; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County, that the Conservation and Development Director, or designee, is authorized to apply for and accept a Senate Bill 1 Grant Program Grant and, if selected for an award, is authorized to execute funding agreements and other documents necessary for this purpose; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, the Board appoints the Conservation and Development Director, or designee, as agent to conduct all negotiations, execute and submit all documents including, but not limited to, applications, agreements, and payment requests that may be necessary for completion of the aforementioned application.