To: Board of Supervisors
From: John Kopchik, Director, Conservation and Development
Report Title: National Coastal Resilience Fund Grant Execution
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
ADOPT the attached resolution authorizing the Conservation and Development Director, or designee, to apply for and accept a grant of up to a maximum of $750,000 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s National Coastal Resilience Fund Grant Program, subject to approval of the grant agreement and related documents by the County Administrator and approval as to form by the County Counsel, or designee, to increase capacity for community engagement connected with the Contra Costa County Resilient Shoreline Plan.
FISCAL IMPACT:
If National Coastal Resilience Fund grant funds are awarded to Contra Costa County the funds will be distributed among the lead applicant (County) and any partners or subawardees, which may include community-based organizations, and shoreline cities. These funds will improve the capacity of any partners specifically working on community engagement 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 continue to support the work of the Department of Conservation and Development staff who will be administering the grant. The National Coastal Resilience Fund does not require a County match.
BACKGROUND:
The Board of Supervisors established the Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Committee to guide the County's work on sea level rise resilience and adaptation planning and implementation. The Committee's direction utilizes the evolving state guidance on sea level rise to inform the development of the forthcoming Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Plan (Plan). The Plan will explore how to increase the resilience and adaptive capacity of the entire Contra Costa shoreline in the face of rising sea levels. To that end, the Department applied for, and received, grant funding via the Senate Bill (SB) 1 grant program to fund a portion of the development of the Plan. The Department is leveraging the SB 1 funding in the application for funding from the National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF) that will supplement the Plan in key areas. The NCRF is administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a private, nonprofit, tax-exempt organization chartered by Congress.
The NCRF award would provide essential funding to:
• Expand participation in a visioning workshop series to cover all jurisdictions within each of the eight operational landscape units in the county, on which coordination and sea -level rise planning will be based.
• Increase the extent of community engagement in each of the unincorporated communities and shoreline cities during the Plan development process.
• Increase coordination across jurisdictions and add new partners to the planning process, ensuring a collaborative approach and alignment with regional and local plans.
The project will result in a comprehensive Subregional Shoreline Adaptation Plan that is complementary and integrated with existing planning efforts and it will also result in a robust and engaged cohort of agency staff and community members ready to partner and implement the strategies included in the Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Plan.
Generally, federal and similar grant programs require the County to indemnify and defend the awarding entity from any liabilities that arise in connection with the use of grant funds. By adopting the attached resolution, the Board approves delegating the authority to sign a grant agreement that includes such an indemnity requirement. The risk to the County is low considering the grant funds are funding a study and not construction or some other physical activity with a higher risk.
Staff recommends the Board approve the submittal of the National Coastal Resilience Fund Grant Program to supplement the SB 1 funding and support the development of the Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Plan.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Should the Board not approve the resolution, the County would not be able to receive funding awarded through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s National Coastal Resilience Fund Grant Program to supplement the development of the Plan.
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
and for Special Districts, Agencies and Authorities Governed by the Board
IN THE MATTER OF A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY AUTHORIZING PREPARATION AND SUBMITTAL OF A NATIONAL COASTAL RESILIENCE FUND GRANT TO THE NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION
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, Contra Costa County has entered into a grant agreement with the California Ocean Protection Council for $1,499,285.38 through the Senate Bill 1 Grant Program, which provides technical assistance and resources to support the development of the Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Plan in collaboration with nine cities, fifteen unincorporated communities, special districts, property owners, and the general public; and
WHEREAS, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s National Coastal Resilience Fund Grant Program will supplement the state’s funding and increase capacity of Contra Costa County communities and jurisdictions along the shoreline to develop cross-jurisdictional partnerships and collaboratives at a scale that addresses the needs and priorities of Contra Costa County’s unique shoreline communities; 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 National Coastal Resilience Fund Grant, and, if the County is selected for an award, to execute funding agreements and other documents necessary for this purpose, subject to approval of the funding agreement and related documents by the County Administrator and approval of the funding agreements as to form by the County Counsel, or designee; 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.