Groton Awarded State Grant For Climate Resiliency Project

GROTON, CT — The state has awarded $8.8 million in grants to support 21 climate resilience plans and projects in 17 municipalities. The Town of Groton received $200,000 to develop a town-wide climate resilience plan that looks at all hazards.

The plan will accompany a town-funded climate mitigation plan.

Sen. Heather Somers (R-Groton) applauded the grant. “This support from the state is much appreciated,” Somers said in a statement. “It will help Groton to further local efforts to protect our natural resources from erosion, climate change and rising sea levels. Erosion and climate change know no borders. We all care deeply about preserving our beautiful Connecticut coastline. This is an issue which impacts all of us, and we must continue working together to address it.”

The grants are through the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's Climate Resilience Fund.

“Climate Change is a real and pressing threat to Groton. We have already seen an increase in extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, and heat waves,” State Rep. AundréBumgardner (D-Stonington, Groton) said in a statement. “This funding enables Groton to develop a comprehensive action plan that will make our town more resilient to flooding, and sea level rise. As a member of the Environment Committee and legislator for coastal communities, I am committed to supporting the town’s climate plan in Hartford.”

“Connecticut is already playing a leading role in addressing the challenge of climate change because making those investments means healthier people and a healthier environment, as well as new business opportunities,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a statement. “Planning for climate resilience requires preserving and protecting what we love about this state so that we can continue to be a great place for families with clean air and water and thriving communities.”

In this first round of funding, more than 90 percent of the funds will go to vulnerable communities that will feel the effects of climate change first and worst.

By 2050, Connecticut is projected to experience stronger storms, longer, more frequent droughts, up to 20 inches of sea level rise along the coast, increased frequency of coastal flooding with levels like those seen in Superstorm Sandy every five to ten years, and an average of 20 additional days a year that rose above 90 degrees, according to the statement. Connecticut had multiple heat waves in summer 2022 and record-breaking rainfall in 2021.