Trump spending cuts hit two sea level rise protection projects in Boston
The cuts
are the latest setbacks for city climate leaders as they race to implement plans to protect Boston from rapidly rising sea levels by the 2030s, at which point flood risks across the city's waterfront are expected to increase dramatically.
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Despite the cancellation of federal funds, Boston city leaders are promising to push ahead with their plans to protect the 47-mile-long coastline from erosion and flood risks.
'While this is incredibly unfortunate,' said Brian Swett, the city's chief climate officer, '
...
this is not delaying anything that the city of Boston has underway [for coastal resilience].'
Still, 'it does present a challenge that now we have a bigger wedge to fill in terms of construction [costs],' he said.
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City leaders had expected $23 million from Washington to help construct the Moakley Park project, and a state agency had applied for a $12 million federal grant for Tenean Beach. Both applications were for funds from the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program, known as BRIC, a Federal Emergency Management Agency program that had received a big infusion of cash under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed during the Biden administration.
Beyond Boston, dozens of other Massachusetts communities are also scrambling to figure out what to do without the FEMA funds. Chelsea and Everett, for example, lost out on a $50 million grant they were expecting to
Time is of the essence for such flood barriers: Already, sea levels in the Boston region have risen by about a foot since the 1920s, primarily due to climate change as glaciers and sea ice melt and ocean temperatures warm, causing the water to expand.
Boston is likely to see another foot of sea level rise by 2050 compared to 2000. (City officials are planning infrastructure to withstand 40 inches of sea level rise by 2070.)
The roughly $250 million Moakley Park
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Despite the new federal funding cuts, Swett said he is optimistic that the city can find a different source of federal funding for construction on the park.
'We're going to continue to do everything we can to make sure something comes from Washington,' Swett said. 'I don't think this is the end of the federal story of investment in this project.'
At Tenean Beach, the state plans to elevate a parking lot, part of Conley Street, and a portion of the Harborwalk to protect against rising sea levels. The Department of Conservation and Recreation had sought $12 million from the now-canceled FEMA grant program. State officials said cuts to the program will pose 'real costs' to communities if alternative funds are not identified.
'Climate change cannot be ignored,' said Rebecca Tepper, Massachusetts' Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary, in a statement. 'We were preparing to upgrade Tenean Beach, elevate Conley Street, and restore the nearby wetlands to provide important flood protection to nearby environmental justice communities and public transit.'
Each federal grant application, she said, 'represents a neighborhood that needs support.'
Erin Douglas can be reached at
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