Infrastructure Bank Announces $4.9 Million for Municipal Resilience Program Action Grants and Names 6 Municipalities to Participate in 2022 Program Round

Cities and towns will implement specific projects to address impacts of climate change

PROVIDENCE, R.I – Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank today announced $4.9 million in Action Grants for participants of the Municipal Resilience Program (MRP). Communities prioritized local actions through the program and will use grant funds to implement projects that will increase their climate resilience.

“The Infrastructure Bank stands by our commitment to Rhode Island’s municipalities to accelerate investment in critical infrastructure and nature-based solutions that will better prepare communities for a changing climate” said Jeffrey R. Diehl, CEO of Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank. “The Bank’s Municipal Resilience Program directly supports cities and towns to identify and fund priority resilience projects, with a particular focus on nature-based solutions and those benefitting disadvantaged communities. We look forward to building on the success of the first three rounds of the program and strengthening relationships with our municipal partners statewide to proactively address climate change.”

With support from The Nature Conservancy, 20 municipalities have completed Community Resilience Building workshops and developed prioritized lists of actionable resilience plans and projects. Municipalities are then eligible to submit applications for MRP Action Grants with a 25% local match requirement. After a competitive review process, the selection committee recommended the following proposals to receive funding for implementation:

●      Barrington – Shoreline adaptation and upgradient tree planting at five sites for water quality, flood reduction, and heat reduction benefits; in addition, improvements at the Municipal Tree Nursery to support street tree populations across town

●      Bristol – Green infrastructure at Independence Park to improve water quality, reduce flooding, and create safer public access

●      Central Falls & Pawtucket – Two parklets, one in each City, along the Pine Street corridor in the Pawtucket-Central Falls Transit Oriented Development District, which will incorporate green infrastructure for water quality and flood reduction benefits

●      Cumberland – Planting of 196 trees at 26 locations throughout the Valley Falls and Lonsdale neighborhoods for stormwater management and cooling benefits

●      Cumberland – Enhancement of Cumberland’s stormwater management system along Industrial Road, incorporating a combination of green and gray infrastructure techniques

●      East Providence – Stormwater management installations incorporating green infrastructure at Beach Road and Willet Pond and floodproofing of the Silver Street Pump Station

●      Newport – Shoreline adaptation and green infrastructure installations at the end of Pine Street to improve water quality, reduce flooding, control erosion, and increase public access to the waterfront

●      North Kingstown – Shoreline adaptation and green infrastructure at the end of Roger Williams Drive, providing water quality, flood reduction, and erosion control benefits

●      North Kingstown – Flooding solutions at the Brown Street Parking Lot in Wickford Village, utilizing green infrastructure and elevation to address both water quality and flooding concerns

●      Portsmouth – Stormwater injection facility and green infrastructure at Riverside Street and dredging at Founders Brook to remove silt and vegetation buildup without hardening or channelizing the watercourse to address water quality concerns and reduce flooding

●      Providence – Green infrastructure “treatment train” at Mashapaug Pond that will address water quality concerns and allow for the testing of innovative stormwater management methods

●      Providence – Emergency generators at the Davey Lopes Recreation Center and the Elmwood Community Center to allow these centers to provide shelter during storm and extreme temperature events, and as a first step to establishing these centers as Resilience Hubs, which will provide information & engagement on climate resilience and transition to clean-energy systems in line with City-wide resilience goals

●      Tiverton – Restoration of natural hydrological patterns, relocation of vulnerable infrastructure, and creation of sand dunes stabilized with beach grass at Fogland Beach, Fogland Marsh, and Three Rod Way to address flooding concerns and protect against storm surges

●      Warren – Installation of stormwater management green infrastructure at Fern Drive to provide water quality treatment and reduce flooding

●      Westerly – Installation of nature-based stormwater infrastructure along Main Street, serving as a nature-based solution demonstration that will improve water quality, reduce flooding, reduce heat, and increase green space

The Bank also named six municipalities to participate in the 2022 round of the MRP. This is the fourth round of the program and increases the number of participating communities to 26.

Selected 2022 municipalities:

●      Burrillville

●      Charlestown

●      Glocester

●      Lincoln

●      Narragansett

●      Richmond

“Municipalities across the state are already feeling the impacts from climate change – from increased damage from storms to rising sea levels,” said Sue AnderBois, The Nature Conservancy’s Climate and Energy Program Manager. “The Nature Conservancy is proud to have partnered with the Infrastructure Bank to bring these planning workshops to 20 of the state’s 39 municipalities already, and we are so pleased to see the municipalities taking advantage of these initial grants to implement the recommendations of their workshops. We know there continues to be additional need for this type of planning and implementation. The proposed Green Bond includes an additional $16 million for implementation grants, and we are working with our colleagues across the region to determine how we can leverage federal infrastructure funds here in Rhode Island.”

All Rhode Island cities and towns are eligible to apply for the Municipal Resilience Program. More information on the program can be found here.