Community-Driven Relocation Recommendations for the U.S. Gulf Coast Region and Beyond (2024) / Chapter Skim
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9 Landscape of Policy, Funding, and Planning
9 Landscape of Policy, Funding, and Planning
Pages 275-324
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9 Landscape of Policy, Funding, and Planning This chapter discusses the following: • Nested scales of government involved with community-driven relocation and the interrelationship of funding, policy, and plan ning within this framework • Federal agencies, programs, and policies that dictate or provide funding for elements of community-driven relocation, split by di saster-related agencies, agencies not primarily disaster-related, and nonfinancial technical assistance • State buyout program examples across the United States • The lack of and need for regional planning for community-driven relocation within the Gulf states, with examples of state planning entities in each state that could address such issues • Local-level buyout program examples from across the United States and land-use planning for relocation • Private and public-private funding and programs related to community-driven relocation 275
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For example, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is largely focused on response, hazard mitigation, and disaster recovery, while the U.S.
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Government programs, and the agencies that run them, most commonly follow a disaster-recovery model when facilitating relocation and other courses of action around environmental threats such as increasingly destructive hurricanes, subsidence, and sea level rise. In a disaster-recovery model, much of the available funding comes episodically as a reaction to a specific disaster or in the form of annual nationally competitive programs.
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[…] Local government leadership can be a dead end, or the last stop, or the last point in a funnel that lets the resources through." SOURCE: Derrick Evans, Executive Director, Turkey Creek Community Initiatives in Gulfport, Mississippi, and Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal and Ecological Health (2005– 2013)
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The FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) buyout approach, as illustrated in a report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (see Figure 9-1)
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Natural Resources Defense Council. https://www.nrdc.org/resources/going-under-long-wait-times-post-flood-buyouts-leavehomeowners-underwater
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At the local level, there are buyout programs that may draw from local funding sources and therefore have more flexible spending guidelines and that in some instances serve a similar role as state buyout programs. At this level there is also a heavier focus on detailed land-use planning.
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. Additionally, the slow effects of climate change, including erosion and sea level rise, are not eligible to be presidentially declared disasters.
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; Flood Mitigation Assistance grant program (FMA) ; Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP)
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,3 and Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) programs.4 HMA programs include the HMGP, BRIC, and Flood Mitigation Assistance grant program (FMA)
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Grant Program,7 to support planning for and implementing measures to reduce future risk from natural hazards at the state, local, tribal, and territorial government levels. In 2020, the BRIC program8 essentially replaced PDM and shifted its focus to nature-based solutions9 rather than the large-scale acquisition of hazard-prone housing (FEMA, 2021a)
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116-284) , which authorizes FEMA to award grants to states, federally recognized tribes, and territories so that these smaller governmental entities can establish and administer revolving loan funds aimed at promoting resilience and available to local communities.
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Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD was created in 1965 through the consolidation of five agencies, including the Federal Housing Administration and the Community Facilities Administration, with the intent of creating one federal agency through which to address "urban problems including substandard and deteriorating housing."16 Although HUD's primary purpose is not relocation or climate resilience, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program "supports community development activities to build stronger and more resilient communities,"17 and funding under this umbrella can be (and has been)
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. Separate funding is reserved for federally recognized tribes through two programs, the Indian Housing Block Grant and the Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG)
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. Although the majority of the HUD programs described above are tied to disasters, it is worth noting the range of resilience actions that HUD has undertaken, including addressing issues of housing, transportation, education, community centers, and implementing flood risk reduction measures to multiple hazards, including tidal flooding, stormwater, and episodic storm events.
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It is also the authority under which USACE conducts nonstructural projects, which have included community relocation. However, the requirement that USACE seek congressional authorization to address flood risk in a specific locality, with no organic statute governing overall authority of USACE to determine its own agenda, has resulted in piecemeal and inequitable distribution of FRM projects.
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The Bureau of Indian Affairs of DOI has small funding streams specific to tribes, inducing annual competitive grants awarded by the Tribal Climate Resilience Annual Awards Program.32 Previously, this program only provided limited funds for planning, travel, and capacity building, but the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enacted as the IIJA (P.L.
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Although these DOT programs are not directly related to relocation, they could be relevant to receiving communities for building up more sustainable and resilient transportation systems in anticipation of growing populations. One of these funding sources is the Rebuilding American Infrastructure 33 This list includes tribes that do not reside along the Gulf portion of Gulf states (e.g., Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, El Paso, Texas)
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. The IIJA also increases DOT's funding for the Transportation Alternatives Program that supports "pedestrian and bike infrastructure, recreational trails, safe routes to school and more."38 Again, this funding could be relevant in preparing receiving communities to offer sustainable transit options to new and current residents.
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EPA has created several opportunities for community involvement and provides extensive information on its residential relocation policies on its Superfund relocation information website.42 EPA stresses that community involvement must occur early and frequently throughout the relocation process. When a permanent relocation is under consideration, EPA offers access to an independent relocation technical expert or advisor to assist residents and businesses.
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Additionally, FEMA has been tasked with the oversight of the Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act, which seeks to identify and designate underserved communities and provide targeted assistance to help them reduce their risk to natural hazards and disasters.45 Although this is not a part of the Justice40 Initiative, it is recommended that when designating these zones, FEMA align with the initiative.46 At 43 More information about the Justice40 Initiative is available at https://www.whitehouse. gov/environmentaljustice/justice40/ 44 Ibid.
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For example, if one's home is identified as being in a high-risk area via the Zillow app and such data lack connection to planned capital projects to reduce local flood risks, one's home is still devalued. Additionally, risk information coming from multiple entities without clearly defined roles and uses, and with varying levels of robustness, can cause confusion for users.
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In another case, the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio (GCCDS) realized that many coastal residents devastated by Hurricane Katrina's storm surge were unsure of the cost of reconstruction.
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. GISCorps volunteer teaches GIS to Gulf Coast community design studio team in Biloxi, Mississippi.
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National Overview Several coastal states and local governments outside the Gulf region have developed long-term buyout programs or offices such as Blue Acres in New Jersey and ReBuild NC in North Carolina to administer federal buyout funding and conduct related long-term planning (e.g., identifying high flood risk areas)
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For example, Blue Acres partnered with local nonprofits to help individuals cover moving expenses and legal fees (FEMA, 2021a)
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For example, the 2023 Louisiana Coastal Master Plan refers to the need for residents to move due to increasing flood risks and dedicates 11.2 billion dollars out of the 50-billion-dollar 50-year plan to implementing "nonstructural" measures (elevations, floodproofing, and voluntary relocation; Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority [CPRA]
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To advance climate resilience, the program purchases undeveloped land as a proactive measure, using the land purchase to buffer adjacent communities from current or projected flooding, including flooding tied to sea level rise. Tenant relocation assistance was added to the program in 2017 to provide relocation assistance for renters being displaced by an acquisition of their rental property (Senate Bill 3401, 220th Legislature)
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, which is accountable for various areas, including housing assistance, community development, and disaster recovery within the county. Within this department, the HCCSD Project Recovery program is responsible for implementing GLO's buyout program in Harris County.59 The Project Recovery program is specifically designed to assist residents in recovering and rebuilding their homes following major disasters.
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For example, the Project Recovery program by HCCSD specifically notes on its website that "[t] he Flood Control District also has a buyout program, but it is not the same as the Project Recovery program, and not everyone who qualifies for the HCFCD program will be eligible for the Project Recovery program."61 Understandably, the two agencies focus on different issues (i.e., housing assistance and flood mitigation)
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.65 Although the geographic scale of the RPA's scope is much smaller than that of the Gulf states, both these regions have shared systems, whether economic, environmental, social, or otherwise. RPA informs policy makers and decision makers about economic development and public works through "independent research, planning, advocacy and vigorous public engagement effort"; it also convenes experts to develop long-range plans that shape "land use, transportation, the environment, and economic development."66 In the Gulf region, similar regional strategies could identify opportunities for receiving communities and address the challenges of originating communities, readying the states and municipalities for more detailed efforts.
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Regional planning commissions could collaborate to address changes to infrastructure and resource efficiency (including social services) in anticipation of or response to population shifts and growth in receiving communities.
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Gulf Coast states. It is open to all elected officials in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana.
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to improve the state's resilience to flooding and sea level rise"76 so the pathway to orchestrate managed retreat discussions is in place. Alabama The South Alabama Regional Planning Commission (SARPC)
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More holistically, as in the other U.S. Gulf Coast states, coastal planning commissions like SARPC could partner with other regional commissions, such as the Central Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission or the East Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission, to link assessments of coastal risk, population displacement, and receiving community readiness.
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They include a Watershed Projects Grant Program for local and regional projects; a State Projects Grant Program to facilitate the statewide flood mitigation strategy; a Regional Capacity Building Grant Program to grow staff capacity; and a statewide modeling effort to assess flood risk and risk reduction, to build on the state's data and modeling of coastal flooding, and to support education and outreach to build resilience. Such an initiative offers a replicable model for one that focuses on community-driven relocation, recognizing originating and receiving communities as part of a system or network, much like watersheds, and establishing funds to support a range of efforts to understand risks more fully, to grow risk awareness, and to engage communities in managed retreat discussions.
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Gulf Coast states hold similar roles and thus similar potential to address managed retreat at a regional scale. LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND COMMUNITIES Local-Level Buyout Programs and Planning In addition to state programs, local buyout programs have been developed in some areas to address recognized shortfalls in federal initiatives (Smith et al., 2023)
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Tulsa, Oklahoma, began a locally funded buyout program prior to the codification of buyouts under the Stafford Act in 1988. It was supplemented with FEMA funding following a series of federal disaster declarations, including three in one year (Smith et al., 2023)
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Another approach is to provide incentives for metropolitan planning efforts to conduct vulnerability assessments, which Florida does.84 Such incentives can help communities develop land-use plans to facilitate and assist both receiving communities and people who need or want to relocate. For example, Florida's Hillsborough County has identified sending and receiving areas, to include waterfront and inland communities, in its Post-Disaster Redevelopment Plan (PDRP)
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The inclusion of receiving communities in planning for and funding community-driven relocation is also emphasized in the National Climate Resilience Framework (White House, 2023; see Chapter 8 for more on receiving communities)
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In addition, the city has adopted a resilience quotient system, which provides incentives for developers, who can earn points for the adoption of varied resilience-related activities that advance flood risk reduction across development types, including residential, commercial, and mixed uses (City of Norfolk, 2016)
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316 FIGURE 9-4 A community plan for reinvestment and disinvestment. SOURCE: City of Norfolk.
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, a global program to help cities develop resilience strategies and to be able to consistently compare approaches while continuing to grow together.91 The Rockefeller Foundation also provided significant anchor funding to complement HUD's NDRC, which used funds from the appropriations bill that followed Hurricane Sandy toward this one-time competition, and implemented successful funding strategies developed in the Rebuild by Design competition.92 Additionally, the Rockefeller Foundation provided technical assistance to applicants, helping them "identify recovery needs and innovative solutions."93 The state of Louisiana received funding for LA SAFE (see above) and the relocation of the community on Isle de Jean Charles (see Chapter 3; HUD, 2016)
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Gulf Coast states98 as does the Trust for Public Land.99 The intent is not to recognize each philanthropy active in the Gulf region but to recognize that many are active, have a history of responsiveness to regional crises, and have resources to significantly increase the capacities of local and state governments. However, at this time, there are no major philanthropic efforts to address the basic issue of relocation in the U.S.
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Buy-In Community Planning seeks to facilitate a "holistic approach to buyout programs" that centers people, housing, and land, asking "Who wants to move? " "Where will they go?
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. Much of the funding for relocation is associated with disaster recovery programs rather than programs that plan for community development and well-being whether pre- or post-disaster.
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In addition, funding distribution models that are tied to disasters disadvantage areas where property values or population density are low because fewer total resources are available to address major infrastructure needs. State planning entities such as the Department of Environmental Protection, which created Blue Acres in New Jersey, could play a greater role in community-driven relocation by driving the development of local capacity, plan preparations, and sustained engagements in originating and receiving communities (see Chapter 8)
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Gulf Coast states, regional, and metropolitan and municipal planning entities. Such efforts could increase the capacity of local governments and cities by (a)
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needed to help communities resettle under existing laws, and there are existing programs (e.g., the Federal Emergency Man agement Agency's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant Program) that have facilitated individual households and neighborhoods to relocate, there is currently no inter agency coordination to enable community-driven relocation planning at the scale required to address the level of risks in the U.S.
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Sub-municipal communities, neighborhoods, and individual households wishing to relocate typically must rely on their municipalities to apply for state and federal relocation assistance. Conclusion 9-6: Targeted relocation planning funding, irrespective of individual disasters, needs to address community development and well-being, and encourage coordination between state and regional planning entities as well as municipalities.
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