Equitable Resilience Technical Assistance
Equitable resilience technical assistance provides communities with no cost design and project development assistance, community engagement and partnership development support. The assistance supports disadvantaged and disaster-prone communities to plan and design local projects.
In the past, this assistance was offered in conjunction with major funding opportunities, including the Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants and the American Rescue Plan. Similar assistance may be offered in the future, so please sign up for our newsletter for updates.
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Background
Communities across the United States are facing the effects of extreme weather events in a changing climate. With changes in the frequency, severity and extent of disasters, proactive planning is critical for disaster preparedness and long-term resilience. Planning can help avoid or reduce the negative impacts of extreme events and can help a community recover and rebuild to be better prepared for the future.
Equitable resilience technical assistance serves disaster-prone and disadvantaged communities with no cost assistance for site or project design, project development, community engagement and partnership development workshops. With the help of this assistance, communities have designed projects to reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to respond to environmental and climate justice challenges.
Technical assistance supports the development of climate resilience projects, including green infrastructure, park development and/or retrofits of existing community buildings. New construction or renovation designs are used by communities to address climate change impacts such as extreme heat and heat islands, wildfire, smoke, floods, storms or other climate impacts. The climate resilience projects, when implemented, provide multiple benefits for the environment, economy and public health.
Equitable Resilience Technical Assistance Programs
Sixty-five communities have participated in two equitable resilience technical assistance programs - Community Change Equitable Resilience (2021-2022) and American Rescue Plan Equitable Resilience (2023-2024).
Community Change Equitable Resilience (2023-2024)
The Community Change Equitable Resilience Technical Assistance provided design assistance and project development support to 61 Tribes, community-based organizations and local governments in 2024. The resulting design solutions sought to address and enhance local resilience to climate risks, such as extreme heat, wildfire, smoke, floods and storms.
This assistance was offered in conjunction with EPA’s Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants program, which is funding approximately $2 billion in Inflation Reduction Act dollars in Inflation Reduction Act dollars for environmental and climate justice activities to benefit disadvantaged communities. These projects will reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience and build local capacity to address environmental and climate justice challenges.
American Rescue Plan Equitable Resilience (2021-2022)
In 2021 and 2022, EPA provided design and planning assistance to four state and Tribal governments to plan projects that will build resilience to risks of a changing change, natural disasters and industrial or hazardous materials risk.
Supported by American Rescue Plan funding, the Equitable Resilience technical assistance also allowed EPA to work collaboratively to build community capacity to address drinking water issues in four underserved communities, which are described below.
Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, Montana: The Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes Reservation is in the far northeast corner of Montana, on the north side of the Missouri River. The technical assistance provided complemented and built upon the Fort Peck Tribes' Hazard Mitigation Plan, using climate change scenarios and local knowledge to plan for projected changes to extreme weather and drought. This assistance also helped the Tribes develop green infrastructure designs, including a resilience hub and redevelopment of a waste transfer site to be a riverfront park. Implementation plans for these designs fit within the updated Hazard Mitigation Plan and offer co-benefits, such as new outdoor recreation options, ecotourism, and space to grow culturally significant plants.
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Michigan: Located on the shores of Lake Superior in Baraga County, portions of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community land are contaminated with waste material from legacy mining and face significant challenges from coastal erosion. EPA partnered with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community's Natural Resources Department to better understand the impacts of shoreline erosion along Lake Superior, and to develop community-informed conceptual design options for green infrastructure projects that can protect cultural, recreational and infrastructure assets.
Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana: Terrebonne Parish is situated on Louisiana's coast, where sea level rise and subsidence are contributing to land loss and habitat change. Communities are increasingly at risk from hurricanes and other flood events, including from intense rainfall. EOA supported the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government, the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe, the Louisiana Chief Resilience Officer, and public, private, and academic partners to develop conceptual designs and specifications for three harbors of refuge for the local fishing industry. The harbors of refuge are meant to offer refuge for commercial fishing vessels during storms and act as resilience hubs for recovery operations after storms.
State of South Carolina: EPA supported the South Carolina Office of Resilience and partners at South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control to meaningfully engage low-income, flood-prone communities in the development of green infrastructure designs on voluntary buyout properties. Voluntary buyout properties offer homeowners living in designated areas to voluntarily sell their homes or properties to their municipality and receive up to $250,000, inclusive of incentives. Properties sold through the program become open space that can be enhanced with green infrastructure, such as rain gardens, that infiltrate, store, or absorb stormwater and reduce flooding.