GROVELAND — Town Planner Rebecca Oldham is pleased to announce that Groveland has received a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Community designation for its efforts to prepare for climate change and extreme weather events.
The Town of Groveland was notified that it had achieved the designation on Sept. 30 by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs following its completion of the Community Resilience Building planning process.
The MVP program is an effort by Governor Charlie Baker’s administration to provide municipalities with technical support, climate change data and planning tools to identify hazards and develop strategies to improve preparedness and resilience.
In April 2019, the Town of Groveland was awarded a $25,000 grant to develop a resiliency report and conduct a Community Resiliency Building (CRB) workshop. Oldham wrote the application for the grant, and has overseen the Town’s MVP program planning initiatives.
The CRB workshop was held in December 2019 andgave community stakeholders and town staff the opportunity to work together to complete a climate change and natural hazard vulnerability assessment. During the workshop, possible solutions to the effects of climate change and natural hazards were also identified.
The Town of Groveland has experienced multiple disruptive and damaging weather events in recent years including Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011, Tropical Storm Sandy in October 2012, winter Nor’easter Nemo in February 2013, winter Nor’easter Quinn in March 2018 and Hurricane Barry in August 2019. These storms brought heavy rain induced flooding, wind damage to trees and snow that caused widespread damage to Groveland and other communities in the state.
During the Community Resilience Building planning process, the town also identified possible vulnerabilities tied to climate change including the impact of projected sea level rise and associated flooding, and determined what options are available to mitigate those risks.
The top three recommendations found by the process were Johnsons Creek floodplain management as well as for the town to perform a Comprehensive Climate Change Vulnerability and Resiliency Assessment and Town-Wide Stormwater Management System: Vulnerability/Resiliency Assessment.
“We’re so thankful to have had this opportunity to assess the steps we can take to help our community prepare for the impact of climate change and for extreme weather,” Oldham said. “The MVP program is a valuable resource for municipalities as they seek to address their vulnerabilities to these factors and strengthen their communities against them, and we’re excited to continue this important work.”
As a result of the designation, the Town is also now eligible for MVP Action grants overseen by the EEA.
To maintain the designation, the Town of Groveland will submit annual progress reports to the EEA and with any applications for MVP Action Grants.
To learn more about the MVP program, click here.
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