Abstract
Sea level rise, recurrent flooding, and increasingly severe storms are ever-present threats to coastal Virginia. As climate change becomes the “new normal”, creative solutions are needed to adapt to these stark realities.
In response to these climate-related challenges, Governor Ralph Northam issued Executive Order 24, “Increasing Virginia’s Resilience to Sea Level Rise and Natural Hazards,” on November 2, 2018. The Executive Order designated the Secretary of Natural Resources as the Chief Resilience Officer of the Commonwealth, and set forth various actions intended to increase statewide resilience to natural hazards and extreme weather. Later that same month, Portsmouth released its 2018 comprehensive plan, Build One Portsmouth, which also takes resiliency issues into account and attempts to increase the City’s preparedness moving forward.
Considering these recent developments, it is important for Portsmouth to establish the boundaries of its authority as the City plans for the future. This memorandum attempts to answer some of the City’s most pressing questions in its efforts to become more resilient.
This abstract has been taken from the authors' introduction.
Document Type
Sea Level Rise and Recurrent Flooding
Publication Date
Spring 2019
Repository Citation
Wrynn, Alison and Simonetti, Sarah, "Planning for the "New Normal": Using Build One Portsmouth to Address Flood Resilience" (2019). Virginia Coastal Policy Center. 48.
https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/vcpclinic/48
Included in
Emergency and Disaster Management Commons, Environmental Law Commons, State and Local Government Law Commons