The Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is not providing sufficient funding to states for coastal climate resiliency programs, officials from 25 state coastal zone management programs told the Government Accountability Office. “Officials from all 25 state programs that GAO interviewed said funding provided by NOAA has been critical for planning projects related to ecosystem resilience, but also expressed concern that the amount of funding is insufficient to address states’ needs in implementing projects,” a GAO report Thursday says.
Under the 1972 Coastal Zone Management Act, NOAA is tasked with developing federal-state partnerships to help states protect their coastal areas. “For example, NOAA designated coastal hazards—physical threats to life and property, such as sea level rise—as the focus of CZMA competitive grants. States competed for a total of $1.5 million in grants in fiscal year 2016,” the report says. In fiscal year 2016, the report says, almost $50 million was allocated to CZMA grants.
