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Resiliency. That was a word, and concept, that was used over and over again during last week’s meeting of Maine’s Climate Council. Gov. Janet Mills had called the group together for a special meeting after two storms slammed coastal Maine within three days earlier this month. Those storms came less than a month after a December storm caused devastating flooding in many inland parts of the state.
Speakers at the meeting, from small towns, state agencies and scientific organizations, stressed the need to rebuild essential infrastructure, such as roads and fishing piers, quickly. But, they reiterated, that infrastructure needs to be rebuilt to withstand rising sea levels, more frequent floods and damaging storms.
“Whatever you had planned for climate change, it is not enough,” Stonington Town Manager Kathleen Billings told the group. Climate change, she said, is “coming on us faster than anticipated.”
Many of the town’s roads and buildings, along with commercial fishing infrastructure, were badly damaged by a Jan. 10 storm that brought high winds, rain and record storm surges to part of the coast. It was followed by a Jan. 13 storm that was worse in some areas of the state.
While Billings recognized the need to repair and rebuild structures to withstand storms, floods and tidal surges that will become more frequent, she also noted the urgency of this work. In Stonington, 350 fishing boats need to get going when the fishing season starts up in a couple months, Billings said. They need piers and other stable infrastructure on land for that season to be a success.
This is a challenge facing local, state and federal regulators: Changes need to be made to zoning and permitting requirements to address the consequences of climate change but repairs, reconstruction and new construction may need to happen quickly. Permitting and zoning changes can’t take so long that industries and communities are hurt. Nor should rebuilding happen so quickly that no needed adaptations are made to account for the next flood, the next wind storm, because they are surely coming.
It was encouraging to hear the commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Melanie Loyzim, share the agency’s plans for both expedited permitting but also for permitting that addresses the realities of climate change. For example, the department has proposed new legislation that would exempt emergency reconstruction of damaged structures in flood zones from permit requirements under the Natural Resources Protection Act. This exemption should help fishermen and seafood dealers rebuild their piers to be more storm resistant and ready for the busy summer season.
Making those piers more storm resistant could mean they would be taller, which could upset neighbors or others who would then see the structures. But, Loyzim said the state would weather that criticism when it comes.
“In terms of coastal damage that occurred in January, we were not prepared for how to deal with all the structural damage, where piers and wharves washed away, and there are requirements for permits,” Loyzim said. “We know we can’t get permits approved fast enough to get people back to work.”
Culverts, which don’t generally get a lot of attention, are another example of how to build for climate resiliency. Joyce Taylor, chief engineer for the Maine Department of Transportation, told the group that the department began replacing old culverts with larger ones and raising bridges. Those culverts and bridges made it through the storms, she said. They did cost more, however, which led to some earlier criticism of the department wasting money.
After the recent storms that caused widespread damage in many parts of Maine, it is increasingly clear that improving permitting and construction standards and spending additional funds to build infrastructure that can withstand the impacts of a changing climate are not a waste of time and money. They are, in fact, essential.