State, Regional Agencies Join Forces to Prepare Bay Area for Sea Level Rise, Increased Flooding

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Metropolitan Transportation Commission

Jul 22, 2024, 15:03 ET

Memorandum Marks Commitment to Coordinated Efforts

SAN FRANCISCO, July 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Seven regional and state public agencies have executed a new memorandum of understanding committing each agency to a joint work program to address increased threats of flooding and sea level rise in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area region.

The agencies participating in the agreement signed last Friday include the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG); the Bay Area Air Quality Management District; the California State Coastal Conservancy; Caltrans District 4; the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC); the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board; and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC). The partners' amplified coordination will be guided by the inter-agency Bay Area Regional Collaborative (BARC). The memorandum is intended to align the partners' efforts, expertise and core functions to deliver priority, multi-benefit projects to reduce flooding risks in vulnerable communities along the San Francisco Bay shoreline.

"The scale of the Bay Area's need for projects to adequately adapt to the threats of flooding and sea level rise is vastly greater than the resources available," explained BARC Chair Jesse Arreguin, who also serves as mayor of Berkeley and as vice president of the ABAG Executive Board. "By working together with a shared purpose, the Bay Area will be in a better position to compete with other metro areas for the limited dollars that are available."

Through coordinating their respective roles and authorities, the partner agencies aim to:

Speed implementation of adaptation projects to better prepare communities, businesses, infrastructure, and the environment for the expected impact of flooding and sea level rise.
Increase the Bay Area's ability to compete for state and federal grants.
Help cities, counties and special districts plan and fund climate adaptation projects.
Build consensus on project priorities through a strategic, data-driven and equitable approach that incorporates local sea level rise adaptation plans.
Support multi-jurisdiction partnerships to advance multi-benefit projects at scale.
Create a cooperative environment in which various agencies and municipalities support each other's goals and support each other's climate adaptation projects.

"We need unprecedented coordination to prioritize flood risk management projects in the places that need them most," said ABAG Executive Board President and Napa County Supervisor Belia Ramos. "We must accelerate our pace and plan at a scale commensurate with the threat. This MOU is an important step in documenting how the seven agencies will coordinate in support of the cities, counties, special districts, community-based organizations, and private interests that all have critical roles to play in implementing effective projects."

"There is a funding gap of at least $110B in green, grey and hybrid solutions to adapt the Bay Area to mid-century sea level rise projections," noted BCDC Chair Zack Wasserman. "This MOU establishes a structure and process to support coordinated planning, project prioritization, and project delivery to reduce inter-agency and inter-jurisdiction competition for funding."

California State Coastal Conservancy Executive Officer Amy Hutzel noted that, "Some of the Bay Area region's most flood-prone areas include under-served communities that lack the resources to plan and build specific flood risk management projects on their own. I'm excited to work with my partner agencies in this coordinated effort to ensure vulnerable communities can implement adaptation projects that make them safer and more resilient to the growing threats of sea level rise, while preserving and enhancing the Bay's natural resources."

BARC was created by the state Legislature in 2004 to foster the coordination of the Bay Area's regional agencies on issues of regional significance. More information may be found on the BARC website.

SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission