Senator Hassan Secures Nearly $1 Billion in Critical Funding for Coastal Resiliency in Bipartisan Infrastructure Package

The Funding Will Help Prevent Severe Flooding and Restore Ecological Habitats on the Seacoast

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan successfully led efforts to secure significant federal funding to strengthen coastal resiliency efforts for coastal communities in New Hampshire and across the country in the recently released bipartisan infrastructure package. The funding that Senator Hassan helped to secure in the final package will help protect coastal communities from flooding as climate change continues to cause more severe weather events and flooding.

“The impacts of climate change are already being felt in coastal communities on our Seacoast, which is why we must make significant investments to mitigate the threat that this poses to homes and businesses,” Senator Hassan said. “The bipartisan infrastructure package includes robust federal funding that I worked to secure to help restore New Hampshire’s natural ecosystems and reduce the impact of flooding. These sorts of investments will make an enormous difference to our communities in the years to come, and I will keep working to get this historic bill over the finish line.”

Senator Hassan worked to secure critical investments for coastal resiliency in the bipartisan infrastructure package that was recently released, including:

• $492 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Coastal Resiliency Fund, a partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). 
• This program improves the resilience of coastal communities to flooding and inundation by restoring or expanding natural ecosystems, while enhancing fish and wildlife habitats and increasing protection for communities from coastal hazards.

• $491 million for the NOAA Community-Based Restoration Project.
• This program helps protect the safety and well-being of coastal communities by buffering shorelines from erosion, reducing flooding, and removing potentially hazardous structures. 

Senator Hassan is working to address climate change and reduce its impacts in New Hampshire and across the country. The Senate recently passed bipartisan legislation that Senator Hassan cosponsored to make it easier for New Hampshire farmers and private forest landowners to participate in carbon markets and get rewarded for climate-smart practices. The Senator also recently led a number of her colleagues in reintroducing bipartisan legislation to support and expand programs such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a collaborative effort across 11 states including New Hampshire that uses market-based tools to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector. Additionally, Senator Hassan previously joined in introducing bipartisan legislation to bar oil and gas drilling off the New England shoreline, as well as previously joined in introducing legislation to prohibit oil, gas, and methane hydrate-related seismic activities in the Atlantic Ocean.

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