The topic of sea level rise and potential solutions took center stage in San Francisco Monday, much to the relief of many homeowners near the water.
The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) is guiding coastal communities to develop their own rising sea level plans and said a recent $20 million boost from voter-approved bond measure Prop 4 is helping to make it happen.
“It’s not going to be enough for everything all the time because rising sea levels are going to continue to happen,” BCDC Executive Director Larry Goldzband said. “So after the first plan is approved and it starts getting implemented, the communities and cities are going to have to look around and say, ‘OK, what do we do next?’”
State Sen. Josh Becker had some good news to share on that front. Flanked by other state and local leaders as well as environmental groups, he displayed a symbolic $102 million check from the same Prop 4 fund – $62 million will go to coastal resilience projects and $40 million is earmarked for San Francisco Bay restoration and conservancy.
“We are ground zero for sea level rise here in the Bay Area,” he said. “Two-thirds of the impact of sea level rise in the state of California will be in the Bay Area, and San Mateo County specifically is the most at risk.”
Becker said the $102 million is like a down payment since so much more money will be needed.
He acknowledged the Trump administration has been stopping and even pulling back federal funding, adding that the fight to get that money back will have to take place in court.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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