2017 Republican gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie today released a thorough plan to address sea level rise, recurrent flooding and land subsidence. As governor, Gillespie will take proactive steps to enhance infrastructure, empower cities and regions to lead, flood proof our military installations and fight for more affordable flood insurance for Virginia families and businesses. This is Gillespie’s tenth major policy announcement in his campaign, and sixth since becoming his party’s nominee.
“Coastal Virginians are all too familiar with the damaging effects of rising sea levels and recurrent flooding, from skyrocketing flood insurance costs to irreparable storm damage,” said Ed Gillespie. “We must tackle this challenge proactively, otherwise the consequences will only become increasingly severe. As governor, I will immediately take the necessary steps to protect our coastal communities and the Virginians who call them home.”
Watch HERE.
GILLESPIE’S SIX POINT SEA LEVEL RISE ACTION PLAN
FIX FLOODING INFRASTRUCTURE
Virginia needs strong leadership to enhance infrastructure that will protect Virginia’s coastal communities from damaging flooding. Ed will reform state programs that prevent or reduce flooding risk, address sea level rise, and adapt to living with water.
- The Virginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund was established in 2016 for the purpose of creating a low-interest loan program to help residents and businesses that face recurrent flooding. The legislation provided that moneys from the Fund may be used to mitigate future flood damage, unfortunately the Fund was not capitalized. Ed will work with the private sector to help bring money into this fund to form a true public-private partnership to address sea level rise.
- Ed will reform the Virginia Pooled Financing Program to allow infrastructure projects to address sea-level rise. The Virginia Pooled Financing Program, administered by the Virginia Resources Authority, is well-positioned to work with local governments to help facilitate sea-level infrastructure projects on a local and regional basis in Virginia’s coastal communities.
- When reviewing and approving state infrastructure and capital investment throughout coastal Virginia, Ed will consider the project’s ability to improve flooding infrastructure. He will direct the Department of Planning and Budget to add a screening question related to recurrent flooding to all capital budget requests.
As our localities plan for investment in Virginia’s communities, the Commonwealth should urge localities to make decisions that ensure capital improvement decisions benefit sea level rise adaptation.
FIGHT FOR AFFORDABLE FLOOD INSURANCE
Ed will fight to make flood insurance affordable for Virginia families and businesses by lowering costs through the community rating program and pushing for sufficient coverage for those who need it.
The National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS) is a voluntary incentive program that recognizes and encourages community floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum NFIP requirements.
In partnership with an infrastructure approach to sea-level rise, Ed will work to maximize Virginia’s coastal communities CRS to lower insurance costs for families and businesses.
Ed will fight to improve our communities’ ratings, which could save Virginia families and businesses between 5% to 45% each year on flood insurance premiums. If you pay $700 per year now for flood insurance, this could mean savings of up to $315 per year. If you pay more than that, your savings could be even greater. When Norfolk recently improved from a class 9 to a class 8 ranking, it saved almost 7,000 residents 10% on premiums, for an average of $107 per year.
Recurrent flooding is not an issue unique to our coastal communities but a problem across the Commonwealth. We’ve seen significant flooding from Arlington County to Virginia Beach to the river valleys across our mountain regions. This is clearly a statewide issue and requires a statewide response.
ADVANCE INNOVATION AND CREATE JOBS
The Netherlands created an export industry of dealing with flooding adaptation. Virginia should lead with innovation to create job and investment opportunities for coastal Virginia.
Two-thirds of the Netherlands would flood without the interventions the Dutch have pioneered. They turned this challenge into an opportunity, and today Dutch companies have cornered 40% of the accessible global market for water management, which makes up 2% of their country’s GDP.
Coastal Virginia is experiencing the challenges of flooding and sea level rise before many other cities will, and as we develop innovative solutions, we can grow our economy by helping other cities up and down the U.S. coasts.
FLOOD-PROOF OUR MILITARY INSTALLATIONS
A Gillespie Administration will work with Norfolk Naval Base and other Hampton Roads military installations to ensure these assets and their personnel are protected from flooding and sea level rise, and their duties to protect our country are not at risk of being hindered by flooding.
Virginia’s military installations inject billions of dollars into our Commonwealth’s economy and our military personnel are vital to our Commonwealth. A Gillespie Administration will fight to ensure our military installations in Virginia can continue their mission-critical work to keep our nation safe.
The Norfolk Naval Base floods 9-10 times time per year today from tidal flooding, and impassable flooded roads in Norfolk could delay deployment for the 22,000 military personnel who live in the city. Without action, tidal flooding could increase to 280 days per year by 2050.
Langely-Eustis provides $2.4 billion annually to the local economy and supports over 8,000 military personnel, 10,000 family members, and 12,000 students. Langley floods 9 days per year today from tidal flooding. If we don’t take action, the base could flood 280 times per year from tidal flooding by 2050 (under an intermediate estimate for sea level rise). While Langley has taken action to protect against flooding, there is much more to do to prepare for what could come.
EMPOWER LOCALITIES TO LEAD
Ed will ensure localities have the authority they need to address sea level rise and coastal flooding. Sea level rise does not recognize municipal or political boundaries. We need to ensure localities have the tools necessary to solve problems and to do so on a regional basis when possible.
Ed and his cabinet will review needed authority and provide localities appropriate authority to take action. Further, state policy will encourage localities to consider sea level rise and flooding in capital planning decisions to make sure the infrastructure we are paying for can effectively serve citizens for decades to come.
DESIGNATE A COASTAL FLOODING ADAPTATION OFFICER
Ed will designate a member of his administration to serve as the Coastal Flooding Adaptation Officer, responsible for generating solutions for flooding adaptation in the Commonwealth. The officer will be charged with working with stakeholders and partners to provide a holistic response, including being a liaison to the Joint Subcommittee on Coastal Flooding, working with the Virginia Coastal Policy Center at the College of William & Mary, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Old Dominion University, the Commonwealth Center for Recurrent Flooding Resiliency, the military, business and environmental stakeholders, local government and citizens, as well as leaders from other coastal states.
A Gillespie Administration will ensure that our resources are being spent wisely and that our agencies are working together to address sea-level rise and flooding adaptation. Ed will request an audit of each state agency from housing to social services to conservation to look at how we can improve interagency coordination and how we can use our resources more efficiently to ensure that the funds are being expended to protect our citizens, reduce flood risk, and lower the economic impact felt throughout the state.
The full plan can be found HERE. Gillespie has released nine other major policy proposals including:
- The “Cutting Taxes for ALL Virginians” Plan cuts individual income tax rates by ten percent across-the-board, putting nearly $1,300 more in the pocket of a family of four and creating more than 50,000 new full-time private sector jobs.
- The “FAITH In Our Government for ALL Virginians” Plan will close loopholes and give Virginians a better opportunity to hold elected leaders accountable for their actions.
- The “Efficiency + Effectiveness: A Government that Works for ALL Virginians” Plan will reorient government to more successfully address Virginia’s problems, demand evidence-based solutions, right-size our government to better steward taxpayer dollars, and incentivize our state government workforce to be more responsive to the needs of all Virginians.
- The “Removing Barriers to Job Creation for ALL Virginians” Plan will bring meaningful reform to remove barriers to job creation, making it easier for businesses to grow and thrive in the Commonwealth. It focuses on standing up for Virginia’s job creators, reforming Virginia’s regulatory climate, reforming occupational licensing and streamlining business formation.
- The Mental Health, Addiction, and Recovery Agenda will improve Virginia’s behavioral health system and address all facets of the opioid and heroin addiction crisis, including prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery.
- The Veterans and Military Affairs Agenda will improve career opportunities for veterans, give veterans a greater voice in our government, support our military and their families, and care for our veterans and their families.
- The “Job One: Keeping Virginia Safe” Plan will improve public safety in Virginia by eradicating gangs, reforming the system, and rewarding those who serve and protect.
- The Agriculture and Forestry Agendashows exactly how Gillespie will champion Virginia’s agriculture and forestry industries, prioritizing efforts to expand exports and open new markets for Virginia products.
- “An Excellent Education for ALL Virginians” Plan will strengthen Virginia’s education system, ensure that every child, in every community, has access to a high quality, safe and student-focused public education, and better align our workforce development system with the demands of the marketplace of today and the future.