Climate Resilience Planning

Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Planning

The Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant program (MVP) provides a systematic framework and support for cities and towns to plan for climate change resiliency and implement priority projects.

We are proud that in the SRPEDD region, all 27 of our member communities are either MVP certified or in the MVP planning stage!

An initiative of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the MVP Program demonstrates the state's dedication to supporting local responses to climate change impacts.

Implementing the MVP program is a two-stage process. First, in the MVP Planning Grant program, communities receive state funding to engage specialized MVP Planning Workshop Providers to assist in convening a local MVP core team. The core team usually includes a wide range of staff, board members, and volunteers most involved in the stewardship of community infrastructure, public health, and bylaw implementation. Facilitators guide the core team through a workshop series that identifies the areas or aspects of town most vulnerable to disruption from climate change hazards such as  flooding, fire, or intense storms, and then prioritizes actions to combat these climate change impacts. The result of this process is a state-certified MVP Plan.

With an MVP plan and certification in place, municipalities are eligible to apply for MVP Action Grants, the second stage in the MVP process, aimed at realizing the priorities established in the MVP plan.

As a certified MVP provider, SRPEDD staff are trained in the Community Resilience Building workshop framework used by the MVP program. SRPEDD partnered with The Nature Conservancy, Mass Audubon, and Manomet, Inc as the MVP workshop providers for 12 communities in our region, assists in the preparation of MVP Action Grants, and carries out Action Grant-funded projects.

These MVP efforts are all advancing the goal of making the SRPEDD region's lands, infrastructure, historic community centers, businesses, and residence more able to adapt to and mitigate climate change effects.

 

Ongoing MVP Planning Grant Projects - SRPEDD/RTWN Providers

Westport MVP 2.0

SRPEDD is assisting the Town of Westport with updating its 2018 MVP Plan.

Fairhaven MVP 2.0

SRPEDD is assisting the Town of Fairhaven with updating its 2020 MVP Plan.

Ongoing MVP Action Grant Projects - SPREDD Lead

Regional Water Supply Resilience Study (led by Fall River)

SRPEDD is assisting the City of Fall River in conducting a regional water supply and systems assessment. Through an intermunicipal partnership with the communities of Fall River, Somerset, Westport, Swansea, Dighton, Freetown, and Dartmouth in Massachusetts, alongside Tiverton, Rhode Island, the study will help to better understand and manage water resources in the face of climate change within the greater Fall River area.

Previous MVP Action Grant Projects (SRPEDD Lead)

APC Watershed Management and Climate Action Plan

Building off a Floodplain Management Program project in 2019-2020 sponsored by the Division of Ecological Restoration, Lakeville as a lead town along with five additional municipal partners (Taunton, Middleborough, New Bedford, Rochester, and Freetown) received a two-year MVP Action Grant to create a Watershed and Climate Action Plan for the Assawompset Pond Complex and Nemasket River Watersheds.

Building a Municipal Resilience Portfolio: Assessment of Critical Land in the Winnetuxet River Corridor

The town of Plympton received an MVP Action Grant in 2020 to identify, assess and protect natural systems and open space in the Winnetuxet River corridor that provide local and regional climate resilience benefits, and co-benefits to Plympton as well as its Winnetuxet River watershed neighbors in Carver and Middleboro.

Local MVP Plans

Click the circular icon for links to Certified and Draft MVP Plans in the SRPEDD region. The top hazards identified in each community are noted