State to help coastal communities cope with global warming woes
(Tom Herde/Globe Staff)
Could it get worse? Waves pounded the seawall at high tide along Stony Beach Road in the Gun Rock section of Hull during an April 2007 storm.
Globe Staff
State officials say they’re launching a groundbreaking program in which they will assist communities perched on the Massachusetts coast in coping with global warming hazards like rising sea level and stronger and more frequent storms.
The program, StormSmart Coasts, was announced today by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, which billed it as a "nation-leading initiative."
The program will begin with four workshops this month, in Norwell, New Bedford, Barnstable, and Danvers, that will offer information on how communities can protect property and people from coastal storms.
The state says the program, which will include an extensive website, will offer communities along the state’s 1,500-mile shoreline “a suite of tools and strategies.”
The intended audience includes officials on Planning Boards, Conservation Commissions, Zoning Boards of Appeals, Departments of Public Works, and others in town government.
