Press Releases
06/25/2026
DEEP Announces Over $5 million in Climate Resilience Fund Grants to Protect Communities From Extreme Weather
Through re-envisioned resilience fund, DEEP advances cost-effective projects that will protect communities, save on recovery costs, and bring more federal dollars to Connecticut
(HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today announced the recipients of the second round of grants from the DEEP Climate Resilience Fund (DCRF), the agency’s “one-stop shop” for resilience funding. Through this round, DEEP is awarding $5.1 million to14 municipalities, regional entities and non-profits to support projects that will proactively protect homes, businesses, and critical community lifelines from worsening floods, extreme heat and wind, and other natural hazards.
The DCRF supports projects that protect communities by providing grants for planning, design, and matching funds for construction. These investments in community resilience help Connecticut minimize recovery costs from extreme weather events while maximizing the amount of federal funds coming to the state. For this second round, DEEP received 52 applications requesting $39.5 million in total. As additional funding becomes available, DEEP may consider making additional awards for high-scoring projects from this applicant pool on a rolling basis.
“As Connecticut faces another summer of potentially historic extreme weather, the importance of investing in proactive resilience measures is clearer than ever,” DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said. “DEEP announced the first awards from the DEEP Climate Resilience Fund in 2023 to provide funding for communities to create project pipelines for resilience. With this next round of funding under an expanded program, we are excited to meet communities where they are, to help them identify their risks, and design and develop successfully projects that can mitigate those risksWe are particularly pleased to see funding in this round for construction projects that will build resilience across Connecticut.”
Projects funded under this round include continued progress on planning and pre-construction advancement actions, such as town resilience plans, engineering designs for grey and nature-based flood control infrastructure, energy infrastructure to prevent power outages, resilience and energy hubs that will serve as community focal points for refuge and learning, and other diverse planning, design, and infrastructure projects. In addition to these planning and advancement projects, the DCRF is awarding matching funds to municipalities that will allow them to seek federal funds for construction of resilience projects that will protect critical municipal infrastructure.
Several municipalities receiving matching funds are applying to funding programs from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, a critical source of resilience funding for Connecticut.
“DESPP is looking forward to continuing our partnership with DEEP to help communities take full advantage of FEMA funds to protect the state against natural disasters,” DESPP Commissioner Ronnell Higgins said. “Helping towns access FEMA funds is especially important in today’s federal funding landscape, and these grants from the DCRF will remove a common barrier for FEMA grants and other federal funds by providing non-federal match.”
The projects funded under this announcement are listed below. DEEP looks forward to funding more projects under the DCRF under future allocations of authorized state bond funds. For questions about this program, please email DEEP.climateresilience@ct.gov.
The grant recipients under this round of funding are:
Town of Groton – $250,000. The Town of Groton will conduct a feasibility study for creating an energy resilience hub and “Cooler Neighborhood”, looking at opportunities involving the Groton Community Center and town-owned sites such as the library, senior center, and transit stops.
City of New Haven Parks Department – $250,000. The New Haven Parks Department will conduct a resilience action plan for Edgewood Park and surrounding neighborhoods, including the vulnerable Westville neighborhood, that will take full advantage of the park’s potential as natural infrastructure.
Jewett City – $237,044. Jewett City and the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments (SECOG) will advance planning for a flood control project in Jewett City that will build on Resilient Connecticut Phase III designs for the South Main Street Neighborhood, including open space design for stormwater storage.
South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG) – $250,000. SCRCOG will develop a framework that will allow municipalities to translate identified climate risks into implementable, equitable, and sustainable investment strategies, including an effort to map priority areas where flooding, extreme heat, and infrastructure vulnerability can be most effectively mitigated.
Western Connecticut Council of Governments (WestCOG) – $246,457. WestCOG will conduct a feasibility study of recurring finance mechanisms for resilience, including stormwater utilities and resilience improvement districts, regionally and for municipalities in the WestCOG region.
Norwich Public Utilities – $525,000. Norwich Public Utilities will finalize engineering plans and prepare bid documents to relocate the Shipping Street Pump Station out of the Thames River floodplain, addressing key components of Norwich’s Combined Sewer Overflow Long Term Control Plan.
City of Waterbury – $644,456. The City of Waterbury will finalize engineering design and permitting of riverine and storm drainage system improvements to protect the community in the Clough Brook watershed, implementing a comprehensive strategy for flood control that includes culvert upsizing and hybrid nature-based solutions.
Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments (SECOG)– $291,200. SECOG will finalize engineering designs to remove the Upper Falls Dam in Norwich to improve flood resilience, alleviate dam-related risks, and improve access to critical community lifelines.
Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG)– $650,000. NVCOG will finalize engineering designs for sites across the Naugatuck valley that will address the most urgent flood control needs in the region, including protecting an emergency services center in Oxford, critical transportation routes in Seymour, and seven other municipal, residential, and commercial sites.
North Hartford Partnership – $337,197. North Hartford Partnership will finalize design and permitting for a campus-scale community and energy resilience hub at the historic Swift Factory in Hartford’s North End, a state-designated Resilience Opportunity Area.
Windham Water Works – $415,000. Windham Water Works will finalize design and seek funding for climate-informed improvements to the Willimantic Dam, including flood-proofing the water intake and pump station, to protect the water supply of a rural community.
Town of Wolcott – $139,375. Wolcott will seek federal funding to implement hybrid nature-based solutions to address residential and road flooding near the Ransome Hall Road, building on NVCOG’s Regional Flood Resilience project.
Town of Wethersfield – $553,093. Wethersfield will finalize designs and apply for federal funds to begin construction on grey and green approaches to prevent recurring flooding that is impacting a stretch of the Silas Deane highway and nearby communities.
Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) – $375,000. DEMHS is seeking federal funding for a precipitation monitoring network that will inform local flood models and increase flash flood warning time, reducing damage from floods and flood-related deaths and injuries.
Under the first round of DCRF grants in 2023, DEEP awarded $8.8 million in planning and advancement grants supporting 21 innovative climate resilience plans and projects across 17 Connecticut municipalities and Councils of Government.
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DEEP Communications
DEEP.Communications@ct.gov
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