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Transition & Resilience: The Bulletin

Issue #8 | July 2021

Welcome to news from the Nuclear Closure Communities Technical Assistance team, helping communities that host a nuclear power plant better prepare and plan for a post-nuclear future. Learn more and get in touch at smartgrowthamerica.org/nuclear

Awards Snapshots

In May 2020, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced the allocation of $13.5 million in FY2020 and $16.5 million in FY2021 in funding for the new Nuclear Closure Communities (NCC) program through its Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) program

This funding is meant to support communities and regions that are home to nuclear power plants as they build diverse, resilient economies and also prepare or respond to the economic and social impacts of plant closure. The grants support a mix of projects including funding for writing recovery plans and feasibility studies, physical infrastructure improvements projects, nuclear research and development, and much more.

Take a look at these brief snapshots of the awards that EDA has announced to date as part of the NCC program >

 

Upcoming Events and Opportunities

  • Spark! Places of Innovation: Does your town have an interesting experience to tell about environmental sustainability, economic revitalization, artistic energy and collaboration, community transformation, historical preservation, technological invention, entrepreneurship, or reinvention? The Smithsonian Institution is relying on content gathered from diverse rural communities across the nation to inspire other people and communities to investigate the creative things happening all around them and reveal what is innovative about themselves. Applications will be accepted through July 27, 2021. Learn more and apply.

  • There’s still time to apply for T-Mobile’s Hometown Grants! The company is giving away $25 million to small communities over the next five years through hundreds of smaller (~$50k) Hometown Grants for all types of catalytic projects. If you are a local leader of almost any kind (elected, civic, etc), you can nominate your town for a Hometown Grant here. Fall applications will be accepted July-Sept; winning towns announced in October 2021.

  • Wanted: Local elected champions for Complete Streets: SGA’s Active People, Healthy Nation Champions Institute is a great opportunity for local elected officials to gain the knowledge needed to effectively advocate for and support safer and more Complete Streets. The deadline to submit applications for the second round is this Thursday, July 15th. This second cohort will receive comprehensive training to promote activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations. Learn more on SGA’s website and contact Emily Schweninger at eschweninger@smartgrowthamerica.org with any questions.

  • NEA Offers Relief Funds to Help Arts and Culture Sector Recover from Pandemic: The NEA received $135 million in the American Rescue Plan Act -- 60% of that funding will be awarded in competitive grants to support jobs in the arts and culture sector and keep the doors open to nonprofit organizations and local arts agencies nationwide. Applications for local arts agencies to sub-grant are due on July 22, 2021; applications for arts and culture organizations, local governments, and tribes are due on August 12, 2021. View guidelines and applicant resources.

  • Our Town Placemaking Grants Program: The National Endowment for the Arts’ creative placemaking grant program supports projects that integrate arts, culture, and design into efforts that strengthen communities by advancing local economic, physical, and/or social outcomes. Projects require a partnership between a nonprofit organization and a local government entity, with one of the partners being a cultural organization. Grants range from $25,000 to $150,000. Initial applications due August 5. Go to program page.

 

Reads and Resources

  • Economic Development Policies to Enable Fairness for Workers and Communities in Transition: This first in a report series from Resources for the Future and the Environmental Defense Fund examines economic development policies and programs to help policymakers address economic challenges associated with a shift away from fossil fuels.

  • The Transition Network’s UK REconomy Project Pilot started in 2011 with the aim of helping to build the capacity of Transition groups and other stakeholders to transform their local economy. Learn from the experiences of UK communities as they organized to diversify their local economies, including what you can do to mobilize community members; involve enterprises with key resources; influence local policy in favor of local businesses; and much more. 

  • Fact Sheet: Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework Creates Economic Opportunities for Rural America: The Framework delivers 100% broadband coverage, rebuilds crumbling infrastructure like roads and bridges, eliminates lead pipes and service lines, builds resilience to climate change and extreme weather events, and puts Americans to work cleaning up pollution that has impacted fossil fuel communities in rural America.

  • Host community attitudes towards solid waste landfill infrastructure: Comprehension before compensation: This month’s recommended academic piece from the Journal of Environmental Planning and Management addresses issues of waste disposal infrastructure in local communities, the role of compensation policy to recognize social costs and introduce equity into the waste planning system, and  why people reject waste disposal infrastructure developments.

  • Challenges and Benefits of Transition Towns: Rob Hopkins, Transition Fellow at the Post Carbon Institute and co-founder of the Transition Network, delivered a fascinating report on the challenge and benefits of transition towns at TedX Exter in April 2012. Although Dr. Hopkins’ work is mostly focused on coal communities and oil-dependency, these brilliant lessons learned are widely applicable to any small community planning for a major economic transformation.

  • NTIA Creates Interactive Map to Show Digital Divide Across the Country: NTIA recently announced a new publicly available digital map that displays key indicators of broadband needs across the United States. This is the first interactive, public map that allows users to explore different datasets addressing where people do not have access to quality broadband.

 

News

Check out The Nuclear Decommissioning Collaborative’s regularly updated news board to keep up to date with nuclear decommissioning initiatives across the country. 

  • New Indian Point Oversight Board Forms: As with the Closure Task Force, the board will have no legal power in and of itself. But it consists of many members who do have legal authority, such as state representatives and members of state regulatory agencies. Many of the laws passed with regard to the closing of the plant arose out of Closure Task Force meetings, such as securing funding over the next several years to offset lost tax revenue from its shutdown.

  • University of Michigan’s Economic Growth Institute joins effort to erase disruption from nuclear facility closure: EGI is working alongside Kinexus Group in partnership with the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission to craft a new vision, strategy and plan that will lower the risk for and severity of negative impacts while driving renewal and growth after Palisades Nuclear Power Plant’s planned closing next year.

 
 

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To inquire about partnering with the team on behalf of your community, please fill out the contact form on SGA’s website.

This effort utilizes Federal funds under award ED20HDQ3030068 from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the project team and do not necessarily reflect the views of EDA or the U.S. Department of Commerce.

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