Sec. 406. Strategic Climate Change Relocation Initiative and Program
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The Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (in this section referred to as the Chair ) shall establish an initiative, to be known as the Strategic Climate Change Relocation Initiative (in this section referred to as the Initiative ), for the purposes of coordinating Federal agency activities to identify and assist communities that have expressed affirmative interest in relocation due to health, safety, and environmental impacts from climate change, including hurricanes, flooding, sea level rise, and repeat wildfires.
The Chair shall appoint a Strategic Climate Relocation Director to manage the Initiative. The Chair shall coordinate and consult with Federal agencies conducting activities related to this section including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of the Interior, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Denali Commission, the Corps of Engineers, the Office of Management and Budget, the National Economic Council, the National Security Council, the interagency subgroup on Tribal resilience of the White House Council on Native American Affairs, and other Federal agencies as appropriate.
The Chair shall establish an external advisory panel that may include community leaders, non-governmental organizations, State and local government representatives, Tribal leaders, Indigenous community representatives, climate adaptation professionals, and other relevant experts as appropriate. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Chair shall submit to Congress a report recommending key elements of a program, to be known as the Strategic Climate Change Relocation Program (in this section referred to as the Program ) to identify and assist communities that have expressed affirmative interest in relocation due to health, safety, and environmental impacts from climate change.
The report shall— identify— areas where climate change impacts make relocation a likely climate change adaptation strategy; communities that have expressed affirmative interest in relocation (in this section referred to as sending communities ); and potential relocation areas and communities that have expressed interest in attracting climate migrants (in this section referred to as receiving communities ); propose criteria to qualify for climate relocation assistance, with preference given to disadvantaged communities where community members have indicated a preference for retreat and would otherwise be challenged to relocate; describe the roles and responsibilities of specific Federal agencies in implementing the Program and how the Program should be coordinated with applicable State and Federal agency plans and programs and identify Federal programs that can be tailored to incentivize self-identification of communities as receiving areas; outline the role that State and local governments should play in implementing the Program, including identification of areas or communities where people leaving areas vulnerable to climate change can consider locating, and the specific resources needed to prepare those communities to be receiving communities in terms of Federal investment in infrastructure, affordable housing, and social services; summarize existing Federal and State programs for purchase of individual properties vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and propose how those programs might be restructured, improved, or expanded to incentivize climate change relocation; describe measures that governments or other organizations can take to reduce the psychological stress associated with relocation to preserve or support the historical and cultural identity of communities being relocated and to restore and conserve areas that communities are relocated from as publicly accessible natural assets, and how Federal programs will support those efforts; identify and recommend measures to overcome how institutional barriers, such as Federal programs that do not account for Tribal sovereignty, constrain Tribal communities’ ability to pursue self-determined management of their resources and built environment; identify measures that Congress, Federal agencies, or State and local governments should take to discourage or restrict new development and hard structural measures in areas vulnerable to such significant climate change impacts that they are likely to require a solution that includes relocation, in particular, where the Federal Government could establish stricter funding requirements for post-disaster funding that require updated building codes and land use strategies reflecting climate risk; describe existing policies and clarify responsibilities of governments in complying with obligations to protect private property, including providing just compensation for any taking of private property; propose an application process, available online, for States and communities to express affirmative interest in climate relocation assistance, either as a leaving community or receiving community; provide guidance on and identify additional funding for operations and maintenance requirements for vacated land, and identify the resources needed to prioritize public access, recreational spaces, or conservation areas; review efficacy of existing flood mitigation strategies on reducing flood risk to human populations, and identify opportunities to coordinate blue-green infrastructure solutions with buyout programs that increase the resilience of remaining residents; and outline the amount and timing of Federal funding that is expected to be needed to implement the Program.
In developing the report required by subsection (e), the Chair shall— provide for public review of and public comment on a draft of the report; consult with organizations representing State and local governments; consult with the external advisory panel established under subsection (d); and evaluate projects implemented under the National Disaster Resilience Competition administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Not later than 2 years after the date on which the report required by subsection
(e)is submitted, the Chair shall establish and carry out pilot projects based upon the recommendations included in such report. Not later than 3 years after the date on which the report required by subsection
(e)is submitted, and every 3 years thereafter, the Chair shall submit to Congress a report evaluating progress in the implementation of the Program and making recommendations for needed changes to the Program.