Cooperative Agreement 00A01438

DESCRIPTION:THE AGREEMENT PROVIDES FUNDING TO THE CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (CT DEEP). THE RECIPIENT WILL INITIATE A NEW PROGRAM TO WORK WITH DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES INCLUDING EDUCATION, OUTREACH AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES FOCUSING ON RESIDENTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE NORTH END OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT. THE GOAL IS TO WORK WITH AND FIND SOLUTIONS FOR THE RESIDENTS IN THE NORTH END OF HARTFORD REGARDING FLOODING THAT OCCURS DUE TO COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOWS (CSOS), SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOW (SSOS), AND CLIMATE CHANGE. THIS PROJECT WILL LEAD TO A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF COMMUNITY CONCERNS, BUILDING AND MAINTAINING RELATIONSHIPS WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND THE GOVERNMENT AND WORKING TOGETHER TO IMPROVE ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH CONDITIONS WITHIN THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. THIS PROJECT WILL INCREASE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, BUILD STRONG PARTNERSHIPS AND CREATE NEW TOOLS FOR THE CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION TO USE FOR EDUCATION, OUTREACH AND TRAINING FOR DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES WITHIN THE STATE.ACTIVITIES:THE PROJECT WILL CREATE A PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT TO ENABLE THE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS TO THE COMMUNITY AND PROVIDE THE PLATFORM FOR THE DELIVERABLES NOTED BELOW. THE CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION WILL INITIATE A PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT AND PARTNER WITH BLUE HILLS CIVIC ASSOCIATION, KENEY PARK SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT AND HARTFORD NEXT INC. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO CREATE AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND COALITION. THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WILL CONSIST OF COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES. THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WILL FACILITATE, COORDINATE, DEFINE COMMUNITY NEEDS, GUIDE DECISION MAKING PROCESSES AND ADVOCATE FOR COMMUNITY PRIORITIES. THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WILL CONDUCT INITIAL OUTREACH TO EVALUATE COMMUNITY NEEDS REGARDING NECESSARY EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS TO SUPPORT DECISIONS REGARDING SEWER FLOODING. THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WILL COORDINATE WITH THE CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION TO IDENTIFY THE APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENT PARTNERS TO ADDRESS THOSE COMMUNITY IDENTIFIED SEWER FLOODING NEEDS. THIS COALITION GROUP WILL SERVE AS A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE GOVERNMENT ENTITIES SUPPORTING THIS EFFORT. THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WILL MEET THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT PERIOD TO FACILITATE COMMUNITY DECISIONS. THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE INFORMATION, TRAINING AND OUTREACH TO REACH RESIDENTS OF HARTFORD'S NORTH END COMMUNITIES REGARDING EDUCATION AROUND SEWER BACKUPS AND SOLICIT INPUT ON COMMUNITY PRIORITIES. PUBLIC OUTREACH WILL BE LED BY BLUE HILLS CIVIC, WITH ACTIONS DISTRIBUTED AMONG KENEY PARK SUSTAINABILITY AND HARTFORD NEXT. BLUE HILLS CIVIC WILL PROVIDE PARTNERS IN COMMUNITY WITH TRAINING, CREATE EDUCATIONAL FLYERS WITH RELEVANT MEETING INFORMATION TO INCREASE COMMUNITY CAPACITY TO PARTICIPATE IN DECISION MAKING PROCESSES AND ENGAGE EXISTING ADVOCACY GROUPS WITH OUTREACH STAFF FOR THE DURATION OF THE PROJECT. TO ASSURE ACCESSIBILITY, MULTIPLE FORMATS AND MULTIPLE LANGUAGES WILL BE UTILIZED. INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS WILL ALSO BE SHARED IN A WEB-BASED PLATFORM. A COMMUNITY ENGINEER WILL BE CONTRACTED BY BLUE HILLS CIVIC ASSOCIATION TO REPRESENT THE COMMUNITY. THIS REPRESENTATION IS INTENDED TO BALANCE REPRESENTATION THROUGH BREAKING THE JARGON AND TECHNICAL BARRIERS. THE ENGINEER IS A KEY DEDICATED RESOURCE FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND UNDERSTANDING THE TECHNICAL INFORMATION PERTAINING TO IDENTIFYING CONCERNS AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS. THIS COMMUNITY ENGINEER WILL: CREATE AN ENGINEERING TERMS EDUCATIONAL BOOKLET/FLYER TO HELP RESIDENTS BE INFORMED AND SELF-ADVOCATE, PROVIDE REVIEW AND COMMENT LETTERS ON LOCAL SEWER IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (PROVIDED BY MDC) FROM COMMUNITY INPUT AND DIRECTION FROM THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND DOCUMENT SEWER FLOODING PRIORITIES AND POTENTIAL ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS FROM COMMUNITY INPUT AND DIRECTION FROM THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE. THIS PROJECT WILL CREATE AND DISSEMINATE EXTENSIVE EDU