GIS people – are you still going ahead with preparations to be compliant with the MS4 permit?  How does the changing federal climate affect policy at our state level?

Seeing as all things are inherently temporary anyways, I would like to continue with the Directly Connected Impervious Area (DCIA) mapping, re-delineating our watersheds with the new lidar data and mapping out our storm water infrastructure.   Anyone else looking to take a similar or different approach?

 

 

Here’s an article on the EPA freeze:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/epa-freezes-grants-cdc-cancels-climate-change-summit-article-1.2953986

 

Foreseeing sweeping changes in President Trump's White House, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention canceled a climate change conference and the Environmental Protection Agency froze all of its grants and contracts.

With fossil fuel enthusiast Scott Pruitt slated to lead the EPA, the new administration appears poised to gut the 46-year-old department. It reportedly suspended its contracts and funding for air quality, climate change and emission reduction programs and ordered its employees to secrecy.

Citing leaked emails, ProPublica reports the nationwide restrictions — which include task orders and assignments — are in place pending further instructions from the Trump administration.

In addition, the agency will enforce tougher screening for media requests, pass public appearances and website changes through the new administration, and funnel all social media activity through a digital strategist, according to the Huffington Post.

The EPA’s final Twitter dispatch was a blog post from outgoing Administrator Gina McCarthy praising her agency’s work under the Clean Air Act on Jan. 19.

The modifications signal the administration's initiative to reverse Obama’s environmental legacy, which started almost immediately after Trump assumed the presidency with the White House striking most mentions to climate change from its website.

Possibly anticipating conflict with a right-wing White House, the Atlanta-based CDC nixed a conference on climate change’s impact to health — without explanation.

 

 

Meg McGaffin

GIS Analyst

City of Milford, CT

203-783-3232

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