NOAA, U.S. Department of Transportation team up to advance climate-smart transportation

Transportation sector officials will have easier access to climate and environmental information, along with technical assistance, thanks to a new memorandum of understanding signed today by NOAA and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). This collaborative agreement comes at a time when extreme weather, sea level rise and flooding are taking a significant toll on our nation's highways, bridges, rail lines and ports.

The MOU will enable DOT and transportation stakeholders from state, tribal, territorial, local and commercial entities to collaborate with NOAA climate scientists and communicators to exchange a wide range of information and resources.

The partnership will enable NOAA to more easily provide the transportation sector with climate data, environmental information, tools and the technical expertise needed to incorporate climate change resilience and emission reduction into important decisions. These decisions include transportation infrastructure planning, design, construction, operations, maintenance, preservation and emergency recovery. The agreement stipulates that communities and people most vulnerable to climate impacts should be prioritized, as well as transportation infrastructure - such as bridges, roads, rails and ports. "There is an urgent need to make our transportation infrastructure more resilient to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather now and in the future," said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. "Investing in resilience, through partnerships like this one with DOT, will undoubtedly result in improved safety and savings over time through lower costs and reduced disruption to travel and supply-chains."

"DOT is thrilled to be able to rely on NOAA's world class climate science," said DOT Acting Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy Christopher Coes. "This partnership will help us leverage the expertise of our sister agency to make sure that transportation infrastructure is built to withstand the conditions it faces now and in the future."

NOAA and DOT agree to work on the following actions, which are designed to improve access and delivery of climate information, technical assistance and workforce training:

• Precipitation Frequency Projections: Incorporate nonstationary methods and climate model projections into the generation of authoritative precipitation frequency data.
• Climate Data and Visualization Tools: Deliver climate data and visualization tools tailored to the unique needs of policymakers, transportation engineers and planners. These include tools related to extreme heat, precipitation, sea level rise and other climate change impacts.
• Grants: NOAA will support DOT's efforts to integrate climate change and emission reduction considerations into transportation grants.
• Nature-based Solutions: Enhance and expand technical assistance and partnerships on nature-based solutions such as oyster reefs that buffer coasts from waves and filter surrounding water or rain gardens that reduce or treat stormwater runoff.
• Technical Assistance Partnerships: Enhance partnerships between transportation stakeholders identified by DOT and NOAA-supported technical assistance providers.
• Education: Deliver educational products for transportation agency employees and transportation stakeholders.
• National Conferences and International Fora: NOAA and DOT will collaborate to leverage national conferences for delivery of climate services to transportation professionals and international fora to share information and progress in policy and regulatory discussions among transportation sector representatives.
• Evaluation: Develop strategies to evaluate resilience of transportation projects.

The MOU will remain in effect for five years and will be reviewed annually at regularly- scheduled DOT/NOAA Coordination Committee meetings.