Professor Keith Rizzardi Receives Environmental Grant

Earlier this week, St. Thomas University law professor Keith Rizzardi, along with colleagues from the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University and professionals from the consulting firm Dewberry in Fairfax, VA, were awarded a grant to help three pilot communities in Florida adapt to a climate changed future.

Professor Keith Rizzardi

Sea level rise threatens to impact Florida's coastal resources. In fact, Florida Statutes provides local governments with the option to “…develop an adaptation action area designation for those low-lying coastal zones that are experiencing coastal flooding due to extreme high tides and storm surge and are vulnerable to the impacts of rising sea level.” Section 163.3177(6)(g)(10), Fla. Stat. Among other responsibilities, Professor Rizzardi will be assisting with the legal analysis and implementation of this statute, and its effects on land use planning in Florida.

The grant was awarded by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), in partnership with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Florida Coastal Management Office (FCMO), and the Florida Division of Emergency Management (DEM).