Virginia Law

A. The Governor shall designate a Chief Resilience Officer. The Chief Resilience Officer shall serve as the primary coordinator of resilience and adaptation initiatives in Virginia and as the primary point of contact regarding issues related to resilience, as that term is defined in § 10.1-603.28. The Chief Resilience Officer shall be equally responsible for all urban, suburban, and rural areas of the Commonwealth. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall assist the Chief Resilience Officer in the discharge of his duties upon request.

B. The Chief Resilience Officer shall (i) promote communication, coordination, and cooperation between state agencies, the federal government, local governments, other political subdivisions of the Commonwealth, and other interested parties regarding resilience; (ii) lead in developing and in providing direction and ensuring accountability for a statewide resilience and adaptation strategy; (iii) seek to ensure that resilience and adaptation strategies prioritize the protection of Virginia's natural resources and maximize the implementation of nature-based design while supporting Virginia's statutory obligations to clean water; and (iv) initiate and assist with economic development opportunities associated with adaptation. The Chief Resilience Officer, in his role, shall also:

1. Identify and monitor those areas of the Commonwealth that are at greatest risk from significant multi-hazard threats and recommend actions that both the private and public sectors should consider in order to increase the resilience of such areas;

2. Provide support to local governments, as that term is defined in § 10.1-603.28, that are seeking to promote resilience within their communities by providing technical assistance and capacity building support regarding best practices for resilience planning, data collection, and project design and implementation;

3. Coordinate with the Department of Emergency Management on all issues related to pre-disaster hazard mitigation and post-disaster recovery;

4. Assist the Department of Conservation and Recreation with the development and implementation of a Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan and a Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan in accordance with § 10.1-602;

5. Seek to maximize the coordination, availability, and use of federal, state, and private funding to address resilience challenges, including initiating and assisting with the pursuit of funding opportunities at both the state and local levels. In order to maximize federal funding, the Chief Resilience Officer is authorized to:

a. Serve as a non-federal sponsor, as that term is described in 33 C.F.R. § 203.15, and enter into a legal agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the purpose of mitigating flooding and integrating resilience, at the request of and in coordination with an eligible funding recipient;

b. Enter into and execute agreements with the federal government, including the U.S. Department of Defense, for support for flood control initiatives to increase resilience related to U.S. Department of Defense installations; and

c. Make applications on behalf of the Commonwealth for other federal funding as directed by the Governor;

6. Coordinate the collection and dissemination of the best available resilience science, legal guidance, planning strategies, best practices, and needs assessments to the public. Such needs assessments shall include any local government needs assessments that have been submitted to the Chief Resilience Officer. Such information shall be made available on a publicly accessible website; and

7. Beginning July 1, 2025, and every two years thereafter, report to the Governor and the General Assembly on the status of resilience in the Commonwealth. Such report shall include the status of actions undertaken by the Chief Resilience Officer and state agencies regarding resilience coordination and planning and all resilience funding received and distributed by the Commonwealth during the prior two years. In preparing the report, the Chief Resilience Officer shall also coordinate with the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and shall be assisted by all relevant Secretariats and agencies.

C. The Chief Resilience Officer shall convene an Interagency Resilience Management Team (the Team) to support the coordination of planning and implementation of resilience efforts, and he shall serve as chairman of the Team. The Team shall meet on the call of the chairman but not less than once every three months. Membership of the Team shall include representatives from the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Conservation and Recreation, Emergency Management, Energy, Environmental Quality, Forestry, General Services, Health, Historic Resources, Housing and Community Development, Transportation, and Wildlife Resources; the Marine Resources Commission; the Virginia Resources Authority; the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and others as appointed by the Governor. Each agency participating in the Team shall designate a resilience coordinator to represent such agency in the Team. The responsibilities of the Team shall include:

1. Exchanging information and best practices related to resilience, including means of integrating common language and practices for resilience work across agencies;

2. Advising the Chief Resilience Officer on strategies for enhancing resilience planning and funding coordination across agencies under a unified statewide approach to resilience; and

3. Recommending metrics for measuring the progress of resilience efforts in the Commonwealth.

2022, c. 786; 2024, c. 753.