The Town of Washington is partnering with BRPC under a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action Grant to address critical flooding issues identified as a top priority during the Town's MVP Planning Process. The project will include preliminary engineering assessments of aging and undersized infrastructure, identification of vulnerabilities, and exploration of opportunities to improve flood storage capacity along Depot Brook. It aims to protect key roads and infrastructure while fostering long-term resilience against climate change impacts by implementing nature-based solutions, such as floodplain restoration and bank stabilization.

BRPC is working alongside the City of North Adams and community partners such as Hoosic River Revival, Northern Berkshires Community Coalition, Trout Unlimited among others to address increased flood risk due to climate change. This project dedicates engineering funds toward removal of the Beaver Mill Dam and upgrades to stormwater infrastructure in four areas of the City that were most impacted by July 2023 storms. It also expands BRPC's climate justice program called Gray to Green into North Adams. In collaboration with Gray to Green BRPC will be working with community partners to help identify and design placemaking efforts along the Hoosic River parallel to the ongoing Flood Chutes Feasbility Study headed up by the US Army Corps. of Engineers.

BRPC is assisting Clarksburg build flood resiliency through a community-drive design process in the Four Corners area of Town. This area includes the main community's gathering places namely the Community/Senior Center, the Town Field, and Clarksburg School. The project will look at how the space can integrate stormwater infrastructure and redesign community assets to be more accessible and usable. Part of this project involves a Student Design Challenge in partnership with Clarksburg School and Flying Cloud, as well as community design charrette and ADA accessibility.

Berkshire Regional Planning is working with the Town of Clarksburg and the Briggsville Water District as they upgrade water lines to become more climate resilient from drought and flooding. The project includes engineering a new water tank relocated out of the floodplain, improved and if possible relocated water lines out of the flood plain, and increased size to be resilient against drought conditions. BRPC is supporting by providing outreach services and grant administration guidance.

BRPC is helping the Town of Hancock develop a FEMA approved Hazard Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Plan. This will determine the greatest risks to the town, how climate change exacerbates these risks, and develop actions to mitigate impacts. This process will also make the Town MVP Certified community.

BRPC is assisting the Town of Lee to complete a FEMA and Massachusetts MVP State approved Hazard Mitigation Plan and Climate Adaptation Plan through the MVP Planning Process.

Support Berkshire Medical Reserve Corps efforts. This work will include meetings with Emergency Preparedness stakeholders, development of training needs assessments, participation in exercises and drills, and management of volunteers.

Support Franklin Medical Reserve Corps efforts. This work will include meetings with Emergency Preparedness stakeholders, development of training needs assessments, participation in exercises and drills, and management of volunteers.

As a follow-up to Clarksburg's Hazard Mitigation Planning, BRPC is serving the Town as their MVP Provider. As such, BRPC will guide Clarksburg in preparing for the impacts of climate change through a Community Resilience Building Workshop in which stakeholders will identify Climate Preparedness Actions.

BRPC has partnered with the City of Pittsfield, Pittsfield Housing Authority, Central Berkshires Habitat for Humanity, and the Westside Community to create a climate resilient community parklet at the top of Francis Ave near the stairwell to West Street. The Francis Ave. parklet grew out of BRPC's Gray to Green initiative and resident feedback from 2020 about the path from Francis Ave. down the stairwell to the nearest grocery store on West Street. As part of the parklet the project will address persistent flooding at the top of the stairwell through stormwater infiltration designs. A safe walking routes study will explore changes to street and route design from Westside Community to the West Street corridor of resources including Big Y grocery store, pharmacies, and Greylock Bank.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) acts as the fiduciary agent for the Berkshire Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coalition. Public Health Emergency Preparedness Funding supports local Boards of Health in Berkshire County to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies and disasters from a public health and health equity perspective. Berkshire County Boards of Health Association (BCBOHA) acts as the emergency preparedness coalition for Berkshire County.

This project will assess the current conditions of all town-owned roads and stream crossings within Savoy. Based on the findings of the road surface and stream crossing assessments, a map and report will be prepared with recommendations for the town to consider for future investments.

BRPC's Public Health Program will design and develop a comprehensive, HSEEP-compliant tabletop exercise (TTX) scenario focused on municipal evacuation and sheltering in response to either a natural disaster or an act of terrorism. The consultant will also develop related injects that can be integrated into a card game format, allowing municipal officials and their partners to conduct the exercise independently, in multiple settings, and over time if wanted.

The Western Massachusetts Unpaved Roads Project is a collaborative effort between the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC), the Pioneer Regional Planning Commission (PVPC), and the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) as well as the Towns of Lanesborough, Goshen, Blandford, and Shutesbury. With climate change, municipalities are experiencing more unpaved road failures due to the increased intensity of precipitation events. This project will further develop FRCOG’s new Dirt Road Toolkit which allows municipal staff to assess their vulnerable unpaved roads, determine which best practices are recommended to increase their climate resiliency and how to install these best practices using existing resources. The Toolkit will be field tested in the partnering municipalities. The finalized Unpaved Road Toolkit will provide an update to the 2001 Unpaved Roads BMP Manual. This project is funded by the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs, Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program.