CCC successfully set up their technical advisory panel (TAP) for their relocation/restoration project with their nonprofit partner Buy-In Community Planning. They had a good response for the TAP, assembling 12 people with diverse backgrounds and skillsets and relationships relevant to the project including Dr. Baka, who was recruited through the Thriving Earth Exchange (TEX).

One of the first things CCC did with the TEX grants was to set up a site visit with the TAP. The grant money helped bring out members of the TAP that were located farther from the area for a two-day site visit. This helped people to understand the local context and be in the space. They began with a dinner meet and greet with some residents of the neighborhood to share stories, getting to know each other and learning the value of the TAP and what expertise they were bringing. The TAP got to talk about their work.

The next day, they did some walking tours through a high-risk neighborhood. They were able to articulate how the neighborhood is already in transition as a coastal resiliency floodplain subdivision residential area. Since Hurricane Katrina, residents have been moving out of the neighborhood. It used to be 100% resident-owners and now is 50% resident-owner neighborhood with about 30% vacant lots. Many of these lots don’t have structures on them. The neighborhood is in transition because of flooding and pollution in the disaster zone. They walked past a bayou tidal creek that runs through the neighborhood so they could see the erosion going on, potential issues with stormwater and sediment, and could see where the city has hardened the creek. The wetlands, on the edge of the neighborhood where the vacant properties are, stretch all the way to the Mississippi Sound where much of the neighborhood has a direct corridor to the waterway.

Finally, they toured the industrial area. People didn’t realize how close the industry was—you could see it while standing within the neighborhood and could clearly point out the facilities and the different pollution point sources. Dr. Baka’s background is in mapping industrial ecologies and ecosystems, so she was familiar with industrial flaring and commented on how the BP industrial site was actually rather large and polluting.

Since then, CCC has been working with the TAP to produce factsheets for stakeholder education. They pivoted from the original plan of developing an advocacy report and turned it into an information gathering document of the important considerations while building the relocation-restoration plan. From there, they decided to collect facts on the project from relocation to restoration covering all the themes of fact points, decision points, factors, science, policy, relationships—everything that would influence what a good plan would look like—and turn it into bite-sized factsheets. It’s been helpful to lean into the TAP’s specific expertise to put these materials together.

CCC and Buy-In is partnering with a consulting firm, Climate Resilience Consulting, to develop workshops in September that will utilize the TAP’s factsheets. These two workshops—one for residents only; the other for industry officials, elected officials, bureaucrats, nonprofits and other research organizations—to gather information and feedback such as site-specific detailed science, floodplain maps and soil data. The 1-2 page factsheets will be instrumental for stakeholder education during these workshops. CCC has documented their work with the TAP in a 3-part blog (part 1, part 2, part 3).

In 2023, CCC with partner organization Buy-In Community Planning conducted a survey of 130 households in their neighborhood to determine the level of buyout interest. Despite the high level of interest, the city of Pascagoula declined their request to apply for funding for a buyout using FEMA BRIC funding through the state of Mississippi. However, they have not given up.

Earlier this year, CCC’s partner Buy-In Community Planning received a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to work directly with them to develop a first-of-its-kind Relocation to Restoration plan. This plan aims to develop a strategy for acquiring high risk properties voluntarily from willing owners and restore the parcels into native gulf coast landscapes. This type of ecosystem restoration will not only improve biodiversity, water quality, and ecosystem health, but provide an essential ecological “green buffer” to protect nearby the homes and businesses of East Pascagoula from hurricanes, sea level rise, and the ongoing industrial pollution from Bayou Casotte Industrial Park.

Their vision is a TAP that will meet quarterly on zoom to provide feedback on the initiative, provide insight into technical references and resources that may support the project, help to develop a robust strategy for sharing the outcomes of their report, and work with them to make the necessary connections and support network to realize their vision for a more resilient Pascagoula.

CCC has engaged experts in the areas of flood risk, relocation, environmental restoration and environmental justice to participate in a Technical Advisory Panel (TAP).

Timelines and Milestones

Duration: 18 months

The TAP will meet quarterly over an 18 month period of performance.

Liderazgo comunitario

Jennifer Crosslin is a lifelong resident of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and community organizer working to create a more equitable, safe, and sustainable Gulf Coast. She joined the Cherokee Concerned Citizens to provide organizing support to the residents of Cherokee subdivision in Pascagoula, MS in their efforts to protect their health and wellbeing against industrial pollution.

Científico comunitario

Jennifer Baka is an Associate Professor of Geography and an Associate at the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at Penn State. She conducts interdisciplinary research on how energy systems impact human-environment relationships and environmental governance. Since 2020, she has been a Member of the Environmental Justice Advisory Board for the PA Department of Environmental Protection. Prior to joining Penn State, she was an Assistant Professor of Geography and Environment at the London School of Economics from 2013-16. She earned a PhD in Environmental Studies from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a Master’s in Public Policy from UC Berkeley. Prior to graduate school, Dr. Baka worked in the energy industry for numerous years first as an economic consultant in Washington, DC and second as a consultant for the United Nations Environment Programme in Paris, France.

Becario científico comunitario

Carl Fredrick Guico Aquino (he/him/his) is a Field Organizer for Climate Action PA, a climate action project of the League of Conservation Voters and former Legislative Intern for Senator Andrew Zwicker (New Jersey’s 16th Legislative District). He completed his Master of Science in Geosciences at Penn State specializing in geophysical climate risk assessment to support decision making under deep uncertainty (DMDU). He also spent two years as a Graduate Fellow for Science Advocacy and Diversity (GFSAD) where he led over 14 programs in science advocacy and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging for science. As an undergrad, Carl double majored in Earth Sciences and Finance, and minored in Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences at Penn State. Carl is passionate about justice and equity considerations for climate change and decarbonization. Prior to becoming a scientist, Carl wrote music for film and television in Los Angeles, California.