In accordance with HB516/SB551, passed during the 2022 General Assembly Session, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (the Department), jointly with the Director of Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion, have prepared this Community Outreach and Engagement Plan (COEP) to support the development and updates of the Coastal Resilience Master Plan and the Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan (the Plans).

The COEP is designed to be a framework for a whole community approach to outreach that will allow the Department to involve a wide range of stakeholders and impacted parties in the Development of the Plans.  To that end, the COEP describes overall goals, the type of outreach activities that will be conducted, and the general approach that the Department will take in conducting these outreach activities.  Detailed actions and deliverables to fulfill this framework will be developed through a Request for Proposal that the Department intends to issue as the means of developing the Plans themselves.

The Department seeks input to this Community Outreach and Engagement Plan through this public comment forum and specifically seeks input from representatives of Virginia Indian tribes, community-based organizations, the public health sector, nongovernmental organizations, civil rights organizations, communities impacted by recurring flooding, and the Emergency Management Equity Working Group established pursuant to subdivision B 19 of § 44-146.18 of the Code of Virginia. 

PDF Link - https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/dam-safety-and-floodplains/document/Draft-COEP-for-Public-Comment.pdf