New federal laws have lots of money for climate projects – if cities can actually get it

Alan Robertson surveys the protective dunes on Tybee Island, which have been built up and fortified with help from grant funding. (Emily Jones/WABE)

This coverage is made possible through a partnership with WABE and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.

Tybee Island has a rain problem.

The stormwater system, fed by storm drains across the island, funnels into a pipe that comes out on the beach at the southern tip of Tybee. But that pipe gets regularly buried by sand.