SECTION 1. Section 18C(a) of Chapter 91 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition,  is hereby amended by striking out the word “section” and replacing it with the word “subsection”.

SECTION 2. Said section is hereby further amended by inserting after subsection (k) the following section: “(l) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department shall issue a general license authorizing any publicly beneficial climate resiliency project that is designated by a conservation commission, selectmen or mayor under MGL c.131 S. 40.”

SECTION 3. Section 40 of Chapter 131 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding in the first paragraph, prior to the word “electric”, the words “climate resiliency protection”.

SECTION 4. Said section, as so appearing, is hereby further amended in line 231 by inserting after the words “coastal engineering structures,” the following words:- “climate resiliency protection projects,”

SECTION 5. Said section is hereby further amended in line 270 by inserting the following after the word “therewithin”:- “In the case of a publicly beneficial climate resiliency project in support of flood control and storm damage prevention, where temporary or permanent loss of a resource area and/or the conversion of one resource area to another is necessary to the achievement of the project’s resiliency goals, such conditions shall not include a requirement to minimize or mitigate through replication the loss of resource areas. Projects designated by the conservation commission, selectmen, or mayor as publicly beneficial climate resiliency projects shall be eligible for a general permit under a procedure to be established by the Department paralleling that available for ecological restoration projects.”