Environmental groups across the state are urging federal and local governments to rebuild smarter in the aftermath of Sandy.

The coalition has written a letter to Congress with a list of suggestions. The list includes not rebuilding in low lying areas vulnerable to flooding. Tim Dillingham of the American Littoral Society says Sandy should be considered a wakeup call.

“The idea of going back in and simply building exactly where we were before sets ourselves up for the same type of pain and destruction that our communities are experiencing now. So the idea that we need to build better and smarter really needs to be a foundational principle for all the decisions that need to be made.”

Dillingham says funds need to be spent on protecting communities from future potential storms.