ASFPM Riverine Erosion Hazard 2016 White Paper

Over the past 15 months, Mike Kline and Rebecca Pfeiffer from our Vermont Rivers Program have been working on a riverine erosion paper with other practitioners from across the country.  The paper was recently presented to the executive committee of the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) as a Discussion Paper.  The Executive Committee thought it was so well done and connected with the paper's recommendations that they decided to adopt it as ASFPM Policy in the form of a White Paper.  You can read more about the paper here, or link directly to it from here:

http://www.floods.org/ace-images/ASFPMRiverineErosionWhitePaperFeb2016.pdf

VPR Story about VT's River Corridor Program

Happy New Year everyone!  On the first day of 2016, Vermont Public Radio (VPR) aired a story about the Vermont Rivers Program and our partners work to protect river corridors in Stowe and throughout Vermont. Kathleen Masterson reported this piece, and interviewed our VT Rivers Program manager, Mike Kline, along with Tom Jackman, Planning Director for the Town of Stowe, Heather Furman, the Vermont state director for the Nature Conservancy and Caitrin Maloney of the Stowe Land Trust.  If you have an extra 5 minutes to spare, it's worth the listen.  You can find the story here on VPR's website

IJC invites public comment on draft flood forecasting and mapping report for Lake Champlain and Richelieu River

IJC invites public comment on draft flood forecasting and mapping report for Lake Champlain and Richelieu River and previews flood inundation maps

The International Joint Commission (IJC) is requesting comments from the public on a draft report to enhance flood preparedness and warnings for Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River by December 10, 2015.  Specifically the IJC asks if the report’s recommendations are sound and whether the recommendations address real needs for enhanced flood preparedness and warnings for Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River.  The Commission is also inviting the public to preview the associated flood inundation maps.

Following the submission of IJC’s  July 2013 Plan of Study “The Identification of Measures to Mitigate Flooding and the Impacts of Flooding of Lake Champlain and Richelieu River” (POS), the governments of the United States and Canada asked the IJC to address two issues associated with the system wide flooding in 2011:
a. closing the gaps in the data needed for a future real-time flood forecasting and inundation mapping system, and
b. the creation of static flood inundation map products.

The IJC appointed the International Lake Champlain-Richelieu River Technical Working Group (TWG) comprised of technical experts from United States, Canada, Quebec, Vermont, and New York to address the two issues. The IJC is now inviting public comment on the TWG’s draft report Toward an operational real-time flood forecasting and flood inundation mapping system for the Lake Champlain and Richelieu River.

The TWG report includes six recommendations addressing the need to:

1. Implement an operational probabilistic approach for forecasting floods, including modelling of wind set up and wave action;
2. Keep the Henry and Grand Isle water level station to maintain water level calibration and also install wave buoys to assist in wave model calibration;
3. Institute a binational coordination body such as an IJC Board to support agencies involved in real time forecasting;
4. Acquire new bathymetric data for the Richelieu River between Sorel and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu;
5. Create a single consistent Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for the entire Lake Champlain-Richelieu River basin following the completion and quality control of LiDAR and bathymetric data acquisition; and
6. Generate static flood inundation maps for the entire Lake Champlain Richelieu River system.

The current effort has significantly advanced the creation of flood-inundation maps for the Lake Champlain-Richelieu River system. These maps provide an emergency planning tool for authorities and the general public on land that may flood during high water events. Static inundation maps were created for the Vermont side of Lake Champlain and a portion of the New York northeastern shoreline on the US side, and for the Richelieu River from the border to downstream of the Fryers Rapids on the Canadian side. A preview of these maps is available on the IJC web site at: http://arcg.is/1MhXui2 , however, the site is under construction and the text accompanying the maps is in French only at this time. A complete LiDAR Digital Elevation Model available in Canada also allowed for the representation of inundation depths for the 11 flood scenarios.  The inundation maps are not designed for regulatory purposes, but rather to show flooding potential under different conditions.  Furthermore the report does not evaluate potential flood mitigation measures as this was outside of the scope of the reference from governments.

This public comment period is being held from November 16 to December 10, at which time the IJC will consider public comments before submitting its final report to governments.


Contacts:

Nick Heisler  (English)  Ottawa 613-992-8367 Heislern@ottawa.ijc.org

Sarah Lobrichon (French)      Ottawa 613-992-5368 LobrichonS@ottawa.ijc.org

Frank Bevacqua Washington 202-736-9024 Bevacquaf@washington.ijc.org

                                             
Sarah Lobrichon
Policy and Communications Analyst | Analyste des politiques et des communications
International Joint Commission | Commission mixte internationale
234 Laurier Ave. West, 22nd Floor, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1P 6K6
234, avenue Laurier Ouest, 22e étage, Ottawa (Ontario), Canada K1P 6K6
Telephone | Téléphone 613-992-5368 / Facsimile | Télécopieur 613-993-5583

Imagine two countries sharing hundreds of lakes and rivers along their border without conflict
www.ijc.org
Imaginez deux pays qui partagent des centaines de lacs et de rivières le long de la frontière sans conflit

New Federal Executive Order on Floodplains & a Federal Flood Risk Management Strategy

On January 30th, 2015, the President released a new Federal Executive Order regarding floodplains.  This new Executive Order (EO 13690) does not replace the existing Federal Executive Order 11988 (which dates back to the Carter Administration, effective 1977), but rather supplements 11988 in areas where the federal floodplain standards were lagging behind some of the existing state floodplain review standards.  Existing EO 11988 requires federal agencies to assess floodplain impacts when a federal action is taken within a federally-mapped floodplain.  Typically, federal agencies are tasked with ensuring the federal project is in compliance with minimum NFIP standards.

ASFPM has created a specific webpage for the new Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) that contains links to the various documents, as well as some background on the development of this new standard.  In addition, the implementation of the new EO and FFRMS has been reported about in the New York Times, as well as the Washington Post.


From the new EO 13690:

As part of a national policy on resilience and risk reduction consistent with my Climate Action Plan, the National Security Council staff coordinated an interagency effort to create a new flood risk reduction standard for federally funded projects. The views of Governors, mayors, and other stakeholders were solicited and considered as efforts were made to establish a new flood risk reduction standard for federally funded projects. The result of these efforts is the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (Standard), a flexible framework to increase resilience against flooding and help preserve the natural values of floodplains. Incorporating this Standard will ensure that agencies expand management from the current base flood level to a higher vertical elevation and corresponding horizontal floodplain to address current and future flood risk and ensure that projects funded with taxpayer dollars last as long as intended.

Key provisions of the new EO 13690 and the FFRMS, taken from FEMA's summary of the draft FFRMS Guidelines

The new federal flood risk standard requires all future federal investments in and affecting floodplains to meet the level of resilience as established by the Standard.  For example, this includes where federal funds are used to build new structures and facilities or to rebuild those that have been damaged.

The Standard specifically requires federal agencies to consider current and future risk when taxpayer dollars are used to build or rebuild floodplains.

In implementing the Standard, federal agencies will be given the flexibility to select one of three approaches for establishing the flood elevation and hazard area they use in siting, design, and construction:

• Utilizing best-available, actionable data and methods that integrate current and future changes in flooding based on science,
• Two or three feet of elevation, depending on the criticality of the building, above the 100-year, or 1%-annual-chance, flood elevation, or
• 500-year, or 0.2%-annual-chance, flood elevation.

It is important to note that neither this new EO 13690 nor the existing EO 11988 change the local administration of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or any state minimum standards.


A 60-day Public Comment period is now open for the Draft Federal Flood Risk Management Standard Implementing Guidelines (FFRMS) which was also released on 1/30/2015.  Individuals are encouraged to submit comments before April 6, 2015.  Here is a link to a FEMA Frequently Asked Questions page of the Draft FFRMS.

New Videos for Community Leaders - Reducing Flood Damage

The Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC) has released six short videos to help communities prepare for flooding.   These videos are featured on Flood Ready Vermont and compiled on the CRWC Preparing for Floods page.

The videos highlight steps that communities can take to reduce exposure to damage from flooding.

At Flood Ready Vermont the videos are posted as stories on Making It Happen and embedded in pages throughout the site.  

The productions by the Connecticut River Watershed Council strengthen a collaborative effort to build tools and support peer-to-peer communication for community leaders working on flood resilience.  CRWC was one of many organizations that participated in the design of Flood Ready Vermont.

The CRWC videos were shot and edited by Joe DeFelice of Riverbank Media, with financial support from the High Meadow Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation, and Jane's Trust.

The new videos include:

Finding the Right Mix - How the Town of Brandon is taking comprehensive steps to reduce damage from flooding.

Homeowner Buyouts and Elevating Homes - How community leaders are using FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grants to reduce residential losses.

Better Culverts and Stream Crossings - Designing and implementing better culverts improves road reliability, culvert longevity and habitat functions.

Why Rivers Move and Erode - a demonstration of how channels move over time using a stream table.  

Stabilizing Stream Banks Naturally - placing root wads to support the reestablishment of bank vegetation and reduce erosion rates.

Lakefront Erosion Solutions - ways to reduce bank erosion from foot traffic and wave action.

When Governments Cooperate: State Government Municipal Day - November 13, 2014

  NOVEMBER 13, 2014

8 am - 4:15 pm

Our inaugural Municipal Day in March 2014 proved so popular that we were unable to accommodate all who wished to attend. For that reason, the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), in cooperation with the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans), and the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD), invites you to participate in a second all-day event that will include poster presentations, workshops, and the opportunity to engage with Agency staff members and municipal colleagues from across the state. 

SPACE IS LIMITED, PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED

The $30 Registration Fee includes morning coffee and a buffet lunch by the New England Culinary Institute.

TO REGISTER:

  

Complete workshop descriptions and registration details can be found here.

Is Your Community Flood Ready?

How will post-disaster funding for communities change in October?  

What does your community need to do?  

Is you community planning in order to avoid flood damage?

Visit the new Flood Ready Vermont website www.floodready.vermont.gov to find out.  

Flood Ready Vermont has the tools and data your community needs to:

• Get up to speed on the Emergency Relief and Assistance Fund (ERAF);
• Identify flood hazards and take action to minimize future damage;
• Update your community plans; and,
• Find out what communities are doing to get flood ready

Use the Flood Ready Atlas to help you identify what is working to keep your community flood resilient and where structures are at risk.  Community Reports quickly compile useful information for your municipal and hazard mitigation plans.  

Flood Ready Vermont www.floodready.vermont.gov is a place where community leaders can share information and ideas to make our communities more flood resilient.  

Funding for the design of the website was provided by the High Meadows Fund, promoting vibrant communities and a healthy natural environment while encouraging long term economic vitality in Vermont; and through a Federal Emergency Management Agency Hazard Mitigation Grant.

Early partners to inspire and help launch the site include the Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC) and the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), as ably represented by David Deen, Upper Valley River Steward for CRWC; Angela Mrozinski, Outreach Director for CRWC; Ron Rhodes, North Country River Steward for CRWC; and Anthony Iarrapino, Senior Attorney for CLF.

The website development and design team was led by Daniel Shearer, Tamarack Media Cooperative, and Beka Mandell, Webskillet Cooperative.

Let us know what you think and tell your story about working for flood resilience!

Planning for Increasing Precipitation and Flooding

A recent article was published in the New York Times on 5/12/14 - "Looks Like Rain Again.  And Again."  In the article, the author cites past studies from 2 decades ago or earlier that predicted the changes in our climate that we are now living through, namely increased precipitation during storm events.  Long term climate data has shown that the Northeastern US has seen a dramatic increase in precipitation amounts falling during storm events.  And when there is an increase in the amount of rain or snow falling during a storm, it usually ends up resulting in a greater frequency of flooding in places that have traditionally acted as floodplains.  Another result may be that people may start to see areas that had very rarely flooded in the past flood on a somewhat regular basis.  Some of these thoughts and ideas can be seen in a New York Times blog post "Three Long Views of Life With Rising Seas" that contains 3 interviews focused on how humans may look to deal with impacts from sea level rise.

This isn't the first time that we have seen evidence of increasing precipitation in the Northeastern US.  If anyone reading this has been to one of our presentations to communities, you may have seen a graphic that was taken from a report that was released from the White House Council on Environmental Quality -"Progress Report of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force: Recommended Actions in Support of a National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (10/2010)".  This report found that there had been a 67% increase in the amount of precipitation that was falling during the heaviest storm events each year.  That means that the biggest storm events that we experience each year is bringing more rain or snow on average.

I think that many Vermont communities have been experiencing this increase in precipitation and flooding first hand.  Some of you may already be aware of the ANR Flood Resilience Sharepoint website.  This website aims to include information that individuals and community officials can use to better prepare for the increased flooding and precipitation that we have been experiencing around the State and in New England.  This Sharepoint site will be replaced this summer by a collaborative website that will be called Flood Ready.  The intent of the Flood Ready website is to expand upon the information that can be found on the ANR Flood Resilience Sharepoint site and present it in a way that can be helpful to a wide range of users.

Have you been noticing changes in your own community?  What steps have you been taking to try to address this issue?

Vermont Bill H.676 Was Signed into Law on 4/17/2014

Ok... So what is bill H.676? Why are we posting information about this change here?  For those of you who are not following the Vermont legislative session as closely as March Madness brackets or the latest episode of Game of Thrones, it is a pretty short but effective bill at helping to clean up inconsistencies in Vermont statute with regards to floodplain protections.  The final bill that was passed by the House and Senate (which can be found here) makes two amendments to existing statute.  At this time, I do not know if it has a final "Act" number.

The first change was to Act 138 from the 2012 Legislative session that established authority for ANR to create a State Floodplain Rule.  This State Floodplain Rule would apply for uses and development exempt from local municipal regulation (aka 24 VSA 4413 statute).  This state rule would really only apply to a few limited categories of uses: State owned and operated facilities, Accepted Agricultural Practices, Accepted Silvicultural Practices, and public utility power-generating and transmission facilities subject to regulation by the Public Service Board.  Act 138 was not clear on whether or not the ANR would have the ability to include the regulation of river corridor areas in addition to FEMA's mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) in the State Floodplain Rule.  The first part of H.676 helps to clarify that there is authority for regulating development in both the SFHA and the river corridor for these limited categories of projects.  Therefore, it will be an ANR State Floodplain & River Corridor Rule which will include river corridor protections for that limited list of municipally exempt development.

The second change was made to 24 VSA statute 4413 to clarify municipal jurisdiction around limited uses and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).  For most of the traditional uses and development that a community has limited authority to regulate, the community now has the authority to regulate those uses for compliance with both the community's NFIP standards and any river corridor standards.  This development would include:

• Community-owned and operated institutions and facilities;
• Public and private schools and other educational institutions;
• Churches and other places of worship;
• Public and private hospitals;
• Regional solid waste management facilities;
• Construction of hazardous waste management facilities

H. 676 makes it clear that our ANR State Floodplain & River Corridor Rule would not apply to these types of development, but would otherwise be reviewed by the community against its own flood hazard area requirements.

Intro to the Community Rating System Webinar

In addition to the other Community Rating System (CRS) Webinars that we listed here, another webinar has been announced that is sponsored by the Natural Hazard Mitigation Association (NHMA, www.nhma.info).  This additional webinar will be held on March 10 from 1-2pm EDT (remember that March 9 is the beginning of Daylight Savings Time!).  This webinar is intended as an introduction to the CRS program for anyone who may be interested in learning more about the program basics.

To register for this event, please go to: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8591352219184717825.

From the NHMA announcement:

NHMA is offering a webinar, “Introduction to the Community Rating System.” The Community Rating System (CRS) provides reduced premiums for flood insurance policy holders in communities that implement programs and activities that exceed the minimum criteria for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. If your community conducts floodplain mapping, regulatory, loss reduction, emergency management, and/or public information activities, you could benefit from this program.

This webinar is for people new to the Community Rating System (CRS), especially from communities that are not yet in the program. This one-hour session will introduce FEMA’s Community Rating System, how it operates, the costs and benefits for communities, where to get help, and how to apply. The target audience is local officials, floodplain managers, and members of the public interested in flood protection.

The presenter will be French Wetmore, a CRS consultant.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Alessandra Jerolleman, PhD, CFM, MPA

Executive Director

Natural Hazard Mitigation Association

www.nhma.info

Again, to register for this webinar, please go to the webinar registration page.

Upcoming Webinars for the Community Rating System (CRS)

There will be several CRS webinar trainings that will be FREE and held over the course of the next few months. In addition to the Introduction to the CRS webinar, there are also some other more specific webinars.  These additional webinars include Developing Outreach Projects (Activity 330) and Higher Regulatory Standards (Activity 430).  

You can sign up for the webinars either through the CRSResources.org website or by going directly to the Atkins Global website, the host for the webinars.

Upcoming Webinar Schedule:

Introduction to the Community Rating System
February 18th, 1:00 pm Eastern Time
March 18th, 1:00 pm Eastern Time
May 20th, 1:00 pm Eastern Time
July 15th, 1:00 pm Eastern Time

Developing Outreach Projects (Activity 330)
February 19th, 1:00 pm Eastern Time
April 16th, 1:00 pm Eastern Time

Higher Regulatory Standards (Activity 430)
March 19th, 1:00 pm Eastern Time

Other future webinars that are on their way include:

• Preparing for the CRS Verification Visit
• Higher Regulatory Standards (Activity 430)
• Drainage System Maintenance (Activity 540)
• Natural Floodplain Functions

Plan Ahead: Future Disasters

In January Vermont Secretary of Administration Jeb Spaulding sent a letter to all Select Boards to encourage Vermont communities to become more flood resilient and to take advantage of post-disaster funding available after October 23.

In the wake of a federally-declared disaster Municipalities may be reimbursed for 75 % of eligible damage by federal taxpayers.  Through ERAF (the Emergency Relief and Assistance Fund) the State will contribute an additional 7.5 % to help cover the damage costs. However, where communities have taken actions to avoid and reduce future damage they will be eligible for more support from the State.

At this time Select Boards can adopt road standards based on the current 2014 - 2016 Orange Book.  After Town Meeting communities can update their Local Emergency Operations Plans.  By keeping plans current and taking steps to avoid and reduce damage from flooding the State will provide 12.5 or 17.5 % of post-disaster funding.

For more information please see:

• Jeb Spaulding's Letter to Select Boards
• Flood Resilience Sharepoint  tinyurl.com/floodresilience  
• FEMA:  Major Disasters in Vermont 
• VPR Mapping the Money: Tropical Storm Irene
• SHELDUS: Hazard Events and Losses by State

US Senate Passes Bill to Delay Implementation of BW12

2/12/14 Update:  Here is a FEMA FAQ about the impacts of this bill on the implementation of BW12

There have been several articles (Washington Post, NYT) published today that provided details on the US Senate's passage of a bill to delay the implementation of Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, or BW12.  There has been discussion about a possible repeal or delays of the BW12 bill for several months.  However, this discussion seems to have gained more steam as homeowners and other people with structures located within the Special Flood Hazard Area are starting to receive their new flood insurance premiums.  More information from ASFPM about some of the efforts that are being made to consider or include other options in any bill that may be brought to the floor in the US House of Representatives. 

For anyone who is not familiar with the BW12 bill, the insurance reform act had several goals including changes to flood mapping, flood grants and reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for an additional five years.  However, the changes that BW12 is best known for are changes to the flood insurance aspect of the National Flood Insurance Program.  Many of the flood insurance changes were designed to make the flood insurance fund more stable by reducing the fund's current deficit to the US Treasury, as well as beginning to create extra savings to help the fund to be able to withstand large scale disaster declarations like Hurricanes Katrina, Ike and Sandy.  Another aspect of the flood insurance reforms was to phase in actuarial rates for flood insurance policies which resulted in some groups of people losing the subsidy that they may have for their policy or losing any subsidy when a new policy was written.  Past posts by Ned include some information about how BW12 would impact flood insurance policies within the State of Vermont.  FEMA's website also has quite a bit of information that goes into much fuller detail about these flood insurance changes.

Many people have recognized that the original bill had issues in implementation and execution of the stated goals and objectives, specifically that the phase in of higher rates happened at a relatively fast rate, that some home or other building owners may go right from a subsidized rate directly to a full actuarial rate overnight and while many policy holders may not want to pay the higher premiums for many reasons, there was a definite contingent of people who would not have an actual ability to pay for the higher rates. 

Despite the myriad of issues with the implementation of BW12, the reasons for the passage of BW12 still remains - trying to have the National Flood Insurance Program be able to be fiscally solvent and support itself by the premiums that are paid into the program and to keep general taxpayers for funding flood recovery efforts.  A third very compelling reason for BW12 focused on having people in a flood hazard area recognize and pay for the true cost and risk of living in a hazard area, especially as we have been seeing more frequent and intense flood events and sea level rise starting to impact properties that may have been less vulnerable in the past.  The idea was that if a person living or working in a hazard area had to pay the actuarial flood insurance rate for living in this risky zone, then more structure owners would undertake mitigation efforts to help reduce their yearly premiums.

The Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) released a Policy Paper in October of 2013 that included 9 recommendations of how BW12 could be altered to improve implementation but cautioned against repeal.  This was in order to help keep moving the NFIP towards fiscal solvency as well as continue to focus on the growing demand for mitigating homes and other infrastructure that is located within the FEMA-mapped Special Flood Hazard Area. Many of the 9 ASFPM recommendations that had been made focused on continuing to promote and encourage meaningful mitigation of flood prone homes in a variety of ways.  This included:

• finding more ways to fund mitigation projects and existing hazard mitigation grant programs;
• exploring ways to better incentivize mitigation efforts through tax incentives or long-term flood insurance policy benefits;
• recognizing partial mitigation efforts by homeowners; and
• making loans more available to home and other building owners who may be looking for ways to mitigate their structure from future floods. 

At this time, it looks like it is uncertain how such a BW12 reform/delay bill will fair in the US House of Representatives, but we will surely hear more of this debate in the near future. 

CRS Webinar

There is an upcoming webinar that FEMA has scheduled about the Community Rating System (CRS) Program.   The webinar is intended to be an introduction to the CRS program.  The objective of the Community Rating System (CRS) is to reward communities that are doing more than meeting the minimum NFIP requirements to help their citizens prevent or reduce flood losses.  If a community is enrolled in the CRS Program, almost all flood insurance policies in the community receive some level of discount on the paid premium.  Currently, all CRS communities in Vermont receive a 5% discount on flood insurance premiums, although there is the potential for a community to receive up to a 45% discount on flood insurance premiums. 

There had been a webinar proposed for January, but filled up in less than a day.  If you are interested in participating in this February webinar, I would encourage you to sign up soon, as the last one filled up so quickly and their webinar software only allows for 100 participants at a time.  We will post any information about additional webinars, too.

CRS Webinar Series: Introduction to CRS
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
10:00 am, Pacific Standard Time (1:00 pm Eastern)
Session Number: 654 589 020
-------------------------------------------------------
To register for this training session
-------------------------------------------------------
Go to https://atkinsglobalna.webex.com/atkinsglobalna/k2/j.php?ED=229216312&UID=0&HMAC=d3ebf7c3d0918b6ff7191ef78c531c554c213d97&RT=MiM0 and register.

The contractor is working hard to get the rest of the CRS Webinar Series scheduled. They will all be listed at https://atkinsglobalna.webex.com/tc very soon (some are already there). Click the “Upcoming” tab, and check back often for updates.

Flood Resilience - Two New Comprehensive Reports

The Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) has released Vermont’s Roadmap to Resilience including the recommendations of a broad array of Vermont organizations and agencies.

Vermont’s Roadmap to Resilience includes twenty-three recommendations to increase Vermont’s preparedness for the effects of climate change and extreme weather impacts.

Vermont’s Roadmap to Resilience (Full Report)

Executive Summary

Resilient Vermont Project Documents

Steve Zind of VPR covered the release of the Roadmap 12/17/13 and also noted the release of another report this week by Gavin Smith of the University of North Carolina and Coast Hazards Center.  Gavin Smith’s report was sponsored by EPA’s Smart Growth Implementation Assistance Program (SGIA).    

Gavin Smith

Vermont State Agency Policy Options Smart Growth Implementation Assistance Program: Disaster Recovery and Long-Term Resilience Planning in Vermont

The report identifies both long-term flood resilience goals and options for specific state agencies and inter-agency policy opportunities.

Planning for Flood Resilience!

With Act 16 in 2013 Vermont has established flood resilience goals for municipal, regional and state plans. Beginning July 2014 new municipal and regional plans must include a flood resilience element that addresses the goals identified in Chapter 117 §4302.

§4302. PURPOSE; GOALS

(14) To encourage flood resilient communities.

(A) New development in identified flood hazard, fluvial erosion, and river corridor protection areas should be avoided. If new development is to be built in such areas, it should not exacerbate flooding and fluvial erosion.

(B) The protection and restoration of floodplains and upland forested areas that attenuate and moderate flooding and fluvial erosion should be encouraged.

(C) Flood emergency preparedness and response planning should be encouraged

A simple SharePoint website has been pulled together to support planners working on flood resilience.   The site has links to data, suggestions, supportive contacts and early drafts.

tinyurl.com/floodresilience

Please take a look and spread the word !

Property-Owner's Guide to Rebuilding for Flood Resilience workshop

Here is an opportunity that we wanted to pass along.  It is a evening and following full day event in November that is targeted to individual property owners who are looking to get ideas and discuss flood resistant reconstruction techniques.  The intent of this workshop is to incorporate many different topics that can help a homeowner rebuilding after a flood, such as energy efficiency, historic preservation, stormwater management and landscape design.  Registration and additional information can be found at the website listed at the bottom of the post.

DON'T MISS the Property-owners' Guide to Rebuilding for Flood Resilience: a DESIGN CHARETTE to Generate Ideas for Adapting Flood Resistant Reconstruction Techniques to Our Climate and Culture

Integrating Practical Ideas for Flood Hazard Mitigation with Landscape Design, Energy Efficiency, Stormwater Management and Historic Preservation

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 7^TH from 6:30PM – 8:30PM

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 8^TH from 8:30AM – 3:00PM, luncheon provided

REGISTER NOW:

 https://rebuilding-for-flood-resilience.eventbrite.com

 

Interview about Post-Flood Recovery with President Clinton & Gov. Chris Christy - Clinton Global Initiative

A few days ago, I had been sent a link to a video from the Clinton Global Initiative of President Clinton's interview with NJ Governor Chris Christie about post-Sandy flood recovery.  Although this discussion is focused on the recovery of New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy, President Clinton and Governor Christie use it as a way to more broadly discuss the topics of flooding, community planning, mitigation, recovery and the structure of flood insurance in the United States.

You may or may not agree with all approaches or ideas that are presented here (should we be spending billions of dollars on sand dune "re-nourishment" projects that will only last for a short number of years?), but I thought the discussion may help to spark some ideas or questions of your own.  It seems like it is quite a rare interview that has two influential high level policy makers (current and former) in an in-depth and frank discussion about mitigation and recovery.

Some of the highlights of their discussion includes:

• Purchase of flood damaged homes and approach taken by the State of NJ;
• How the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) can be re-organized or should flood insurance in the US be completely re-thought;
• Some discussion on the role of the state in the recovery effort;
• Why does Nebraska care about flooding in NJ?; and
• Should another Federal agency be tasked with the role of flood policy, preparedness, planning and mitigation and let FEMA return to an emergency management agency?

You can link to the full 45 minute interview on C-Span's video library here. 

Planning for Flood Resilience - Act 16

On May 6, 2013, Governor Peter Shumlin signed Act 16, an act relating to municipal and regional planning and flood resilience.

A description of Act 16 is posted at the Vermont River Corridor and Floodplain page.

The act requires a flood resilience plan or element for municipal or regional plans effective after July 1, 2014.

§ 4382. THE PLAN FOR A MUNICIPALITY now includes:

(a) A plan for a municipality may be consistent with the goals established in section 4302 of this title and
compatible with approved plans of other municipalities in the region and with the regional plan and shall
include the following:
* * *
(12)
(A) A flood resilience plan that:
(i) identifies flood hazard and fluvial erosion hazard areas, based on river corridor maps provided by the
Secretary of Natural Resources pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 1428(a) or maps recommended by the Secretary,
and designates those areas to be protected, including floodplains, river corridors, land adjacent to streams,
wetlands, and upland forests, to reduce the risk of flood damage to infrastructure and improved property;
and
(ii) recommends policies and strategies to protect the areas identified and designated under subdivision
(12)(A)(i) of this subsection and to mitigate risks to public safety, critical infrastructure, historic
structures, and municipal investments.
(B) A flood resilience plan may reference an existing local hazard mitigation plan approved under 44
C.F.R. § 201.6.

§ 4348a. ELEMENTS OF A REGIONAL PLAN is modified in a similar way.

The Goals for the Flood Resilience Element are established in § 4302.

§4302. PURPOSE; GOALS
(14) To encourage flood resilient communities.
(A) New development in identified flood hazard, fluvial erosion, and river corridor protection areas
should be avoided. If new development is to be built in such areas, it should not exacerbate flooding and
fluvial erosion.
(B) The protection and restoration of floodplains and upland forested areas that attenuate and moderate
flooding and fluvial erosion should be encouraged.
(C) Flood emergency preparedness and response planning should be encouraged.


Act 16 also addresses Accessory Dwelling Units

In statute Accessory Dwelling Units can now be fully regulated by municipalities consistent with other
development in flood hazard and erosion hazard areas. This enables communities to avoid new
development in hazard areas and to require flood‐proofing and safety standards for proposed
improvements as required for communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program. Act
16 amends the language providing for both bylaws and for ordinances.


Next Steps

The flood resilience plan component will be important to keep in mind as current work nears adoption or as funding is sought or contracted for upcoming plan updates.

The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources is developing a Flood Resilient Communities Program and website to help municipalities access best available data and resources for flood resilience.