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!

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. 

5th Round for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP): Applications Due to DEMHS by July 12th, 2013

Here is an annoucement from the Vermont Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS).   Grant money is available through FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) to all Vermont communities for hazard mitigation projects.

All inquiries, questions or concerns regarding the HMGP grants should be sent to Ray Doherty, the VT State Hazard Mitigation Officer  by email at ray.doherty@state.vt.us or by phone at (802) 241-5258 (office).

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) 5th Round

The State of Vermont has received an extension from FEMA for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) in connection with Tropical Storm Irene.  

The Vermont Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) is now accepting HMGP applications from towns and agencies in all Vermont counties in connection with the most recent disasters. The HMGP program is funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is administered by the VT Division of Emergency Management & Homeland Security.   Federal funds are available to cover up to 75% of project costs.  Applicants are responsible for the 25% local match requirement. 

   

We encourage you to identify potential hazard mitigation sites in your communities and apply for funds under the HMGP grant program.  Typical hazard mitigation projects would include: repair and mitigation of local roads and bridges, home or property acquisition (buy-out), structural elevations or relocations, replacement of undersized culverts, remediation of stream bank erosion, flood proofing of municipal buildings, etc.   This is an opportunity for repetitive loss structures, businesses, and other buildings located in the 100-year flood plain to consider elevation, relocation or acquisition.  Project proposals need not be directly connected to flooding from the most recent declared disasters.  Towns may also apply for a grant to develop a local hazard mitigation plan or mitigation initiative projects. 

You may download the HMGP application from our agency’s website at www.vem.vermont.gov or you may contact the State Hazard Mitigation Officer for an application.   On DEMHS’ website, first go to the Mitigation Tab, and then click on HMGP Application and Forms.

Please note the following FEMA eligibility requirements:

1)  Communities must have a FEMA approved and adopted local mitigation plan no later than the date that funds are awarded.  Those towns lacking an approved plan should contact their local Regional Planning Commission for assistance.

2)  Communities must be participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), if a special flood hazard area (SFHA) has been identified in the community.   Please contact the Agency of Natural Resources state floodplain coordinator, Rob Evans, for additional information on applying for NFIP membership:  tel (802) 490-6152 or via email at rob.evans@state.vt.us

The application must be completed in full, including maps, list of alternative proposals, engineering plans, hydrology studies (if needed) and a full benefit-cost analysis (BCA) in the FEMA approved format.  If you need help in completing the BCA, you may contact your local Regional Planning Commission.  Some BCA assistance may be available from DEMHS mitigation staff if you make a prior appointment. 

Deadline for 5^th Round HMGP applications:   Friday, July 12, 2013.  

If you wish to apply for an HMGP grant, please submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) to DEMHS by June 7.   The LOI should include a brief description of your proposal and the total estimated cost of your project.  Please indicate if you’ll need assistance in completing the application or benefit cost analysis. 

   Please submit LOIs and completed applications to:

            Ray Doherty, State Hazard Mitigation Officer
            VT Division of Emergency Management & Homeland Security
            103 South Main Street
            Waterbury, VT  05671

Tel (802) 241-5258 (office)
            Email:  ray.doherty@state.vt.us

Applications should be submitted in hard copy (paper application) and in electronic format such as a PDF file.  Applications will not be accepted if submitted past the deadline. 
Please note that HMGP funds are awarded on a competitive basis and all applications are subject to review and selection by the State Mitigation Project Committee and FEMA.