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.
We wanted to announce that a Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) exam has been scheduled and confirmed for Wednesday, February 11th from 1pm-4pm located in Montpelier.
What is the CFM program all about you may ask? Here is a small excerpt from the ASFPM website about the Program:
The Association of State Floodplain Managers has established a national program for professional certification of floodplain managers. The program recognizes continuing education and professional development that enhance the knowledge and performance of local, state, federal, and private-sector floodplain managers.
The primary goal of the ASFPM Certified Floodplain Manager Program (CFM Program) is to help reduce the nation's flood losses and protect and enhance the natural resources and functions of its floodplains by improving the knowledge and abilities of floodplain managers in the United States.A second goal of the CFM Program is to increase the prominence of floodplain management in decision-making by local officials and the public.
Additional information regarding ASFPM and the CFM program can be found at ASFPM’s website or the CFM Program page: www.floods.org, CFM page
General Exam Information:
The exam will be held at the central Agency of Natural Resource office located at 1 National Life Drive in Montpelier. If you are interested, you are now able to register for this exam with the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) office. All registration forms and ASFPM membership applications should be sent to the ASFPM office in Madison, WI.
If you become a member of ASFPM for $130, the exam registration fee will only be $100 for a total fee of $230. If you are not a member of ASFPM, then the cost to register for the exam is $450. If you are planning to become an ASFPM member and register for the exam at the same time, you should send the ASFPM membership form, the exam registration form and payment for both together for the ease of processing.
Please note that all exam registrations must be received by ASFPM no later than 2 weeks before the exam date. This means that all registration forms need to be received by the ASFPM office no later than Wednesday, January 28th. Otherwise, if your registration has not been received by that date,you will not be able to sit for the exam. The CFM exam registration form and the ASFPM membership form can be foundhere.
Review Session:
We will also be offering an all-day review session before the exam on Tuesday, February 10th. The review session will be held in the ANR offices at the National Life Building located in Montpelier. Please contact Rebecca Pfeifferin advance if you intend to be at the review session so that we can be sure that there will be enough room and so we can determined which date works best for those interested in the review.
If you are interested in taking the exam but would not be ready to do so for this date, please contact Rebecca so that your name will remain on our list of people to contact when we are planning another CFM exam in 2015. Other CFM exams may be offered in neighboring states. More information about the exam can be found at the ASFPM website.
Please pass along the word to whomever else you think may be interested in sitting for the exam!
It seems a little late into January to be saying this, but Happy New Year to all. Last month, we had 2 big releases for Vermont Floodplain and River Corridor management:
In the beginning of December, we released our new Flood Hazard Area and River Corridor Protection Procedure which was a while in the making. This new procedure has several purposes, but the main purpose is to document how the DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) defines and maps river corridors for: the purpose of Act 250 & Section 248 proceedings, administering the state Flood Hazard Area and River Corridor Rule, and for the regulation of berming under the Stream Alteration rules.
As for the second big release, we are happy to announce the release of our Statewide River Corridor data online! As you see in the purpose of the Procedure, VT Rivers Program has updated the methodology for mapping River Corridors. This change has come mostly because we have been working very hard over the past year and a half or so to create a statewide river corridor map that covers all Vermont streams with a drainage area of greater than 2 square miles. At the end of last year, the first Statewide River Corridor map was released to the public for use and can be accessed on the VT ANR Natural Resource Atlas or at the Flood Ready Atlas. At this time, the statewide map is an approximate river corridor map but we will be working to incorporate the many miles of field assessed data that has been collected throughout the state over the past many years. Please refer to the River Corridors - Frequently Asked Questions page, as some of your question may be addressed there.
Something else that is new and on the horizon is the implementation of our Flood Hazard Area and River Corridor Rule. The Rule was adopted this past fall and will go into effect on March 1, 2015. We will be posting more information in the coming weeks about this roll out. If you read the rule and our new procedure, you will see that the Procedure contains the background and technical information that support the new rule.
Please be aware that our new rule will apply only to development that is exempt from local municipal permitting, specifically:
State owned and operated facilities and properties;
We wanted to announce that our Southern Vermont Floodplain Manager position is out-for-hire at this time. Please note that the on-line application deadline closes 12/4/2014. If you would like more information about this position, please contact Rob Evans at rob.evans@state.vt.us
Environmental Analyst IV AC: General
616053
Rutland
Full-Time
N/A
Classified
21.550000
11/18/2014
23
660401
12/04/2014
Environmental Conservation
General Information
This position, (Environmental Analyst IV, Job Opening #
616053), is open to all State employees and external applicants.
This position is within the River Corridor and Floodplain
Protection section of the Vermont Rivers Program. The Regional Floodplain Manager
will provide regulatory support and technical assistance to individuals,
municipalities, consultants, and agencies of state and federal government
regarding development proposals in river corridors and floodplains in southern
Vermont. The position supports multiple regulatory jurisdictions including the
State Flood Hazard Area and River Corridor Rule, municipal land use permitting,
and Act 250. The position requires working both independently and
collaboratively to evaluate development proposals for regulatory compliance and
recommend alternative courses of action to minimize conflicts between
river/floodplain dynamics and human investments. This position requires strong
written and verbal communication skills, and must work well with the public and
include education in each interaction.
Preference will be given to candidates with a strong
combination of the following: working knowledge of the National Flood Insurance
Program; experience reviewing and analyzing site plans, grading plans, and
related engineering and surveying schematics; knowledge of riverine
hydrology/hydraulics and fluvial geomorphology.
Education: Bachelor's degree in a biological-life or
physical science, engineering, or an environmental or natural resources field.
Experience: Four years at a professional level in an
environmental or natural resources field.
OR
Two years as an Environmental Analyst III.
NOTE: Graduate Degree in an environmental or natural
resources field may be substituted for up to two years of experience on a
semester for six months basis.
Should you submit an application for this job opening,
you certify that all information entered is correct and complete to the best of
your knowledge. By submitting an application, you acknowledge and
understand that the State of Vermont may verify information, and that
untruthful or misleading answers are cause for rejection of this application,
and/or dismissal if employed with the State of Vermont.
The State of Vermont is an Equal Opportunity
Employer. Applications from women, individuals with disabilities,
veterans, and people from diverse cultural backgrounds are encouraged.
A new/second appeal period for the Bennington County flood
hazard maps will begin next week and continue for ninety days until February
10, 2015.
The Preliminary Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) can be
viewed online at the FEMA
Map Service Center. The currently effective FIRM maps can also be
found on the MSC. You can search by address to find the correct
map, however the currently effective maps do not have an aerial photograph in
the background.
The Preliminary DFIRM data can also be found on the VT ANR
Natural Resource Atlas tinyurl.com/vt-floodmap
Use “Quick Tools” to “Zoom to Town” or “Find
an Address”.
This is the last formal window for communities to make minor
corrections or to supply scientific or technical data that would replace the
information in the Preliminary Flood Insurance Study and DFIRM. Communities that receive appeals and
supporting data from individuals should consolidate and review any appeal data
from individuals. Whether or not the
community chooses to appeal please send copies of individual appeals and
supporting data to:
After February and any appropriate changes, there will Letter of
Final Determination and a six-month adoption period. It is likely that the Bennington County DFIRM
will become effective next fall.
This is a very good time to look at the Preliminary DFIRM data
to better understand inundation flood risks near your location.
For more information on the flood hazard maps, appeals and
Letters of Map Amendment please contact a FEMA Map Specialist at
The
Vermont General Assembly passed Act 138 in 2012 requiring the Agency of Natural
Resources (ANR) to adopt a Procedure that will:
Outline methods for assessing the sensitivity (i.e.,
stability) of rivers in the state; delineating river corridors based on
sensitivity; and identifying where flood and fluvial erosion hazards pose a
probable risk of harm to life, property, or public infrastructure;
Aid and support
the municipal adoption of river corridor, floodplain, and buffer bylaws; and
Recommend best
management practices for river corridors, floodplains, and buffers.
Acts
138 and Act 107 also required the State to adopt a Flood Hazard Area and River
Corridor Rule with the authority to set standards in exceedance of the minimum
regulatory standards required by the National Flood Insurance Program
administered by FEMA. The Administrative Rule will apply to activities exempt
from municipal regulation, i.e., state building and transportation projects,
public utilities, and agricultural and silvicultural activities. The proposed
Rule would establish a “no adverse impact” (NAI) standard, which essentially
limits proposed state facilities or utilities from making any change in the
height or velocity of floodwater that would increase inundation or erosion
hazards.
The draft Flood Hazard Area and River Corridor Protection Procedure (attached) explains how the Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) will utilize the same “no adverse impact”
standard in providing technical assistance and regulatory recommendations to
municipalities, Act 250, and other regulatory agencies. While NAI is the
standard ANR has applied since 2004 in making Act 250 recommendations and under
Criterion 1D for the NFIP floodway and the ANR river corridor1, it is a higher
standard to be met in the flood hazard area outside of the NFIP floodway
recommending measures of compensatory storage when necessary.
The
Procedures also explain how:
a)
Flood hazard areas, river corridor, and Act 250 floodways are delineated;
b)
Flood hazard area and river corridor maps are amended or revised by the
Department and other parties;
c)
Waivers from the NAI standard are used to encourage land use planning for
infill, redevelopment, and the shadowing of other structures; and
d) Best practices may be used
to promote stream and floodplain equilibrium conditions and the natural
attenuation of flood sediments, heights, and velocities that influence flood
inundation and fluvial erosion.
The River Corridor and Floodplain Protection Program will
accept public comments until November 3, 2014. Written comments should be
addressed to ANR.WSMDRivers@state.vt.usor
DEC Rivers Program, Watershed Management Division, 1 National Life Drive, Main
2, Montpelier, VT 05620-3522
1 ANR River Corridors are
calculated and field-measured areas providing for the stream dynamics,
meanders, and the riparian buffers necessary for the restoration and protection
of naturally stable or least erosive river forms. Corridors show an area where
any stream channelization measures used to protect development or other
improvements contribute to an increase in fluvial erosion upstream and
downstream and adversely affect public safety, riparian landowners, and river
ecosystems.
It is October, so that means that presentation and abstract deadlines are on the horizon for the Association of State Floodplain Manager's (ASFPM's) 2015 Annual National Conference in Atlanta, GA!
Every year, the ASFPM Call for Presenters deadline is on October 31st, so it is time to pull together ideas for both Concurrent Session presentations and Workshop submissions for this end of the month deadline. The 2015 National Conference theme is Mitigation on My Mind. The Call for Presenters is seeking a broad range of professionals to address the many issues and problems associated with managing flood risk, making communities more sustainable, and protecting floodplain and natural resources.
Abstract are due by October 31. Go to the conference website and follow directions for the on-line submission.
In the past, there have been more than double the number of abstracts submitted to number of presentation openings available for concurrent session speakers. To increase your odds of being selected as a speaker for the concurrent sessions, you can review the 2015 Speaker Tips Brochure.
Questions? Contact ASFPM Conference Planner Chad Ross at chad@floods.org.
