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Senate Committees Hold Two Days Of Hearings On Flood Mitigation, Stormwater
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The Senate Environmental Resources & Energy and Senate Republican Policy Committees this week held two days of hearings on issues related to flood mitigation and stormwater management
"What we're trying to do is identify the causes of flooding across our commonwealth – and the causes are different in different areas – and then look at possible solutions, such as the use of environmental engineering design concepts to manage stormwater and regional cooperation to address runoff issues," said Sen. Ted Erickson (R-Delaware), Chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee. "Ultimately, preventing flooding by channeling and reducing runoff where possible will cost less than flood recovery."
"In the wake of the recent flooding across Pennsylvania, we heard from a number of communities that were devastated," said Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango), Majority Chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. "While the impacts differed in size, and in the effects on towns, personal lives and the economy, these hearings will allow us to gather information on what federal, state and local agencies are currently doing and what we could do better as we move forward. What can we do to mitigate damages and to limit the burdens on the residents of Pennsylvania?"
The agenda for the November 15 hearing included: Dr. Robert Traver, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Villanova University, Michele Adams, Meliora Environmental Design, Paula Conolly, Philadelphia Water Department, Elizabeth Treadway, AMEC Environmental and Infrastructure, Cory Rathman and Mark Gutshall, Lancaster County Clean Water Consortium, Tom McGlynn, Winola Industrial, Factoryville, Pa.
Robert Traver, Ph.D., Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Villanova University stated the purpose of stormwater management is to prevent increased flooding and degradation of rivers and water bodies from changes in land use.
He indicated he considers Pennsylvania's current stormwater management regulations to be well thought out but may need improvement in inspections and maintenance practices. He said municipalities with established utilities or authorities are the only places that have sustainable programs and Pennsylvania is going to have to address retrofits within current municipal budgets to correct degraded streams and rivers as required by the Clean Water Act.
Michele Adams, Practicing Engineer, Meliora Environmental Design said it is hard to get a handle on some of the causes of flooding and how what happens on the land affects that and noted due to significantly less forest land there has been a lot more runoff.
She said the way Pennsylvania has been designing for stormwater management does not prevent flooding and wastes a valuable resource. She added too much water erodes streams, destroys stream life and creates a loss of base flow. She stated effective ways of allowing water absorption is using porous asphalt and green infrastructures.
She said it is important to remember the water being sent downstream does not recharge our drinking water so the engineering has to mimic the way nature works. She indicated most of the time it only rains a small amount and that is the opportunity to capture water for resources and water quality.
Paula Conolly, Policy and Strategic Initiatives Unit, Philadelphia Water Department stated the threat of flooding in Pennsylvania is growing and rainfall will likely increase and intensify with climate change which means flooding could happen much more frequently.
She said the options available to address flooding range from expensive, engineered solutions to relatively straightforward policy which could save communities millions of dollars that would otherwise be needed for flood recovery. She indicated most flooding occurs near streams that become overwhelmed with runoff during storms; largely from upstream development that has been built without sufficient stormwater management measures.
Elizabeth Treadway, Vice President for Water Resources, AMEC Environment & Infrastructure, Inc., said urbanization and the stress that human endeavor has placed on local infrastructure systems is a challenge that is known not just locally in Pennsylvania but everywhere.
She said her company works with local government and realizes this is a state and local partnership solution that has to be crafted but ultimately the decision comes down to whoever has to pay.
She indicated she works with local governments to understand what their challenges are that have to be met in order to put in place solutions that will ultimately alleviate the challenges. She said the solutions being proposed today range from minimal to extreme cost and the decision comes down to "do we pay now or do we pay later."
Cory Ratham, Lancaster Clean Water Consortium said the consortium was formed by individuals realizing the need for a more comprehensive approach to effect meaningful change to waterways while at the same time preparing for future regulations.
He indicated after only one year in existence the Consortium has many accomplishments resulting from various partnerships and its ability to reach numerous municipalities, organizations and individuals whose activities impact Lancaster County waterways.
He said the Consortium's priority in 2012 is to serve as an educator in the county and will increase its educational efforts to inform municipalities and the public on issues ranging from regional watershed planning efforts to implementing day-to-day measures to improve the county's waterways.
Mark Gutshall, LandStudies, Inc. and the Lancaster Clean Water Consortium said much of what he knows about functional, natural ecosystems he has learned through observation and the most fundamental lesson he has learned is that people often create more problems than they solve when they try to control natural systems instead of mimicking or working with them.
He indicated he supports three main concepts: working on a regional scale, employing a holistic approach and establishing economic feasibility. He said the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts endorses a pilot public-private market-based Stormwater Trading Program, addressing pending stormwater concerns and the Watershed Implementation Plan to meet the Total Maximum Daily Load compliance requirements in the form of credit offsets or benefit stacking on a regional scale.
He noted PACD also encourages adequate compensation be provided to conservation districts in order to offset costs associated with serving as an adviser for such a program.
Tom McGlynn, Winola Industrial, Factoryville, Pa said since the flooding of Hurricane Irene in September he has had to move his house and garage to higher ground on another part of his property and, before recently, has never had to deal with flood elevations being so high. He indicated gravel bars are the cause of the destruction of the trees and stream banks and the stream will fill up channels and shift course periodically.
The agenda for the November 16 hearing included: Kelly Heffner, DEP Deputy Secretary for Water Management, John Forr and Tom Hughes, PA Emergency Management Agency, Amy Guise, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a local government panel with Gene Dziak and Judy Mead, Wyoming County, MaryAnn Warren, PA Association of Conservation Districts and Jerry Walls, retired Director of the Lycoming County Planning Commission.
Kelly Heffner, DEP Deputy Secretary for Water Management, said DEP acted with speed and coordination to provide services to the Commonwealth during the flood disaster to help mitigate the effects of the flood and provide insight into issues that have been brought to their attention.
In an effort to prevent a fuel shortage crisis, DEP Secretary Krancer made a formal request to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to waive the gasoline volatility requirements and, recognizing the need to increase waste disposal services, DEP took swift actions in partnership with local government and Pennsylvania’s waste industry.
She indicated DEP issued over 1000 Emergency permits for the removal of obstructions from waterways and aided FEMA in preparing an environmental assessment for potential temporary housing locations.
Heffner noted since the flood events, DEP has contacted municipal sponsors of state flood protection projects in affected counties to determine if the projects were damaged and coordinated with the Federal Natural Resources and Conservation Services on their Emergency Watershed Protection Program.
She said DEP’s flood protection program has received many requests from communities with significant damage to conduct site visits to determine what can be done to prevent flooding in the future and DEP is investigating the areas and providing recommendations and handing out flood damage assessment forms.
Heffner noted DEP has received many legislative inquiries regarding dredging as a possible measure of prevention but the dredging of streams will not prevent flooding.
She stated the unengineered and random dredging has been proven to be an ineffective tool and will often result in rapid deposition of sediment in the channel as well as channel instability, bank erosion, and further damage to the aquatic environments.
She clarified dredging should not be confused with the removal of flood debris from a channel, which DEP issues emergency work permits for, including bank stabilization and removal of accumulated silt and sediment from stream channels.
She added “while DEP does not see the need for legislation addressing dredging, carefully planned, engineered and constructed channel and stream restoration projects can significantly reduce flooding to adjacent properties, and restore the aquatic environments in the stream channel absent of new legislation.”
Tom Hughes, PA Emergency Management Agency, said all funds that PEMA has for hazard mitigation come from the federal government and PEMA administers five mitigation grant programs for the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the umbrella of Hazard Mitigation Assistance.
He indicated in order for a mitigation idea to be beneficial it must save money in the long run and if the cost of a mitigation project is less than the long-term costs of disaster recovery and repair for the project area, it is considered cost-effective.
He said under federal law, the state must revise the Commonwealth’s All-Hazard Mitigation Plan every three years and counties must have a County Hazard Mitigation Plan in effect to make them eligible for FEMA funds; currently all but three counties in Pennsylvania have a County Hazard Mitigation Plan in effect.
Hughes noted Pennsylvania is the second most flood prone state in the country and the most common mitigation project is acquisition and demolition of flood-risk homes, or buyouts, and acquisition is considered the best mitigation practice because “no homes = no losses.” He added other mitigation projects in Pennsylvania include home elevations and small flood control projects but they are not as effective because homes and businesses remain in risk areas.
He said Pennsylvania should receive around $45 million in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee and anticipate PEMA will receive requests for 400-500 home buyouts.
Hughes stated the costs involved with a buyout application is not reimbursed even is the application is not approved; an application for a buyout does not automatically mean it will occur. He added if the application for a buyout is approved FEMA will cover 75 percent of the costs and once the property is acquired it will be “deed restricted” so that no structure can be put on the land in the future.
Amy Guise, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, stated the responsibility for flood risk management is shared among federal, state and local government agencies and the authority to determine how land is used in flood plains and to enforce flood requirements is entirely the responsibility of state and local governments.
She said floodplain management choices made by state and local officials impact the effectiveness of federal programs to mitigate flood risks. She indicated it is important to educate the public in the actions they can do to reduce their risk.
She said the Corps owns or operates 15 dams in the Susquehanna River with 11 of them in Pennsylvania along with nearly 60 miles of constructed levees. She stated the Corps exercised its full range of flood risk management programs in response to Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee and combined data from stream gages, weather and flood forecasts and information received from communications to strategically and systematically manage the flow of water down the Susquehanna River with the goal of reducing downstream flood peaks by storing water during the period of greatest flow and slowly releasing it after the flood risk passed.
Guise stated in 2006 the Corps established the National Flood Risk Management Program to take the first step of bringing together other federal agencies, the state and local government agencies and the private sector to develop, implement and unify a national flood risk management strategy.
She added in recent years the Corps has placed an emphasis on non-structural approaches, which address development of a flood plain, participating in FEMA’s national flood insurance program, developing and implementing flood warning systems and evacuation plans and flood proofing individual structures or removing structures from extreme flood hazards.
She said the Corps established its Levee Safety Program in 2007 with the mission to assess the integrity and viability of levees and recommend courses of action to make sure that levee systems do not present unacceptable risks to the public, property and environment. She noted levees do not and cannot eliminate risk and are not the only available flood risk reduction tool.
She added “the Corps uses it authorities, programs and roles in flood risk management to the optimum and maximum extent in order to reduce the risk to life, structures and property.”
Gene Dziak and Judy Mead, Wyoming County, said Wyoming County has submitted letters of intent to PEMA and FEMA for acquisition of buyout properties and they have numerous other projects going on. He said the NRCS will be visiting, along with PEMA, to support five projects that will help damaged properties.
He indicated it is important, when talking about stream cleaning, to clean the entire stream and three of the last flood situations happened because of dams built up from debris. He said most of the solutions they are looking at are “band-aid solutions” and they need to go in and re-channel the streams back to where they belong and figure out how to maintain the re-channeling throughout the years.
MaryAnn Warren, President, PA Association of Conservation Districts, stated the members of her Association were called upon to help the agricultural industry move quickly in the aftermath and provided technical assistance for around 100 permits.
She said PACD surveyed all the districts that respond to flooding emergencies in agricultural communities and provided suggestions that would help expedite and make the recovery response process more efficient.
She also suggested the county conservation districts be granted the authority to sign and distribute emergency permits when major flooding events occur and advocate FEMA and PEMA begin listing the damage of farm lands in their priorities in an emergency situation.
She indicated when a disaster strikes the districts are prepared to be deployed to wherever deemed necessary to provide the greatest support and county officials call upon the districts daily for assistance, guidance and their technical expertise.
Jerry Walls, retired Director of the Lycoming County Planning Commission, said flood mitigation is generally approached in a reactive mode rather than proactive and preventive and Act 167 needs to be revised to allow the Stormwater Plan and Ordinance to apply to preexisting conditions.
He indicated no single technique is sufficient and dredging can only be effective if there is also stream bank stabilization and all mitigation tools need to be applied where they are applicable. He said there is a need to clarify and simplify municipal reimbursement procedures and a stormwater management program needs to be funded by the state 100 percent.
He stated the DEP model stormwater management ordinance needs reworked to specify what minimum standards must be met to be consistent and provide guidance on practical exemption criteria and options.
Video of the hearings and copies of testimony are available on the Senate Environmental Committee and Senate Republican Policy Committee webpages. Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango) serves as Majority Chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and Sen. John Yudichak (D-Luzerne) serves as Minority Chair.
Sen. Ted Erickson (R-Delaware) serves as Chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee.
Senate Approves Flood Relief PackageCrisis Counseling Available To Midstate Flood Victims |
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11/21/2011 |
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