Good Day! I appear today representing: The Natural Hazard Mitigation Association

Transcription

1 USACE Flood Risk Management & Silver Jackets Workshop Achieving Environmental Success in Achieving Flood Risk Environmental Management August 16, 2011 Edward A. Thomas, Esq. Good Day! I appear today representing: The This is not and cannot be legal advice This is a statement of general principles of ethics, law and policy ethomas@mbakercorp.com Key Themes We Need To Think Broadly To Solve Our Serious Problems We Must Stop Making Things Worse Right Now We Have A System Which Rewards Dangerous Behavior We Need To Remove Bad Incentives, Reward Good Planning, Safe Building, and Safe Reconstruction 3 I Hope All of You Will Agree Among the Most Clear Lessons of The Horrific Floods of this Decade: There Is No Possibility of A Sustainable Economy Without Safe Locations for Business and Industry to Occupy We Need Safe Housing for Employees to Work at Businesses and Industry to Have an Economy at All 4 4 Trends in Flood Damages Flood losses and reported flood heights are increasing Demographic trends indicate great future challenges 5 5 Trends in Flood Damages $6 billion annually Four-fold increase from early 1900s Per capita damages increased by more than a factor of 2.5 in the previous century in real dollar terms And then there was Katrina, Rita, Wilma 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Average Annual Flood Damages $2.2 $2.0 $2.4 $2.2 $2.9 $3.4 $3.3 $4.9 $5.6 Billions (adjusted to 1999 dollars) $10.0 1

2 USACE Slide courtesy of Pete Rabbon RISK Residual Risk Can Be Increased All Shareholders Can Also Contribute to Increased Risk! Initial Risk No Warning/Evacuation Plan Upstream Development Increases Flows Lack of Awareness of Flood Hazard-Lack of Flood, Business Interruption, DIC Insurance Critical Facilities Not Protected Increased Development Levees Not Properly Designed/Maintained Vastly Increased Residual Risk RISK Increase Factors 8 Central Message Even If We Perfectly Implement Current Floodplain Regulations, Damages Will Continue or Increase. Remember, we have done a number of positive things, both non-structural and structural, but We ll discuss why that is 9 9 But There Is Hope! Association of State Floodplain Managers No Adverse Impact concept and message New and exciting American Planning Association awareness and initiatives Improved FEMA Flood Mapping Program-Risk MAP The formation of the National Hazard Mitigation Collaborative Alliance American Bar Association Resolutions Formation of the Numerous Local Success Stories 10 coverages Paul Farmer: Executive Director of the American Planning Association June 2009 APA's Hazards Planning Research Center (has prepared) a FEMA-funded best practice materials showing how hazardmitigation and adaptation plans can be integrated into comprehensive planning efforts at all scales from the neighborhood to the region. This Document Has Just Been Released and Is Available Excellent in My Opinion 11 American Bar Association Resolutions 107 A-G Adopted by the ABA House of Delegates January 2009 Summary of Resolution 107 E The following recommendations of the Financial Services Round Table Blue Ribbon Commission on Megacatastrophes are highly desirable loss mitigation suggestions: State of the art building codes Cost-effective retrofitting Land use policies that discourage construction posing high risk to personal safety or property loss. Property tax credits to encourage retrofitting These and related elements of loss mitigation are designed to ultimately bring to market affordable insurance policies with broadened coverages. 12 2

3 Local Success Stories-So Many- Here Are Just A Few Relocation of Soldier s Grove, Wisconsin Alternative to restoration of Louisa County Levee District # Tulsa, Oklahoma Charleston, S.C. Project Impact Sand Dunes FEMA s Project Impact Successes 13 Common Theme Many different programs used Often most important stakeholders do not especially care about floods, hazards, or disasters Each has particular motivations and interests within their own cylinder of excellence We need to talk to them about what they care about-not necessarily about what we care about 14 What Sorts of Interests Might Support Flood Risk Reduction? Environmentalists-River Keepers-Wildlife Defenders Fans of small government Those interested in sustainable, livable communities; or concerned about taxes or Concerned about loss of life Hook and bullet folks 15 We Need to be Ready to Describe Our Shared Goal of Flood Risk Reduction in their Terms Sustainability Livable Communities Reduction of government expenses Protect the environment and wildlife Protect people Protection of water quality Protection of a way of life 16 Further Discussion and Stories To Come! Proceedings of the National Hazard Mitigation Practitioners Workshop To be available soon! Handouts Also Available Some at the back of the room Will also be on the CD from this Workshop

4 Tools For Preparation and Recovery Planning and Building Livable, Safe & Sustainable Communities: The Patchwork Quilt Approach Located at: A Question for the Group: What is the Best Form of Hazard Mitigation? 19 Safe Development Is Affordable The American Institutes for Research has conducted a detailed study on the cost of floodproofing and elevation That study supports the idea that elevation and floodproofing costs add very small sums and have a significant societal payback The Multihazard Mitigation Council, a group which includes private industry representatives, reports that hazard mitigation has a proven 4-1 payback 20 The Choice of Development or No Development is a False Choice! The Choice We Have as a Society is Rather Between: 1. Well planned development that protects people and property, our environment, and our precious Water Resources while reducing the potential for litigation; or 2. Some current practices that are known to harm people, property, and natural floodplain functions- and may lead to litigation and other challenges 21 Take Away Messages For Today We throw money at problems after they occur We can pay a little now and put people to work; Or our economy pays an unsustainable, horrid price later! Some Messages to Floodplain & Emergency Managers From My Negotiations Training Floodplain & Emergency Mangers Have to Stop Being The Abominable No People!! Find A Yes We Are For Development We Are For Safe Place For Our Citizens To Live We Must Consider Others When We Develop Channel Any Emotion Into Action

5 Steps to Uncover the Yes Never Start With NO! We Are Against NO Start With What We Are For We Want Your Development! We Need The Tax Revenue 25 If Needed: Develop A Well Thought Out-Clear NO! Know Your Stuff Develop a Plan B Build a Coalition-Partnerships Who Shares Your Interests? Take Away Their Ability To Launch A Surprise Attack Consider The Worst Case Consider The Worst Case If You Have To Live With A Yes, When You Should Have Said No The Mirror Test 26 If It Is A Good Project... Yes. Yes. Yes! 27 Message For All Involved In Community Development The Fundamental Rules of Developing Livable Communities, as Articulated, By Law, Envision Housing and Development Which Is: Decent Safe Sanitary Affordable Flooded Development Fails That Vision! Housing And Development Which Flood Are: Indecent Unsafe Unsanitary Unaffordable-by the Flood Victims, By Their Community, By The State, and By Our Nation Summary Fundamentally Our Society Must Choose Either: Better Standards to Protect Resources and People or Standards Which Inevitably Will Result in Destruction and Litigation The higher regulations of the FEMA Community Rating system are headed in the Right Direction The work of the Silver Jackets Teams (whatever they may be called) is also producing excellent results 30 5

6 Questions and Answers 6