Building the Foundation for Hazard and Climate Resilient Coastal Communities

July 28, 2010, 12:00 Noon Eastern
EMForum.org is pleased to host a one hour presentation and interactive discussion Wednesday, July 28, 2010, beginning at 12:00 Noon Eastern time (please convert to your local time). Our topic will be the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center and its role in working with public and private sector partners to assist coastal communities better understand their risks and choices for how to adapt to the impacts of hazards and a changing climate.

Our special guest will be Margaret Davidson, Director of the NOAA Coastal Services Center since 1995. Ms. Davidson has served on numerous local, state, and federal committees and has provided leadership for national professional societies. Her professional work is focused on environmentally sustainable aquaculture, mitigation of coastal hazards, and impacts of climate variability on coastal resources. She also holds a faculty appointment at the University of Charleston and serves on the adjunct faculties of Clemson University and the University of South Carolina.
Please make plans to join us, and see the Background Page for related materials and Instructions. If this will be your first time to participate, please check your connection at least a day in advance by clicking on the Live Meeting Login link. The Live Meeting client must be used in order to access the audio. As always, please feel free to extend this invitation to your colleagues.

If you’ve never seen or heard Margaret Davidson present before, trust us, you don’t want to miss it. If you have seen her present before, you’re likely already moving your schedule around to make room for this.

(Added to the StormSmart Coasts calendar. Know something else that should be on the calendar? Let us know).

EDA Offers Grants through Climate Change Mitigation Fund

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) advances economic growth by assisting communities experiencing chronic high unemployment and low per capita income to create an environment that fosters innovation, promotes entrepreneurship, and attracts increased private capital investment. EDA requests proposals for the following programs: Public Works, Planning, Local Technical Assistance, and Economic Adjustment Assistance. Under the Economic Adjustment Assistance program, EDA has allocated $14.7 million to the Global Climate Change Mitigation Incentive Fund, which supports projects that foster economic competitiveness while enhancing environmental quality. Proposals are being accepted from state and local governments, and nonprofit organizations and are being reviewed on an ongoing basis. For more info, including contact info, go to: http://www.grants.gov/search/ search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId= 48106.

Eligible Applicants:

• City or township, county, and special district governments
• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
• Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
• Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
• Private institutions of higher education

Application Deadline: September 30, 2010

With nearly $15 million available, if you’ve got a project that might qualify, this should be worth looking into.

The whole statement:

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503


July 21, 2010 (House Rules)

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY H.R. 1264 – Multiple Peril Insurance Act of 2009
(Rep. Taylor, D-Mississippi, and 22 cosponsors)

The Administration recognizes that the availability of hazard insurance is a key element in the ability of individuals and communities to recover from disasters. However, the Administration opposes House passage of H.R. 1264, which would expand the Federal Government’s role to provide windstorm insurance that is already readily available in the private sector and through State insurance plans without Federal aid. Although the Administration believes in strengthening the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for the benefit of policyholders and taxpayers, the central rationale for the program – the difficulty of obtaining flood insurance through either the private market or State programs – simply does not apply to windstorm insurance in most markets. Moreover, because the legislation appropriately requires that a Federal wind insurance program be actuarially sound, the insurance offered through a Federal program may not be any less expensive, and could be more expensive, than what is currently offered by private insurers and/or by States. As a result, expanding NFIP to cover windstorm insurance would unnecessarily duplicate available insurance products and could “crowd out” such products where they are offered, while offering little to no savings to the American public. At a time when the NFIP is already facing serious challenges, the Administration cannot support such an expansion.

You can download a PDF of the statement here.

UPDATE (07-23-2010): The bill has been pulled from the house floor without a vote.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) “Unified Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program Guidance” (176 pp.) represents the unification of all five of the agency’s hazard mitigation grant programs into one guidance document. These programs, which provide funding for eligible mitigation activities that reduce disaster losses and protect life and property from future disaster damages, are the Pre-Disaster Mitigation, Severe Repetitive Loss, Flood Mitigation Assistance, Repetitive Flood Claims programs (nondisaster programs), and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Applications for the nondisaster programs are due to FEMA by December 3, 2010. (Check with your state’s emergency management agency for details on state deadlines and procedures).

Admittedly, probably not the most fascinating reading, but super useful when you’re looking for funding. Plus now the process of applying for multiple different FEMA grants just got a lot easier easier. You can find the whole thing over on FEMA’s website.

The Johnsons went for 12′ instead.

“Even if it costs us more now, whatever costs us less in the long-run is what we’re going for. We’re going to do this right so it will be here in 100 years for our children and our grandchildren,” they reported.

Bravo.

For more information on the many benefits (and surprisingly low cost of) freeboard, see Using Freeboard to Elevate Structures Above Predicted Floodwaters.

“A Home Above the Rest: Homeowner in City of Galveston Elevates Home 12 Feet” (FEMA.gov)

The COMET Program is pleased to announce the publication of “Community Hurricane Preparedness: 2nd Edition”. This 6-hour module is intended primarily for emergency managers in communities that deal with impacts from tropical cyclones. In addition to discussing the science behind hurricanes, their formation, and their hazards, the module provides an overview of forecast products and tools that emergency managers can use to help prepare their communities for these threats. The culmination of the module is a decision-making exercise, based on an actual hurricane, in which the learner will review information and make decisions at various stages as a hurricane threatens.

Sound interesting? You can find the Community Hurricane Preparedness course here (or here, in Spanish). Registration is free and simple (really: took all of 30 seconds to sign up). As an added bonus, you can have your progress sent automatically to your supervisor or organization.

As part of a unanimous consent agreement last night, the Senate cleared a measure (HR 5569) that would extend the authorization of the National Flood Insurance Program until September 30, 2010. It was previously passed by the House, so it will become effective as soon as President Obama signs it, which is expected very soon. The effective date is retroactive to May 31, 2010, covering the period since the program lapsed. This means that policies may now be issued for applications and premiums received on or after June 1 and claims for covered losses can be processed.

Glad to see this passed, and this is certainly good news for those in the Gulf of Mexico who are potentially facing wind, waves, and oil this hurricane season, BUT: we have to do this all again in 3 months?

The study is trying to determine how the NOAA Climate Service can best:

• Provide information at the global, regional and state levels over varying timescales
• Support interaction among the government and various users, stakeholders, researchers, and information providers of climate information in both the public and private sectors
• Develop and distribute products and information that will support decision making to better prepare the nation for climate variability and climate change
• Coordinate and align existing NOAA programs and resources to minimize duplication and leverage existing climate-related resources

Have thoughts on this? Head on over to the Climate Service Dialogue site and share them!

The brief memo suggest that the NFIP will bill the party that caused the oil damage (in this case, British Petroleum) for the damages. And while this bit is somewhat less clear, it sounds like if the policyholder later directly bills the responsible party for the same damage, the policyholder must pay back the NFIP (no double-dipping).

A few other selections from the memo:

• Coverage for commercial buildings and contents must be purchased separately and the limit for damage caused by pollutants is $10,000
• Homes and contents are covered up to the policy limits (this doesn’t raise the maximum payout)
• Damage to ground, soil, or land caused by flood, oil, or flood water mixed with oil is not covered

You can download a PDF the June 7 memo “Write Your Own (WYO) Principal Coordinators and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Servicing Agent” here.

The two pages of “Hurricanes and the Oil Spill” attempt to concisely answer such questions as:

• What will happen to a hurricane that runs through this oil slick? (Very little)
• What will the hurricane do to the oil slick in the Gulf? (Also, very little)
• Will the oil slick help or hurt a storm from developing in the Gulf? (Neither)
• Will there be oil in the rain related to a hurricane? (No)

You can download “Hurricanes and the Oil Spill” here.