Connecticut has experienced several powerful storms in recent years that resulted in local flood damage in cities and towns throughout the state.  Experts predict heavy rain events will increase in the future and statistics gathered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) show that 40% of businesses affected by a natural disaster, such as flooding, never reopen.  Businesses that have hazardous materials, chemicals or waste on-site, including retail shops that sell chemical products, run the risk of breached containment that can cause pollution, endanger workers and destroy property and assets.  The DEEP Pollution Prevention program has two new guidance documents that address preparedness for The Resilient 21st Century Business:  

• How Managing Chemicals Can Help Your Business Weather the Storm

• How Retailers & Service Providers Can Manage Chemical Products to Weather the Storm

The DEEP Pollution Prevention program has also developed the CT Toxics Users & Climate Risk public viewer.  This is a tool for businesses, especially those that store hazardous chemicals, materials and/or wastes on site to assess the vulnerability of their location to climate-related natural hazards.  It was created so that facilities could assess their risk and implement best management practices to prevent damage or contamination from toxic on-site materials in the event of a natural hazard.  It will also assist EPCRA-regulated facilities with compliance with CGS 22a-610(e) requirements regarding updating hazard mitigation plans and applicable evacuation plans.  Local and state emergency preparedness and response planners will also find this tool useful.  Businesses and local entities can use the map to gauge their proximity to other facilities managing toxic materials that may impact normal operations, if flooding affects those facilities.  The viewer has several layers, including the FEMA flood hazard zones, hurricane evacuation areas, facilities that are EPCRA Tier 2 filers, RCRA hazardous waste generators, storage/disposal facilities, and Toxic Release Inventory reporters.  A layer with sea level rise will be added in the future.  Begin using the viewer by selecting the layers you wish to see and then typing in an address.  The results will show which, if any, flood zones intersect the property, along with facilities.

Additional information on chemical management and climate resilience for businesses as well as local and regional natural hazard mitigation planning is available on the DEEP Pollution Prevention webpage.

• TB 0:  User's Guide to Technical Bulletins
• TB 4:  Elevators in Buildings Located in Special Flood Hazard Areas
• TB 8:  Corrosion Protection for Metal Connectors and Fasteners in Coastal Areas

Read these two recent articles from The New York Times highlighting government embracing the concept of retreat in Nashville, Kentucky and Canada. 

• As Floods Keep Coming, Cities Pay Residents to Move, July 6, 2019
• Canada Tried a Forceful Message for Flood Victims:  Live Someplace Else,    September 10, 2019

Flood Insurance Changes

This short video explains the insurance changes to the NFIP that became effective on October 1, 2019.  These changes include the requirement for National Producer Numbers, specific rating guidelines, and the Community Rating System Eligible Communities List.  FEMA also announced changes scheduled to go into effect on April 1, 2020 and January 1, 2021, including updated premium rates and flood-proofing guidance for non-residential buildings.  These program changes may be subject to future update or modification due to Risk Rating 2.0, a new flood insurance rating system currently under development by FEMA.  Risk Rating 2.0 will fundamentally change how FEMA rates a property's flood risk and prices insurance for a structure.  The new rates for all single-family homes will go into effect on October 1, 2020. 

NFIP Financial Statement 

FEMA has produced a series of eight Flood Risk Communication Videos.  Each video is approximately three minutes in length and is geared toward educating residents on various aspects of the National Flood Insurance Programs (NFIP).  Video topics include:

• Introduction to the NFIP
• Flood Insurance
• Flood Risk Basics
• Introduction to RiskMAP
• Collecting Data To Create Flood Maps
• Providing Input as the Flood Map is Developed
• We have a Flood Map, Now What?
• Mitigation

A new educational video entitled Rising Waters:  Planning for Flooding in Connecticut is now available.  This 15 minute video highlights flooding scenarios within our state along with the social and economic impacts of flooding, and opportunities for mitigation.  The video aims to increase the knowledge base of municipal officials to make informed decisions and effective choices supporting resilience.  The general public and other stakeholders will also find the video valuable.  

Connecticut Sea Grant utilized USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) funds, which has a resilience component, to hire UCONN student Sarah Schechter to prepare the video.  Ms. Schechter coordinated with DEEP and municipal staff to gather information, pictures, content, resources and narration.  The video will be posted on Adapt CT this autumn and more videos are planned for the future.  This video is modeled after the PREP-RI video series funded by Rhode Island Sea Grant.     

• November 7, 2019, 1:00pm - Elevation Certificates
• November 14, 2019, 1:00pm - Tools for Determining Base Flood Elevation
• November 19, 2019, 1:00pm - CRS:  Introduction to CRS
• November 20, 2019, 1:00pm - CRS:  CRS and Coastal Hazards
• November 21, 2019, 12:00pm - Floodplain Development Permit Review
• November 21, 2019, 1:30pm - Inspecting Floodplain Development
• December 17, 2019, 1:00pm - CRS:  Natural Floodplain Functions and CRS
• December 18, 2019, 1:00pm - CRS:  Preparing an Annual Recertification
• December 19, 2019, 1:00pm - Elevation Certificates