PONCA CITY, OK EXPERIENCES IN FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT

STATUS OF PONCA CITY FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IN THE 1980s ENTERED THE NFIP IN JULY 1980 WHY-to receive an EPA Construction Grant to build a Wastewater Treatment Plant WHO-originally it was the consulting engineer who was attempting to obtain the EPA Construction Grant who led the adoption of the Ordinance later the Ordinance administration passed on to the City Planner, because no one else was interested in it. As City Planners changed the enforcement of the NFIP declined. SUBDIVISION DRAINAGE ORDINANCE PASSED IN 1981 WHY-This was passed and driven by need to: 1. Have the streets within the new subdivision drain properly 2. Don't let flows increase and make earlier Street and Drainage Projects fail to function because of urbanizations increased flows WHO-The City Engineer and City Planner worked together to prepare this ordinance which was desperately needed to prevent past City projects from becoming obsolete. The City Engineer enforced this Ordinance, but not the NFIP ordinance. The City Engineer did not have the authority to enforce the NFIP Ordinance.

STATUS OF PONCA CITY FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IN THE 1980s LITIGATION OF TRESSPASS SUITS DUE TO NUISANCE FLOODING (NO ADVERSE IMPACT HAS ALWAYS EXISTED) WHY-to prevent people from negligently or deliberately harming someone else. If your ill considered actions caused someone else, then you had to pay them for their damages. WHO-individual litigants before a Court of Law The City's position was this is a private matter that not become involved in. LATER-Some Cities dared to pass Stormwater Detention Requirements (Ponca City did in 1981), but frequently payment in lieu of detention weakened the achievement of NAI

WHAT WAS SUCESSFUL FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT CONSIDERED IN THE 1980s 1 The busy streets weren't flooded, or not for too long 2 New structures weren't built in the floodplain 3 The floodplain is just a usless gash across your City to just stay away from 4 The people already in the floodplain, should have known not to build in it or buy a house in the floodplain 5 If someone was stuck in the floodplain, don't worry-just buy flood insurance 6 Don't get sucked into flooding lawsuits, those were just private matters between individuals 7 Drainage was just something the developers had to take care of when they built their development 8 Cities just took care of drainage for major streets & major channels 9 Stormwater drainage was NOT a utility service provided by a City 10 The US and State owns the water, the City just needs to get rid of it (stormwater is NOT a resource, just a problem) 11 If you needed to keep something from flooding just build something & use as much concrete as your money would allow & go for flow capacity

25 YEARS AGO THERE WERE SOME NEW & GOOD IDEAS THERE WERE ALSO SOME IDEAS WE NOW LAUGH AT TODAY BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT NOW WE STAND ON THEIR SHOULDERS IN 25 YEARS, THERE WILL BE SOME THINGS THE NEW GENERATION OF FLOODPLAIN MANAGERS WILL LAUGH FROM WHERE WE ARE NOW, BUT THEY WILL BE STANDING ON OUR SHOULDERS NO ONE CAN ARRIVE, WE MUST ALWAYS PRESS FORWARD!!!

WE FELT OK UNTIL JUNE 12, 2002

ALL WAS WELL, LIFE WAS GOOD UNTIL JUNE 12, 2002-PONCA CITY HAD A NEAR 500-YEAR FLOOD THEN A COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE VISIT IN JUNE 2012

STEP 1: WHERE DO WE GET THE MONEY? During this same time it was determined that Ponca City would be required to obtain a MS4 (Municipal Separate Stormwater Discharge Permit), so fund Stormwater Pollution Prevention activities AND Floodplain Management with a JUNE 2003‐STORMWATER UTILITY FEE PASSED STEP 2: PROVIDE & EMPOWER THE STAFF TO GET IT DONE The City Planner at the time the NFIP was entered had taken another job years earlier. The City Engineer had retired and the roles of each in floodplain management had not been completely & fully fleshed out. Jim Fairbanks, P.E., CFM, City Engineer hired an Assistant City Engineer with extensive education & experience in H&H work (IT WAS NOT MIKE CHAPMAN), later Mike Chapman, P.E., CFM replaced him Chris Henderson, CFM, became the Director of the Development Service Department & Floodplain Administrator. The Development Services Department had much broader responsibilities & authority than the City Planner Craig Stephenson, Public Works Director later Assistant City Manager now City Manager, was and remains intimately involved in developing solutions to the problems Floodplain Management is correcting It was determined those 3 individuals needed to become CFM's

STEP 3: DEFINE THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM Winter 2004‐Pinnacle flew and mapped the City of Ponca City and created maps with a 2 foot contour interval (accurate to + 1 foot) INVOLVE THE PUBLIC After every flood City Floodplain Management staff and Paula Cain, Emergency Management Director place a notice on the front page of the newspaper & radio spots asking anyone who flooded to contact the City Floodplain Management staff by name & contact number, City staff then makes an on‐site inspection of the problem‐20 Flooding Problem Areas we identified through this effort 5‐PROBLEM AREAS WERE NOT IN THE FLOODPLAIN January 2005 Ponca City Hazard Mitigation Plan adopted June 2005‐Meshek & Associates, Inc. prepared the Ponca City Stormwater Master Plan for the Bois d'Arc Creek Tributaries Obtain & maintain current your Repetitive Loss List October 2006‐Meshek & Associates, Inc. prepared the Ponca City Stormwater Master Plan for the Tributaries of the Arkansas River 2007‐Meshek & Associates, Inc. Prepared the Ponca City Closed System Stormwater Master Plan September 2009‐City Commission adopts Ponca City Stormwater Master Plan by Ordinance September 25, 2009 new FIRMs & FIS for Kay County including Ponca City incorporating Meshek's H&H work YOU ARE NEVER DONE‐keep searching for Problem Areas (the public is the best tool to find them) & keep your FIRMs & FIS current with LOMAs & LOMRs Inspect your Drainage Ways‐Dry Weather Sampling is required of MS4 Permittees‐have them take pictures and let you SWP3 staff do the hard work for you Inspect your Drainage Ways‐In a disaster let your EM staff perform that work & give your pictures, if you get a disaster declaration FEMA will pay for their inspections When you got to any individual on‐site flooding problem also inspect the corresponding drainage way May 2010‐Adoption of Ponca City Hazard Mitigation Plan including Mitigation Actions from PCSMP August 2011‐Annual Progress Report & Update on HMP & SMP

File to Insert the FIRM Boundaries into your GIS from the FIRM is S_Fld_Haz_Ln.shp

STEP 4: DON’T LET THE PROBLEM GET WORSE Laws, Ordinances, and Regulations do not really correct problems, but will keep problems from getting worse, but they also help define what is right The complete Ponca Code can be viewed at http://www.sterlingcodifiers.com/codebook/index.php?book_id=647 Ponca City Ordinances & Codes contributing to Floodplain Management   Title 10, Chapter 10-Floodplain Ordinance   Title 12, Chapter 8-Subdivision Drainage Criteria   Title 10, Chapter 1-IBC & IRC Codes, for Design Elevation use BFE + freeboard 12” & for Critical Facilities 500-Year Flood Elev. + 12”   Title 10, Chapter 2-Electric Code, NEC Articles 555.2 & 682 has requirement for the "Electrical Datum Plane," make sure the BFE is established as a reference for the "Electrical Datum Plane"   Title 10, Chapters 3 & 4, International Mechanical & Plumbing Code refers back to "Design Elevation" in IBC & IRC   Title 9, Chapter 8, Article C-Stormwater Pollution Prevention Ordinance & also establishes Stormwater Utility Fee DON'T GET CAUGHT BEING-ARBITARY & CAPRICIOUS, get your Ordinances passed

GROUPS WE INVOLVED IN OUR FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM (STAKEHOLDERS) People who reported flooding to us Repetitive Loss Property Owners for 9 buyouts People in the 500-Year Floodplain People in areas around Repetitive Loss Properties People in the SFHA Developers Designers-Surveyors, Engineers, Architects Highway & Utility Contractors

Utility Providers (Water, Sewer, Solid Waste, Cable-One, ONG, AT&T) GROUPS WE INVOLVED IN OUR FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM (STAKEHOLDERS) CONT’D Utility Providers (Water, Sewer, Solid Waste, Cable-One, ONG, AT&T) Registered MEP Trades in Ponca City Ponca City Planning Commission Ponca City Technical Review Committee Ponca City Board of Construction Appeals Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee (including PC Independent School District) The residents in project impact areas

Ponca City Home Buyers/Sellers Mortgage Companies GROUPS WE INVOLVED IN OUR FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM (STAKEHOLDERS) CONT’D Ponca City Realtors Ponca City Home Buyers/Sellers Mortgage Companies Ponca City Property Insurance Companies EM Training Sessions SWP3 Training & Outreach Federal, State, County, & All Other City Departments PONCA CITY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

STEP 5: FIX THE FLOODING PROBLEMS & TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ALL OPPURTUNITIES Determine actual needs, priorities, & cost estimates Determine what projects are not even worth doing Use your stormwater fund & stick with your priority list When you have a flood involve the public & report often & timely to your Governing Body Take advantage of FEMA Grants & Public Assistance with Federal Disaster Declarations, make sure your Storm Water Fund always has the local match available Take advantage of CDBG opportunities Insert your Floodplain improvement in projects whenever possible into other projects such as Economic Development Projects, Transportation Projects, Utility Projects, Development Projects Include Emergency Management & Storm Water Pollution Prevention with Floodplain Management