Hurricane Irene: A Test Case for New Jersey Hazard Mitigation Planning ASFPM 2012 National Conference - Session D4 May 23, 2012 Stuart Wallace - Witt Associates

What does this session include? ► Long-term Initiative ► Background, Interest & Commitment ► New Jersey Hazard Mitigation Plans ► Completed / On-going Planning Process ► Current Opportunity Work-in-Progress – Hurricane Irene ► Next Steps

Long-term Initiative

Long-Term Initiative ► Work-in-Progress … ► Improve Hazard Mitigation Planning under the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000)  Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment (HIRA) predictive reliability  Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) utility  Plan Maintenance & Update Process

Background, Interest & Commitment

Background ► Witt Associates  Emergency management & preparedness consultants since 2001  Founder, James Lee Witt, as FEMA Director under President Clinton, energized hazard mitigation  Primary consultant firm for state, regional, county, and local hazard mitigation plans

Background ► Stuart Wallace  Landscape Architect (RLA), Civil Engineer, Comprehensive Land Use Planner (AICP) since 1980  Emergency management consultant since 1999

Background ► Stuart Wallace  Consultant project manager for FEMA “State & Local Mitigation Planning how-to guides”  Consultant project manager for dozens of state, multi- jurisdictional, and local HMPs

Interest & Commitment ► Client service – Professional obligation ► Repeat business - Corporate sustainability ► Professional satisfaction  Providing more than regulatory compliance; making a difference  Creating long-term partnerships  Solving “typical consultant” problem of lack of familiarity & understanding of specific issues

New Jersey Hazard Mitigation Plans

NJ HMPs – Witt Associates ► Witt Associates supported development of twelve (12) of 21 NJ county-level multi- jurisdictional HMPs ► $1.8 million aggregate contract value ► Adoption dates – 2009 through 2011 ► Update deadlines – 2014 through 2016

NJ HMPs – Context ► NJ = strong home rule state ► Multi-jurisdiction HMPs  12 counties  277 municipalities ► Client PMs / POCs  Strong background/interests in EM/HS  Multiple priorities / Decreasing staff levels / Limited time on task

NJ HMPs – Planning Process ► All hazards ► Flooding dominant concern for most counties/municipalities ► Flood risk assessment via HAZUS-MH default data sets

NJ HMPs – Planning Process ► Direct interactions with jurisdictions ► Reliance on local experience versus hard data

NJ HMPs – Flood Mitigation Projects ► Over 700 flood mitigation projects identified in the 12 counties (277 municipalities)  Repetitive & Severe Repetitive Loss Properties  Critical Facilities  Infrastructure

NJ HMPs – Flood Mitigation Projects

Completed / On-going Planning Process

Completed Process ► Contracted Work Effort  Completed HMPs – i.e., FEMA “approvable pending adoption” determination  Training for Plan Adoption, Implementation & Updates with County & Municipal OEM Coordinators

On-going Process ► Follow-up Support  Annual +/- Circuit Ride – Meetings with County and Municipal OEM Coordinators ► Identify opportunities  Assess HIRA/HMP reliability  Monitor plan performance  Support plan update process

Current Opportunity Work-in-Progress: Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene ► New Jersey Landfall – August 28, 2011

Hurricane Irene ► 1 million +/- displaced residents

Hurricane Irene ► 1 million +/- homes & businesses without power, thousands for > one week

Hurricane Irene ► 1,368 claims $28.25 million in Public Assistance (as of )

Test Case – HIRA/HMP Reliability ► Comparison of:  Public Assistance (PA) Project Worksheets per Hurricane Irene  Identified flood mitigation project locations as indicator of anticipated damages ► Note: Work-in-Progress – Current Study Limitations  8 counties (192 municipalities) included out of 12 counties (277 municipalities) per Witt Associates  All PWs (not sorted per purely flood damages)  PWs aggregated by jurisdiction (versus geo-locations)

Test Case – HIRA/HMP Reliability ► Flood mitigation projects  534 flood mitigation projects were identified for 8 counties (192 municipalities) included in study ► Public Assistance Project Worksheets for 8 counties included in study  424 claims  $8.33 million  (~30% of NJ totals)

Project Worksheet – Local Flood Mitigation Project Comparison

Next Steps

Next Steps (ASFPM 2013?) ► Test Case – HIRA/HMP Reliability  Add other 4 counties per Witt Associates NJ experience  Separate PWs by hazard  Match PWs to HMP flood mitigation projects where appropriate  Hurricane Irene PW latitude / longitude data for detailed HIRA test case comparisons

Next Steps (ASFPM 2013?) ► Test Case – Hazard Mitigation Plan Utility  Hurricane Irene correlation between HMGP project applications (due to NJ OEM ) & HMP project identification & priorities  Similar/related efforts for other declared disasters and/or different hazard types since plan adoption (e.g., Snow-tober 2011)

Next Steps ► Test Case – Plan Maintenance & Update  Determine need/desire for plan updates due to events/aftermaths  Support county and municipal level future plan update data compilation, periodic reviews, etc.

Next Steps ► Test Case – Plan Maintenance & Update  Support development & integration of other on- going & potential planning initiatives ► FEMA Risk Map ► EOPs-HIRA ► EOPs-ESF #14/Pre- & Post-Disaster Recovery Plans ► Energy Assurance Plans ► Climate change/Sea-level Rise

Questions? Stuart Wallace, Senior Planner Witt Associates