Updated flood hazard mapping is underway in the Deerfield River Watershed of southern Vermont and adjacent Massachusetts.
Community offiicials have been asked to contribute information regarding flood risk and mapping priorities.
The two meetings are scheduled for:
-
Tues January 22, 2019 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Wilmington Town Hall 2 East Main Street Wilmington, VT -
Wed January 23, 2019 10:00 AM – 12:00 Noon
Belding Memorial Library 344 Main Street Ashfield, MA
At the Discovery Meeting, FEMA respresentatives and contractors will review the flood risk data that has been gathered to date by presenting a draft Deerfield Watershed Discovery Map. The contractors will also discuss your community’s flooding history, flood risk concerns and mitigation. Any data or information that community offiicials can provide will aid in this discussion.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and their mapping contractor, Compass, will be conducting a flood restudy and remapping effort in the Deerfield Watershed under its Risk MAP program. This effort will ultimately update the Flood Insurance Study and Flood Insurance Rate Maps for the communities within the watershed, which are the basis of your adopted flood hazard regulations and flood insurance requirements and risk rating. In addition, the Risk MAP effort will provide related tools to facilitate flood hazard mitigation planning and communication of flood risk.
The letter was mailed January 2, 2019 to the Chair of the Selectboard of each community in the watershed.
The letter reads:
Dear (Chair of the Selectboard):
I am writing to inform you of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) upcoming Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning (Risk MAP) Discovery Meeting for the Deerfield Watershed. Risk MAP is a FEMA program that helps communities identify, assess, and reduce their flood risk. By combining quality engineering with updated flood hazard data, FEMA provides accurate and easy-to-use information to enhance local mitigation plans, improve community outreach, and increase local awareness to flood hazards.
The Discovery process commences at the beginning of a Risk MAP project and assists in identifying the scope of the watershed study. The Discovery Meeting is part of the Discovery process, and the information exchanged between FEMA and communities within the Deerfield Watershed during Discovery will improve our understanding of your watershed’s flood hazard mapping and mitigation planning. A Community Information Map for your community, displaying data that we have compiled for your community, will be provided at the Discovery Meeting. As discussed when we spoke to the Floodplain Administrator from your community, during Discovery, FEMA:
- Gathers information about local flood risk and flood hazards. Please see attached questionnaire with the data we hope to gather from you; and
- Reviews mitigation plans to understand local mitigation capabilities, hazard risk assessments, and current or future mitigation activities.
The following Discovery Meetings have been scheduled for the Deerfield Watershed. There will be two meetings in the Deerfield Watershed and both meetings will cover the same information so please attend the one which is more convenient for you. In the event of significant snow fall, these meetings will be held on January 29, 2019 and January 30, 2019 at the same locations and times listed below.January 22, 20196:00 PM – 8:00 PMWilmington Town Hall 2 East Main Street Wilmington, VT 05363January 23, 201910:00 AM – 12:00 NoonBelding Memorial Library 344 Main StreetAshfield, MA 01330This Discovery Meeting is being coordinated by Compass, the technical services contractor to FEMA for this project. Please RSVP to Garrett Skinner, the Compass Project Manager for the Deerfield Watershed project, by e-mail at SkinnerGA@cdmsmith.com or by calling (571) 363-9580.At the Discovery Meeting, we will review the flood risk data we have gathered to date by presenting a draft Deerfield Watershed Discovery Map. We will also discuss your community’s flooding history, flood risk concerns and mitigation. Any data or information that you can provide will aid in this discussion.
In addition to inviting community leaders, emergency managers, GIS specialists, and local planners to the Discovery Meeting, FEMA will invite other stakeholders with a vested interest in the Deerfield Watershed’s resources, floodplains, and flood risk. This may include representatives from State, Federal, regional, and local agencies and associations. Together, we will discuss the study that will be conducted in the Deerfield Watershed, any information you have to provide, and the importance of mitigation planning and community outreach.We encourage you and/or any other relevant floodplain management staff to attend this important meeting. The partnership and exchange of data between FEMA and your community will be vital to our success in identifying flood risks and needs that may exist. In addition to the questionnaire, if there are any data related to your community’s flood risk that you have not yet provided to us, but that you would like to have taken into consideration when reviewing your flood risk, please bring it to the meeting or send it to the following address:Garrett Skinner Compass Project Managerc/o CDM Smith75 State Street, Suite 701Boston, MA 02109If you have any questions regarding the Discovery process, the scheduled Discovery Meeting or the data requested, please contact Garrett by e-mail at SkinnerGA@cdmsmith.com or by calling (571) 363-9580. Also available to answer any questions is FEMA Project Manager, Christopher Markesich, by email at Christopher.Markesich@fema.dhs.gov or by phone at (617) 832-4712.Sincerely,KERRY A BOGDANKerry BogdanDigitally signed by KERRY A BOGDAN Date: 2018.12.13Risk Analysis Branch Chief Mitigation DivisionFEMA Region I
