THE INSIDER A Publication for Members
The Association of State Floodplain Managers March 2004
2809 Fish Hatchery Road, Madison, WI 53713 Website:www.floods.org
Phone: 608-274-0123 Fax:608-274-0696 Email:
TABLE OF CONTENTS - Click on any link below, or simply scroll down for the entire newsletter.
Executive Director's Report
ASFPM 28th Annual Conference, May 16-21, 2004
No Adverse Impact (NAI) Open House at the ASFPM Conference
2nd Annual Silent Auction to Benefit ASFPM Foundation -- Donate an Item!
News In Brief
President Nominates Grumbles
Conservation in Practice
Flood Insurance Manual
Conservation Buffer Flier Aimed at Farmers/Ranchers
Nonstuctural Flood Damage Reduction Projects Update
Arid Regions 10th Biennial Conference: Restoration and Management of Arid Watercourses
CFM Corner
Washington Legislative Report
Calendar
Job Corner
Executive Director's Report - Larry Larson, CFM
In 1831 Alexis de Tocqueville observed that “Americans of all ages, conditions and all dispositions, constantly form associations”. Today there are more than147,000 associations in the US, and 9 out of 10 adults in America belong to one association.
ASFPM is an organization for professionals and public officials. Such organizations play an important role in the operation of the American political system that no one else plays. A necessary set of linkages—political with administrative officials, sub-national with national elected officials, professionals with their peers in other jurisdictions---would be missing without such associations. If we are successful, we fill this serious gap.
ASFPM has worked hard to fill this gap since its formation. A common mantra of ours is: “federal programs will not be effective unless they are able to be implemented at the local level.” Furthermore, states need to help locals integrate the many federal and state programs that too often come down in stove pipes. For this reason, your association supports better maps, mitigation planning and cost sharing, integration of various programs at all levels and logical, implementable national policy.
One measure of our success is whether ASFPM has gained professional credibility over the years. From where I sit, that credibility is stellar. For example, we get requests from Congress to testify on legislation that will impact our local and state members. Those in Congress know we represent the broad public interest, not specific parochial interests. They and other national decision-makers call on us regularly for advice, truthing of ideas and programs and support for good public policy approaches that help the nation and all our citizens reduce the cost and agony of flood damages. These requests have broadened into the academic, research and international arenas in the past decades. Our No Adverse Impact approach to floodplain management is considered the common sense approach that can move this nation and others to a new level of managing development in a manner that will not create tomorrow’s disasters.
Training of floodplain managers is critical need filled by your Association---the ASFPM membership and Board feel strongly about this---and our federal partners agree. Thus, ASFPM initiated, with assistance of our partners, the professional certification of floodplain managers throughout the nation. The nation’s floodplain managers have eagerly participated in that program. Hundreds more apply each year, and those existing CFMs are hungry to add to their skills with more training of more and more related professional topics. We are developing a broad training strategy for implementation by ASFPM---in collaboration with FEMA’s training strategy and all our partners. ASFPM Chapters must and will play a key role in the national training strategy---FEMA, all our federal partners, the ASFPM Foundation and we agree with that. Likewise, the key training provided by states must be factored into the strategy. With over 40,000 professionals involved in floodplain management in the nation, and with constant turnover, this is a huge undertaking requiring many players performing the parts they do best.
These are exciting and busy times for your Association. A key strength of ASFPM is the volunteer participation of our members and partners. Each time someone commits to help we become more effective. If you want to serve on the ASFPM Board, have someone nominate you. If you want to serve on a Committee, join up. If you want to help, but aren’t sure how, call Chair Chad Berginnis or myself to discuss what role would fit you best. Or grab one of us, a Board member or Committee Chair at the Biloxi conference to discuss your role. Everything, big or little that someone does adds to our effectiveness, credibility and success.
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2004 ASFPM National Conference is May 16-21, 2004
ASFPM’s 28th annual conference, Lighting the Way to Floodplain Management, is at the fabulous Beau Rivage Hotel located right on the sunny Central Gulf Coast in Biloxi, Mississippi. The 2004 Team consists of Local Hosts Harold Holmes and Rodney Emmer of the Mississippi and Louisiana State Chapters respectively, Program Chair Steve McMaster (Nebraska), Exhibits Coordinator Dan Accurti (Pennsylvania), and of course the Association Office staff – Diane, Anita, Chad, Mark and Larry. Those of you who were able to attend the 2003 conference in St. Louis experienced the substantive program additions which are vital to deal with our growth and better address individual training styles and needs. That is being expanded even more this year as we jump from 16 training workshop sessions in St. Louis to 25 in Biloxi!
Here is a quick peek at the schedule flow for the week:
· Saturday May 15: ASFPM Board of Directors meeting from 1:00-6:00.
· Sunday May 16: FPM 101 and FPM Compliance courses, training workshops, technical field tours and the Welcome Fest sponsored by the Host Chapters.
· Monday May 17: ASFPM Committee and Membership meetings, more training workshops, the CFM exam and Exhibits Grand Opening.
· Tuesday-Thursday May 18-20: Technical conference program commences, Keynote Luncheon is Tuesday, Awards Luncheon is Thursday, Early Bird discussions and State Chapters special session.
· Wednesday May 19: Training workshops in afternoon, NAI Open House 5-7, special mapping session 7-9.
· Friday May 21: Training workshops and CFM exam.
Be sure to review the agenda before making your travel plans so you don’t miss out on our incredible array of training options. We promise to provide you with lots of new tools to help you do your job! It is also extremely important to check the conference web page occasionally for exciting additions and the inevitable program changes. If you have not registered yet, pull the forms off our website www.floods.org/gulfcoast and send them in now. And call the hotel at 888-383-7037 to reserve your room today!
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No Adverse Impact (NAI) Open House at the ASFPM Conference
Wednesday, May 19th, 5:00-7:00pm
Communities that want to incorporate No Adverse Impact approaches can integrate NAI principles into ongoing community activities, and this special session will show you how! Come to learn more about NAI implementation and share ideas. The 7 Building Blocks of NAI are comprised of the normal activities communities undertake every day – Hazard Identification, Planning, Infrastructure (public works), Emergency Services, Regulations and Standards, Corrective Actions (mitigation) and Education and Outreach. The Open House will feature a station for each building block where NAI Steering Committee Members will facilitate discussion, provide information and answer your questions about how to incorporate NAI into typical activities. But we need your help to make this session a success – please share your NAI experiences, offer a "success stories" quote or volunteer to help at the Open House. Contact Wendy at or 505-424-8324. See you at the Gulf Coast!
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2nd Annual Silent Auction to Benefit ASFPM Foundation -- Donate an Item!
Conference attendees will again have the opportunity to bid on valuable goods and services donated by local businesses, Corporate sponsors, ASFPM Chapters, the States, and individuals. Bidding opens Sunday evening and will close each day on selected items. The winners will be posted at the ASFPM Foundation Booth, with payment in full required upon receipt of your accepted bid item, so bring your checkbook! Please contact Silent Auction Coordinator Lisa Reid at to proffer your donation for the auction. Don’t miss out on this fun opportunity to make a deal or have a little friendly competition while supporting FPM!
ASFPM Nominations
Coming Soon!! Watch your email for the Officers and Board of Directors nomination notice.
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News In Brief
President Nominates Grumbles
President Bush nominated Ben Grumbles to be the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Assistant Administrator for Water. He has been acting in that position since early January after G. Tracy Mehan, the former Assistant Administrator, stepped down. Grumbles nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.
Conservation In Practice
Conservation In Practice is a magazine of science, practice and policy that presents cutting-edge research from every field of conservation, with provocative features, practical ideas, and award-winning writing. It’s the all-in-one, sophisticated yet readable resource for conservation managers, academics, policy makers and others wanting to keep up-to-date on conservation issues and ideas. For more information and to subscribe please visit: www.conbio.org/inpractice.
Flood Insurance Manual
The May 1, 2004 edition of the Flood Manual is now available on the FEMA/NFIP web site at:
www.fema.gov/nfip/manual05_04.shtm
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Conservation Buffer Flier Aimed at Farmers/Ranchers
About three weeks ago, Bruce Knight, Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and James Little, Administrator of the Farm Service Agency, electronically transmitted to state leaders in their respective agencies a new two-page, 8-1/2 x 11-inch flier on conservation buffers. The flier--aimed at farmers and ranchers--talks about the potential for use of buffers in conservation systems that address many different resource management issues on cropland and grazing land across the country. NRCS and FSA employees in state and field offices likely will make extensive use of the flier, but you and others in the public and private sectors may have uses for it as well, so we wanted to share the electronic files with you.
The pdf files are posted on the NRCS website (http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/buffers/), along with periodic updates on progress toward the National Conservation Buffer Initiative's 2-million-mile goal.
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Nonstructural Flood Damage Reduction Projects Update
Nonstructural flood damage reduction is gaining more and more in popularity within the Nation and within the Corps of Engineers. It has truly been an underutilized flood damage reduction tool, but that is rapidly changing. Great opportunities exist with nonstructural measures to solve flood damage problems, realize opportunities, and achieve the Environmental Operating Principles. The Corps of Engineers has maintained a database over the years of nonstructural flood damage reduction projects. The existing database was last updated in 1999.
The Corps National Nonstructural/Flood Proofing Committee (NFPC) is now updating this database. In the spirit of a learning organization the database is being updated in order to have current information for the entire Corps to use so we can all share knowledge gained in formulating and implementing nonstructural measures.
The NFPC is asking all to review the existing database. Any changes needed to it to make it current, or to add any new information relative to studies/projects that use nonstructural measures in any extent, should be submitted to Mr. Larry Buss by e-mail at or by fax at 402-221-3408, whichever is more convenient.
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Arid Regions 10th Biennial Conference: Restoration and Management of Arid Watercourses, November 16 - 19, 2004, Mesa, Arizona
Every two years, ASFPM, AFMA (Arizona), NMFMA (New Mexico) and FMA (California, Hawaii and Nevada) jointly sponsor the major arid floodplain management conference in the country. In addition to the two-day technical conference, the program will offer additional training workshops, technical field tours, a CFM review course, the CFM exam and exhibits showcasing the best products and services available to help mitigate arid flooding.
Anyone may submit an abstract -- the submittal deadline to get your presentation into the program is June 25. Information and the Call for Abstracts are available at www.azfma.org under Meetings (click here http://www.azfma.org/meetings/may04/Abstracts.pdf to open). Sponsorships are being accepted now by Dan Sagramoso at or 602-992-3442. Any other questions should be addressed to the Conference Chair Tom Loomis at or 602-506-4767.
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CFM® Corner
Welcome- We are pleased to welcome Michael Borengasser, CFM to the Certification Board of Regents (CBOR). Michael was recently appointed to this Chapter position on CBOR recently vacated when Ken Morris stepped down. Michael Borengasser is a Hydrologist and Certified Floodplain Manager with over 20 years experience in floodplain management, dam safety and related disciplines. He holds a Bachelors degree in Mathematics and a Masters degree in Geography. He also has coursework beyond the Masters level in Physical Geography (Climatology) and Hydrology. Mike has participated in numerous workshops, seminars, and conferences dealing with floodplain management, dam safety, and hydrology.
Mr. Borengasser has held office with the Association of State Floodplain Managers as a Board Member, serving as Treasurer and Regional Representative. Presently, he is the Chair of the Professional Development and Certification Committee for the Arkansas Floodplain Management Association. Mike works closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), especially the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). He is a former university professor and has taught floodplain management and dam safety at numerous workshops. He has authored manuals on both floodplain management and dam safety.
We would like to thank Ken Morris, CFM for all of his years and commitment to CBOR and the Certification Program. He was huge help during the initial development of the program as well as serving on the Professional Development Committee. Ken is a strong advocate for the Certification Program, nationally, as well as in his home state of Oklahoma. Ken recently retired from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, but will still be around as he has been hired back by OWRB as a consultant. You can still contact him at the same phone number and email as before.
Survey- Here is results from the 293 CFMs who completed the survey we sent in October. The following is the breakdown of the types of employers who responded from the 7 certification programs.
Local ( city or county) Agency- 144
Regional Agency- 6 Private / Consultant- 77
State Agency- 19 Self Employed- 14
Federal Agency- 16 Other- 7
We asked CFMs which training delivery mechanism worked best for them to obtain CECs. Each answer was ranked in order and averaged for the results, with 1 being the top choice.