Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Mr. Witt agreed and gave an example of how Project Impact in Vermont has encouraged <br />communitywide planning. <br /> <br />David R Conrad, National Wildlife Federation, echoed several points made earlier: <br /> <br />· The public education process is working and needs to be bolstered. The public eye has been <br />opened to floodplain management principles, and there is recognition of the natural and <br />beneficial functions of the floodplain. <br /> <br />. NFIP standards need to be modernized; in particular, the components of the CRS need to <br />move into standard practice. <br /> <br />. He supports zero-rise or low-impact floodway standards. <br /> <br />Mr. Witt mentioned several examples in which the press showcased floodplain management and <br />mitigation success stories. He also shared that soon the USACE will become a Project Impact <br />partner. <br /> <br />Phil Oshida, Environmental Protection Agency, said he was in favor ofFEMA's efforts to <br />support local prevention planning and increased funding to Project Impact communities. He also <br />suggested that more incentives and rewards be provided for local communities for flood <br />prevention planning and mitigation activities. <br /> <br />Mr. Witt responded that it is very important to involve Federal partners, including EP A, USACE, <br />the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Department of <br />Transportation (DOT), in floodplain management, environmental protection, and Project Impact. <br />Perhaps in the future, Congress could fund a Community Development Block Grant program for <br />high-risk communities. <br /> <br />Kenneth Ford, National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), thanked Mr. Witt for the <br />collaboration between FEMA and NAHB during the previous years, in postdisaster as well as <br />predisaster mitigation, through the development of the model building codes. He did suggest, <br />however, that there are still gaps in the NFIP regulations, such as crawl-space construction and <br />the frustrating timelag in promulgating new or revised regulations for new methods of <br />construction. <br /> <br />M Rita Hol/ada, Flood Insurance Producers National Committee, opined that realtors <br />undermine the principles of the program by promoting development in coastal barrier zones as <br />well as widespread use ofLOMRs and Letters of Map Amendment (LOMAs). She urged <br />lenders to start adhering to redlining on coastal barrier zones. <br /> <br />Christopher P. Jones, American Society of Civil Engineers, encouraged the practice of treating <br />coastal A zones more like V zones and less like riverine A zones. <br /> <br />Floodplain Management Forum <br /> <br />16 <br />