"Resiliency is the new Sustainability"

PAFPM 2020 Annual Conference

As we embark into a new decade the realities of climate change are becoming more and more prevalent in our everyday lives. The idea of sustainability is now surpassed by the need to be resilient in everything we do. By the numbers, flood hazards are the #1 natural hazard to impact Pennsylvania. Impacting our communities large and small through impacts on water quality, our communities, and infrastructure to name a few. As floodplain managers and design professionals it is more important than ever to be at the forefront of resilience and make it our reality through all our collective work. Join us at our 2020 PAFPM Conference to help us lead this charge, and if you have resiliency practices to share please submit a conference proposal today!

September 14-16

(Field trips Monday afternoon 9/14; Conference Tuesday 9/15 through lunch on Wednesday 9/16)

Harrisburg, PA (Radisson Hotel Harrisburg)

Please complete this proposal form NO LATER THAN June 1st, 2020 to be considered.

Selected presenters will be notified by July 30, 2020.

Please direct session proposal questions to Josh Lippert at joshua.lippert@phila.gov

Across the United States, urban flooding is becoming more frequent and severe, with increasingly serious impacts to stormwater infrastructure, vulnerable neighborhoods, local and regional economies, and public  health. Chronic to extreme, disruptive to catastrophic – urban flooding is rapidly becoming this nation’s number one factor contributing to increased future flood risk. Resilience in the face of this progressively serious problem demands attention and action now. 

Urban flooding is not new, but it is different than how we experienced it a decade ago.  Intensified by sea level rise and changing precipitation patterns, urban flooding  is more frequent and intense, with underlying infrastructure designed to handle much smaller flooding events. The water has nowhere to go. As a result, major sectors of our economy are adversely impacted and people living and working in these more densely populated flood-prone areas are at increasing risk.

    

To catalyze attention and action, the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) Foundation has published "Urban Flooding: Moving Towards Resilience.  A Summary Report based on the 6th Assembly of the Gilbert F. White National Flood Policy Forum.” The report draws from the wide-ranging discussions that took place during the foundation-sponsored forum last year and attended by more than 100 experts from local, state, and federal agencies; professional associations and environmental groups; and private sector organizations. It includes examples of time-critical efforts taking place now to prepare for future conditions that could be very different from today. 

The report offers practical suggestions for obtaining better data and information, involving vulnerable populations in planning decisions, and exploring funding and financing opportunities to identify and advance solutions. Its summary policy and program recommendations focus on integrated approaches and immediate next steps, including organizing an urban flooding summit in 2021 to address more in-depth the issues and jump-start needed changes.

 

Download a copy of the report. Please take a few minutes to download and read it. Then take a few more minutes to think about the role that you, and your agency or organization, could play in further discussions and idea sharing to collaboratively solve this complex problem.  

Check out our December 2019 Newsletter

Pennsylvania Act 166 of 1978, the Pennsylvania Floodplain Management Act, requires all flood prone municipalities, with FEMA identified floodplain(s), to regulate development occurring in their floodplain areas.

All such municipalities are required to file an annual report with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) on behalf of DCED.

The filing of a completed report is necessary regardless of whether any permits were issued. In addition, a copy of any floodplain management ordinance(s), updates, or amendments enacted by your municipality in 2019 should be included with the completed annual report.

The deadline for this submission is February 29, 2020.

File Report Now

Registration for the PAFPM 2019 Conference is open!  Register by August 12th for Early-bird pricing! Check out the Conference website for more information and take a look at the Conference Agenda to see the awesome line-up this year! We hope to see you there!

PAFPM is now accepting abstracts for our 2019 Annual Conference! Present your topic or experience to Pennsylvania's floodplain management professionals. 

Submit Here

Example and suggested topics this year include:

• Practical advice for local floodplain management enforcement
• Joint stormwater and floodplain management planning and implementation
• Planning for climate change and future conditions
• Implications of changes to PA Codes
• Legislation and policy discussion, reform, impact
• Mapping/GIS tools
• Risk identification and flood mitigation
• Social science and risk communication
• Incorporating state, county, and local planning efforts into emergency management and mitigation solutions

Submission due May 20, 2019

We're heading back to the Pennsylvania Capital again in this year!  Please join us September 10-11, 2019 in Harrisburg!  

The Pennsylvania Association of Floodplain Managers was granted official ASFPM Chapter status in June of 2018! We were honored to have Necolle Maccherone, ASFPM Region III Director, attend the 2018 annual conference in September and present our ASFPM Chapter Charter.  PAFPM is excited to continue to promote and improve floodplain management in Pennsylvania and to do so with the support of our national partner, ASFPM. We received a very warm welcome in the latest edition of ASFPM's "The Insider", check it out!