Village Finalizes All Hazards Mitigation Plan

On September 8th, the Municipal Service Committee of the Scarsdale Village Board received a final report from consultants Tetra Tech EM Inc. of Morris Plains N.J. who completed an All Hazards Mitigation Plan for Scarsdale Village that is now awaiting approval from FEMA. Funding for the plan was provided through a grant and the Village incurred no cost in drafting it.

The plan was created to allow the Village to be eligible for FEMA grant funding. Until a mitigation plan is in place, Scarsdale cannot apply for these funds. By producing this plan, the Village accomplished the following:

• Developed a planning group (Planning Committee);
• Identified hazards of concern;
• Profiled and prioritized these hazards;
• Estimated inventory at risk and potential losses associated with these hazards;
• Developed mitigation goals, objectives and actions that address the hazards that impact the area;
• Developed mitigation plan maintenance procedures to be executed upon conditional approval of the plan from the New York State Office of Emergency Management Office (NYSOEM) and FEMA.

The goal of the plan is to reduce losses from natural hazards, to make Scarsdale disaster resistant and to become eligible for federal funds for pre-disaster mitigation planning. In order to do so, the plan promotes appropriate village policy and practices to protect the residents, private property, public essential facilities and the environment from probable natural hazards.

Once the plan is adopted by FEMA, the Village would be eligible for funds to mitigate potential disasters rather than wait for the damage to occur and then apply for clean-up funds. Projects are funded if the cost of potential losses from a disaster would exceed the cost of the mitigation project.

After the plan is adopted by the Board, the Village could apply for funds to help private property owners. Though grant funds are available for homeowners, the Village must apply for these funds on behalf of residents. One interesting note: For projects done on private property, the property owner is required to put up 75% of the funds and submit for reimbursement.

Grant monies could be used in a number of ways to alleviate flooding. For instance, if the Village wanted to buy a large tract of land to retain water Scarsdale could apply for funding for land acquisition. Grants are eligible to fund the purchase, and even to tear down an existing structure on a property.

These funds are also available for preventative measures such as planning and zoning, open space preservation, land development regulations, building codes, and storm water management. In addition monies are available to protect properties by fitting them with storm shutters, rebuilding barriers, flood-proofing structures and retrofitting buildings to withstand high winds.

Also available for funding are:

• Measures to educate the public and to build awareness
• Natural resource protection to prevent erosion and control sediment
• Protection of streams and wetlands
• Mitigation funds are available because they will reduce a community’s long term costs for road closures and evacuations, repairs, and road maintenance.

After the plan is implemented, it will need to be updated every five years.

The consultant expected Scarsdale’s plan to be approved by FEMA shortly. He then recommended that the Village begin to file grant applications to win funds for many needed projects.

You can read the mitigation plan in its entirety on the Village website here

It is also important to know that there are funds available for individual homeowners that homeowners can apply for themselves. After Hurricane Irene, FEMA did make funds available to individuals who were damaged by the storm. There is a FEMA disaster center for homeowners at the County Center that is now open 7 days a week. It is recommended that you register before you go by calling 800-621-3362 or going online to: www.disasterassistance.gov