by John Herrick vtdigger.org Vermont and two dozen other states affected by floods, drought and wildfires have sent a letter to the White House recommending changes in how the federal government responds to extreme weather events linked to climate change. Twenty-six governors, mayors, county officials, and tribal leaders from across the United States delivered a report to the Obama administration last week. The report called on the White House to help communities mitigate the effects of climate change and better prepare for damage associated with superstorms.
Vermont saw enormous damage from Tropical Storm Irene on August 28, 2011. Twenty-six rivers broke flood records and damaged hundreds of homes, 500 miles of roads, dozens of bridges and the state office complex in Waterbury.
The total cost of the recovery was $850 million in combined state, federal and private money, according to state figures.
In the aftermath of Irene, state officials have sought to rebuild Vermont’s infrastructure so it can withstand future climate change induced storms. This includes, for example, installing bottomless culverts to allow water to pass more easily under roads and stabilizing river channels to prevent stream bank erosion.
Vermont has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to offer more flexibility in how it spends federal money for repairing storm damage. The state wants to spend money on infrastructure that will help to protect communities from extreme weather events in the future. The state, for example, has been wrangling with FEMA over public assistance for certain projects, such as new culverts.
The authors of the report say they want to to eliminate “administrative obstacles” from FEMA that make it difficult for communities to adequately prepare for future storm events.
“Federal recovery programs should consistently support repair and rebuilding projects that also mitigate future climate hazards,” the report states.
According to a University of Vermont study in climate change, heavy precipitation events are expected to increase over the next decade, especially in mountainous regions of the state that funnel runoff into fast-swelling streams.
“In Vermont, our experience recovering from Tropical Storm Irene taught us that we can’t wait another day to prepare for more extreme weather patterns,” Gov. Peter Shumlin said in a news release. “This Task Force gave leaders from across America an opportunity to tell Administration officials that climate change has already arrived in our communities, and that federal agencies must help us invest in becoming more resilient.”
The task force recommends changes to the national electricity infrastructure, which they say is vulnerable to extreme weather events.
The state’s largest electric utility, Green Mountain Power, has said it spends millions of dollars each year repairing utility poles and wires damaged by fallen trees and other weather-related destruction.
The company has since partnered with NRG Energy Inc., a Fortune 250 electricity provider headquartered in New Jersey, to build so-called micro-grids, which are electric grids separate from the regional electric grid and are considered to be less vulnerable to remote power outages.
The report calls for promoting micro-grid development by offering federal technical assistance and loan guarantees.
“Improving the resilience of electricity distribution and transmission line networks can reduce the number and length of outages and the cost to local and state economies,” according to the report.