In a June 4 letter from FEMA to the state, FEMA claims that Vermont doesn’t enforce the higher standards in uniformly enough to warrant FEMA’s funding beyond replacement costs of previously existing structures.

Paul Ford, FEMA’s acting regional director in Boston, wrote that Vermont’s general permit for stream alterations “does not set forth engineering design standards or measurable performance criteria of sufficient specificity for replacement bridges and culverts necessary to demonstrate uniform application across the entire state.”

Consequently, municipalities must face the possibility of having to cover the cost of meeting state requirements for better bridges and culverts, without full FEMA funding to get the work done.

Different Standards

FEMA requires consistent state standards so it can insure that one project’s funding is not superior to another’s merely because it’s getting federal funding.

Vermont officials, on the other hand, maintain that the standards for getting a state stream alteration permit must vary somewhat for local conditions.

If one bridge in Northfield were built to statewide standards, “one of the abutments would have to be out in the middle of Route 12A. It’s not one size fits all,” according to Ben Rose, recovery and mitigation chief with Vermont’s Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

Vermont Plans on Flood Resilience Increased After Multiple Storms

Sue Minter, the Vermont Agency of Transportation Secretary, said Vermont’s determination to build bigger and better increased after some culverts in central Vermont were washed out in heavy rains in May 2011, replaced and then washed away again when Irene hit three months later.

From then on, “We were building back to a stronger standard — stronger than Irene found us,” Minter said. The Federal Highway Administration was fully on board, but FEMA balked, she said. “So one arm of the federal government was supporting our initiative to be more resilient and another was not,” she said.

Although FEMA has come through with additional funding for many of its projects under the “hazard mitigation” program, state officials claim it’s discretionary and doesn’t do enough to encourage stronger, more flood-resilient construction when structures need to be rebuilt.

Other Lake Champlain News:

• Vermont Fish & Wildlife Upgrading Fishing Access Areas
• Two fish certified as new Vermont state records
• Fishing Access Areas Are Not Safe for Swimming
• Reel Fun Fishing Program Expands at Vermont State Parks
• Melosira: Educational Boat Trips Teach Public About Lake Champlain