VERMONT FLOOD RESILIENCE

As climate change transforms global weather patterns, extreme weather events, especially flooding, will increase in severity. Following the July 2023 flooding event, Vermont suffered catastrophic physical, monetary, and social losses. The state had previously implemented some flood resilience measures following Hurricane Irene in 2011, but Vermont state and local governments could not keep up with the inundation.
This report examines flood resilience and mitigation strategies, giving the Vermont Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs policy options based on five case study analyses and eighteen expert interviews with Vermont stakeholders. Case studies focus on several flood resilience strategies: urban infrastructure and development, flood control districts, riparian buffer restoration, property buyouts, and housing policies. Interviews were conducted with key Vermont stakeholders, including federal officials, state officials, nonprofit leaders, and farmers.
The New Orleans Gentilly Resilience District provided insight into traditional and innovative infrastructure strategies that reduce flood risk within an urban environment. It also emphasized the importance of community feedback and resilience building to integrate infrastructure projects into neighborhoods. The King County Flood Control District functions as a regional governing body that manages flood infrastructure projects, property buyouts, grant provision, and a flood warning system for King County, Washington, demonstrating how a singular body for flood recovery can improve response times and reduce future flood risk. The Pennsylvania Riparian Buffer Initiative exemplifies a state-led collaborative program, leveraging federal and state resources to achieve "nature-based solutions" through an innovative funding mechanism. The Initiative also provided a window into the challenges of tracking riparian buffer creation, particularly the tracking of buffer plantings and the yearly variability state budget allocation. The Blue Acres Buyout program in New Jersey is a state-run property flood buyout program, purchasing already destroyed-or damaged homes and properties at risk of severe flood damage. To do so, Blue Acres reduces procedural hurdles, has dedicated buyout teams with institutionalized knowledge, and utilizes consistent non-federal funding. An examination of current flood-related housing policies in Vermont yielded insight into issues with flood disclosure regulations and river corridor zoning.
Expert interviews yielded four common themes of flood resilience and mitigation policy for further consideration: grant provision, capacity issues, the need for higher-level organization, and forms of community support. Experts identified several challenges with the grant provision mechanism, including a lack of knowledge of available grants, long wait times for distribution, and difficulty in the application process. They also highlighted the capacity issues that arise from a lack of town resources, overburdened and undertrained municipal employees, and gaps in project management personnel. The need for higher level organization at either the regional, state, or watershed level to standardize and streamline flood response was emphasized by many experts. According to experts, building programs to increase community support for mental health provision, grant application assistance, and technology access would likely bolster community resilience.
Based on the findings from these research components, this report identifies strategies that incorporate short-term, intermediate-term, and long-term solutions to balance financial and resource constraints.