Environmental Stewardship Regional Practices

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Natural disasters pose a threat to people's lives, can do extensive damage to property and can degrade a region's environmental quality. The Buffalo Trace Area Development District in Kentucky is taking steps to mitigate damage created by environmental hazards like floods, tornadoes and thunderstorms. Kevin Cornette of Buffalo Trace ADD coordinates pre-disaster mitigation planning with Kentucky Emergency Management. According to Cornette, the process can be different for rural areas than for urban areas, even though they face the same potential disasters. "The vulnerabilities are different for urban areas because you have to plan for more buildings and more people being affected by that hazard. It can be more difficult for rural regions because there is often a lack of detailed information about the location of people and structures."

In Kentucky, the 15 Area Development Districts (ADDs) contract with the state Division of Emergency Management to collect geographic data about their regions and to research the natural hazards that can occur locally. The ADDs then analyze this information using software applications developed by FEMA, which provide a profile of each hazard. The mitigation plans are based on assessments of each local jurisdiction's vulnerabilities, and planners use GIS software to analyze details like parcel data, residential structure GPS (global positioning system) points from 9-1-1 systems and road center lines. The public provides feedback throughout this process via committees, boards and open hearings.

Communities can take several different mitigation action measures as they develop their hazard plans. Some strategies entail structural projects, such as building levees, floodwalls, storm sewers or detention basins. Emergency service planning includes providing adequate warning systems and establishing protocol where evacuations may need to take place. Communities can also prevent loss of life, property and environmental quality by establishing outreach campaigns to inform the public of where potentially hazardous areas are located and what steps they can take to plan for natural disasters.

Prevention strategies entail using planning and zoning ordinances to guide development away from hazard-prone areas like floodplains or wildfire risk areas. Property protection entails structurally modifying buildings to withstand natural hazards like gale-force winds, relocating residences or businesses out of a floodplain or elevating structures to diminish flood damage. In turn, natural resources can be protected by preventing future development in areas with fragile resources, such as floodplains or wetlands.

Disbursing funds for dry fire hydrants from the Sycamore Trails Resource Conservation and Development Council since 2005 has improved safety and protection for residents, their property and natural resources in a rural nine-county region in western Indiana.

Dry hydrants are non-pressurized systems that connect to ponds, lakes, cisterns or other bodies of water. They provide firefighters with access to water to combat emergencies that occur outside of areas served by municipal or rural water lines. They also can supplement the water supply in areas that have water lines but suffer from low pressure. Installing dry hydrants in known locations can save time and fuel by preventing the need for rural firefighters to travel to municipal hydrants to fill and re-fill their tanks or to search for a pump-ready water source. Having a predictable water supply at a fire scene also improves the protection of lives and property.

The dry hydrant system uses strainers and filters to prevent damage to animals and plants in the water source and to maintain a steady supply of water without clogging the line. Another benefit of the system is that it does not use treated water, reducing the load on local treatment systems.

Supported by funds from the U.S. Forest Service, the Sycamore Trails RC&D Council has already worked with counties and fire departments to install hydrants in about half its region, and is continuing the project to improve fire protection for the rest of the rural area. The grants cover half the cost of the installing the hydrants, and local governments can cost-share using in-kind resources, such as labor and equipment.

Buffalo Trace Area Development District P.O. Box 460 Maysville, KY 41056 Tel: 606.564.6894 Fax: 606.564.0955 http://www.btadd.com/articles/home.asp

Sycamore Trails Resource Conservation and Development Council 1007 Mill Pond Lane, Ste B Greencastle, IN 46135 Tel: 765.653.9785 Fax: 765.653.9455 http://www.sycamoretrails.org/