Rural Water Resiliency: Infrastructure and Watershed Management, Regulatory Environment, and Financial Preparedness – A Three-Part Webinar Series
Webinar 1
Rural Water Resiliency through Watershed and Roadway-Stream Intersection Management | Access the Recording HERE
Thursday, April 21st, 1pm-2pm EDT
Description: Proper watershed and streamway management can decrease the probability of flooding and drought, protect roadway infrastructure, and prevent soil erosion, resulting in cost savings for local governments. This webinar will cover watershed functions, including the effect of tiling and roadside ditches, demonstrate strategies to improve resiliency through streamway intersection, adjustment of ordinances and roadway drainage practices, and highlight re-engineered solutions, including relocation of infrastructure, phased retreat, and floodplain buyout. The webinar will also discuss the Climate Change Resiliency Act and how to utilize available money for municipal budgets.
Presenter: Rebecca Schneider – Associate Professor, Department of Natural Resources, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University
Webinar 2
Planning for the New(est) Definition of Federal Waters of the United States (WOTUS) | Access the Recording HERE
Thursday, May 12th, 1pm-2pm EDT
Description: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have published new regulations defining Waters of the United States (WOTUS) in the Federal Register. This webinar will review and compare the 2007 and 2015 delineations of WOTUS and how those definitions impact delineations and determinations. The webinar will describe the status of the definition within the federal courts. Finally, the webinar will discuss steps municipalities can take to protect their own projects and those projects they are reviewing from potential changes in the WOTUS definition.
Presenters:
Terresa Bakner – Partner, Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP
Barbara B. Beall, PWS – Director of Natural Resource Services, The Chazen Companies
Webinar 3
Financing Resilient Communities | Access the Recording HERE
Thursday, May 26th, 1pm-2pm EDT
Description: Flooding can leave a community with damaged roadways, downed transmission lines and uninhabitable buildings. The need to replace or renovate damaged infrastructure becomes an emergency expenditure that many communities simply cannot afford. This webinar will discuss financing strategies and asset management for communities to prepare for flooding and other severe weather events. The webinar will also provide basic resources for communities to generate a resiliency plan and discuss funding programs at the state and federal levels.
Presenters:
Jen Cotting – Research Associate, Environmental Finance Center (EFC) at the University of Maryland
Khris Dodson – Associate Director, Syracuse University Environmental Finance Center
Audience:
Elected officials and staff, including town supervisors, village mayors, clerks, DPW employees, highway superintendents, planning board members, and zoning officers; consultants and engineers; academics; natural resource managers; and agency staff.
About the Webinar Series:
Severe weather events, ranging from extended periods of drought to intense rainfall, can wreak havoc on infrastructure and budgets in communities throughout the Northeast. This webinar series explores the fundamentals of watershed management, impacts of stormwater runoff on infrastructure, management practices for stormwater and drinking water resiliency, the latest EPA Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rulings, and financial tools and resources, including state and federal funding opportunities.