9/7/01

Rep. Bard's Remarks from September 7, 2001

       Tomorrow will be memory laden for the residents of Abington. It will be the fifth anniversary of the horrendous 1996 flood that devastated this township and caused the deaths of two elderly people as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage.  

        At the time, experts said that we had experienced a once in a lifetime storm. Yet, this summer, only five years later, we were hit again with severe flooding following Tropical Storm Allison. Many properties in the area have been flooded by lesser storms in the intervening years. 

        We are here, today, to unveil a legislative package that I am introducing with bi-partisan support from State Representatives across Pennsylvania. The legislation builds on the history of the past five years in Abington Township. The two-bill package is designed to stop the cycle of devastating flooding and painful rebuilding. 

        Let me tell you Abington’s story. Like many communities across the state, the strategy for stopping the flooding has been civil engineering and expensive public works projects, including the dredging and widening of streambeds, the building of levies and berms and detention basins, and the installation of bypass pipes and fabulously expanded culverts. Last year, alone, $7 million dollars of local taxpayers’ money was expended on these types of engineering solutions 

        Quite simply, however, these solutions are not enough. Such projects may successfully handle a 25-year storm but not the 100-year storm that causes the type of damage shown in these photos before you today. 

        The detention basin built behind this home overflowed in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Allison and those floodwaters contributed to the structural damage to the foundation wall behind where we now stand. 

      One Abington flood victim has said, “I must be as old as Methusala, considering all the 100-year storms I’ve lived through.”  

        The fact is, particularly in built-up areas like this, there is simply too much run-off and too many floodpaths and nowhere for all the water to go.  

        There is however, ONE solution that has proven successful, one solution that can address the 100-year storm. Abington’s experience has shown that the only solution that truly protects people from flooding - once and for all - is to simply purchase residences like the ones surrounding you today.  

        Following the devastation of the area in 1996, 13 homes along the Sandy Run were purchased and torn down under federal disaster and flood relief assistance programs that target homes built on floodplains.  

        This summer, when those 13 properties were flooded again in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Allison, no one was killed, no property was damaged, no lives were endangered. The newly preserved open space successfully accomplished its purpose – it eliminated the flood hazard.  

        Abington’s experience is a case study that has proven that buyouts work - for flood mitigation purposes and for open space preservation. 

        The benefits of buyouts extend to surrounding communities as well. Rather than channeling the flow of our floodwaters to downstream communities through taxpayer financed drainage projects, open space acquisition addresses our own problems in our own backyards. What’s more, the open space is an everyday amenity for all to enjoy. 

        Flood mitigation through open space preservation is the heart of this legislative package. Going beyond federal solutions, this legislation targets - not only floodplain properties – but also properties such as those that surround us today, properties that are flood-prone but not, technically, within a floodplain.  

        The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, PEMA, estimates, roughly, that within Abington Township there are approximately 250 homes at risk from flooding. For Montgomery County as a whole, the estimate is 1,450 homes and for the entire state, PEMA estimates that as many as 40,000 homes may be at risk. 

        This legislation provides options to begin meeting these flood mitigation needs. The first of the two bills expands existing open space law to specifically authorize municipalities to purchase flood prone property and to demolish structures on those properties. Additionally, the legislation authorizes county governments to specifically dedicate tax revenue for flood mitigation and open space purposes.  

        The second flood mitigation bill authorizes a statewide referendum for the issuance of $150,000,000 in bond financing to pursue these purposes. Together, these bills provide the option for local, county and state aid to move Pennsylvanians out of harms way. 

        Flood mitigation via open space acquisition is a proven, environmentally friendly, often cost-effective solution. The horrible flood-and-rebuild cycle, which we remember so painfully as we approach the fifth anniversary of the 1996 disaster CAN be stopped. It is my hope that this legislation will move forward expeditiously to safeguard these victims BEFORE the next flood.