NO. R-478. SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION HONORING THE
LAMOILLE COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION’S FEDERAL PROJECT
IMPACT PROGRAM AND THE VERMONT RIVER MANAGEMENT
FLUVIAL GEOMORPHIC ASSESSMENT PROGRAM ON THEIR 10TH
ANNIVERSARIES.
(S.C.R.58)
By Senator Bartlett,
Whereas, in 1998 the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
designated the Lamoille County Planning Commission (LCPC) as a Project
Impact Community, and
Whereas, the LCPC was honored to be the first FEMA Project Impact
designee in Vermont and thrilled to receive the accompanying federal grant of
$500,000.00, which it matched with $310,000.00 in cash and in-kind
contributions, and the funds were applied to 26 strategic disaster prevention
programs in coordination with 75 local, regional, state and federal partners,
and
Whereas, the launching of the Vermont River Management Fluvial
Geomorphic Assessment Program (VRMP) was, and a decade later remains,
one of the most important and enduring of the funded programs of Project
Impact, whether measured anecdotally, economically or scientifically, and
Whereas, the VRMP, formed a decade ago, was based on Project Impact’s
primary principle “that public and private buildings and facilities, and the
utility and transportation systems that serve them, are vulnerable to natural and
man-made hazards,” and that, with respect to natural hazards, every effort must
be taken to avoid new risks and to lessen existing risks, and
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NO. R-478
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Whereas, flowing bodies of water, especially the Lamoille River and its
tributaries, are the primary natural hazards in Lamoille County, and
Whereas, the VRMP adopted a new, and now nationally recognized and
emulated, paradigm for the management of river corridors that focused on both
protecting communities and individuals from flood-related losses and on
reducing “water quality degradation due to nutrient and sediment contributions
that began in the upper reaches of watersheds,” and
Whereas, the VRMP’s early two-person staff, which consisted of river
management engineer and program manager Barry Cahoon and fluvial
geomorphologist Mike Kline, now comprises a team of 13 scientists, engineers
and technicians, and
Whereas, this highly competent and well-trained VRMP staff assists local
communities in conducting geomorphic assessments that are based on the
premise that flowing bodies of water are changing due to natural and, more
often, man-made causes, and the understanding of current conditions and
anticipation of future changes serve as invaluable tools in developing a river
management plan, and
Whereas, the continuing and beneficial legacy of the LCPC’s designation as
a FEMA-designated Project Impact Community deserves recognition, now
therefore be it
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NO. R-478
Page 3
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly honors the Lamoille County Planning
Commission’s federal Project Impact program and the Vermont River
Management Fluvial Geomorphic Assessment Program on their 10th
anniversaries, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this
resolution to Michele Boomhower, executive director of the Lamoille County
Planning Commission, and to the Vermont River Management Fluvial
Geomorphic Assessment Program at the Agency of Natural Resources.
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