March 18, 1998 Panel Discussion

SUMMARY

EIIP Virtual Forum Online Panel Discussion
Wednesday - March 18, 1998 - 12:00 Noon (EST)

"Flood Plain Management, High & Dry"

Featured Panelists

Terri Miller
NFIP State Coordinator, ASFPM Chair

Brian Iserman substituting for Jonathan Fuller
J.E. Fuller Hydrology & Geomorphology, Inc.

Burrell Montz
Professor of Geography, Binghamton University

Robert (Bob) Durrin
NFIP Specialist, FEMA Region IV

EIIP Panel Moderator - Avagene Moore, CEM, EIIP Coordinator
EIIP Virtual Forum Moderator - Amy Sebring

The EIIP Virtual Forum hosted floodplain management experts in a panel session on Wednesday, March 18, 1998, to discuss "Floodplain Management: High and Dry." The panelists represented the academia, business, government and volunteer/NGOs.

Questions to the panelists were designed to give an overview of floodplain management programs/initiatives, research, and private sector involvement; questions directed to the ASFPM Chair emphasized the purpose of the association and announced a proposed certification program underway for floodplain management professionals. A great deal of research has been done in this area and some progress has resulted. The panelists also pointed out the importance of collaboration between everyone involved; of special note, by working with the private sector, state associations and individual managers can expand their resources and access to highly technical knowledge of floodplain management that may not otherwise be available. As usual, the dialogue suggested there is a need for more coordination between people involved in floodplain management and emergency management at all levels.

Approximately 30 people participated in part or all of the panel discussion. Please see the edited transcript of the 3/18/98 Panel Discussion for the full import of this discussion on floodplain management.

TERRI MILLER

State Coordinator, National Flood Insurance Program
Chair of the Association of State Floodplain Managers

After many years in the insurance industry in Ohio, Terri "retired" to Arizona in 1977. After boredom set in, she started working for Arizona State government at the Division of Emergency Management. She assisted with several relocation projects after the flooding disasters in 1978 and 1980. She served as the state's hazard mitigation officer for the floods in 1983.

In October of 1983, the FEMA contract for the Community Assistance Program under the NFIP was transferred by the governor to Arizona Department of Water Resources along with Terri. Since that time she has been working with Arizona's communities on their floodplain management programs.

Terri was present at the organizational meeting for the Arizona Floodplain Management Association and devoted most of her waking hours to getting it started. She's been active in the Association of State Floodplain Managers for several years, served as chair of the Arid Regions Committee for 7 years and as vice chair for 2 years. She is currently chair of that organization.

* * * *

JONATHAN E. FULLER, P.E., P.H.

Principal and Owner of JE Fuller/ Hydrology & Geomorphology, Inc.

Jon Fuller is Principal and Owner of JE Fuller/ Hydrology & Geomorphology, Inc. He has served as a project manager, project geomorphologist, and project engineer for studies and projects throughout the west. Mr. Fuller has performed floodplain & hydrologic engineering analyses throughout Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California and Montana. He has extensive experience using a variety of computer models including HEC-1, HEC-2, HEC-RAS, HEC-6, and FLUVIAL-12. Mr. Fuller has 12 years of professional experience, four of which were in floodplain management for the Pima County (Arizona) Flood Control District. He is a registered civil engineer (AZ, NV, UT, OR), a registered professional hydrologist, and a geologist-in-training. Mr. Fuller holds a B.S. in Geology and a M.S. in Geosciences (Paleoflood Hydrology) from the University of Arizona. Jon is active in the Association of State Floodplain Managers, ASCE, is a past Vice-Chair of the Arizona Floodplain Management Association, and currently chairs the AFMA technical committee.

Mailing Address:
583 W. Magdalena
Tempe, Arizona 85283
Telephone: 602-752-2124
Fax: 602-839-2193
Email: [email protected]

* * * *

BURRELL MONTZ, PhD.

Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies
Director of the Environmental Studies Program
Binghamton University

Burrell Montz is Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies and Director of the Environmental Studies Program at Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY. She has more than 20 years of experience in natural hazards research, focusing mainly on issues associated with floodplain management. This research has been undertaken in the United States and New
Zealand, with the latter centering on the effects of hazard area disclosure on property values. Dr. Montz is the author of numerous articles, and is co-author of a recent book, Natural Hazards: Explanation and Integration. Her current research interests include the effectiveness of the National Flood Insurance Program and the application of geographic information systems to analysis of hazardousness at a place.

* * * *

ROBERT DURRIN

Natural Hazards Program Specialist
Region IV, Community Programs Branch, Mitigation Division
Federal Emergency Management Agency

Bob Durrin is a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Region IV, in Atlanta, GA. He was previously located (from November 1991 to September 1996) in the Region IX office in San Francisco where he coordinated NFIP activities for Northern California, Hawaii, and the Pacific territories. He was the Region's Community Rating System Coordinator and NFIP Training Officer. In Region IV, he is assigned the State of Mississippi and Northern Florida. He provides assistance, training, and program guidance to communities on the NFIP's participating
requirements.

Mr. Durrin was hired as the Regional NFIP State Coordinator in his native New York State in 1984. He had served for 5 years (from 1979 to 1983) in New York as a Senior Engineering Technician with the Dam Safety Program prior to joining the NFIP. With Dam Safety and under the purview of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he conducted dam inspections and was instrumental in compiling the New York State portion of the National Inventory of Dams. In addition to NFIP administration, he provided administrative and inspection oversight with the State's Flood Control and Coastal Erosion Programs.

Mr. Durrin also works with lenders and their customers financing properties in floodplains and flood insurance.

* * * *

MODERATOR
Avagene Moore, CEM

Avagene Moore is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) who served as the Director of Emergency Management for 16 years in Lawrence County, Tennessee. Avagene worked four years (1991-1995) as an Emergency Management Project Manager for the Emergency Management Laboratory, Oak Ridge Associated Universities; her responsibilities included the coordination of the Occupational Safety Special Interest Group (OS SIG) for TRADE. She currently runs her own company, Avagene Moore/Professional Management (AM/PM), and serves as Vice President of TEAM Simulations, Inc., of Tallahassee, Florida. As part of her work, Avagene coordinates the Emergency Information Infrastructure Partnership (EIIP) for the National Coordinating Council on Emergency Management (NCCEM).

Avagene is a 22-year member of NCCEM. She is a Past President of both NCCEM and the American Society of Professional Emergency Planners (ASPEP) and established her name and credibility with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), other Federal agencies and national organizations through speaking engagements, published articles and papers, and testimony before various congressional committees on behalf of NCCEM and the emergency management profession.

Summary of Background/Experience:

Avagene Moore / Professional Management (AM/PM), 10/95 - present
Current Responsibilities as Personal Services Contractor:

• Write Video Scripts, Training Manuals and Guidance Documents
• Manage Emergency Information Infrastructure Partners (EIIP) - NCCEM/FEMA
• Manage and Develop Projects for TEAM Simulations, Inc.
• Work projects with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)

Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 6/91-9/95
Emergency Management Project Manager for the Emergency Management Laboratory; Group Coordinator and Project Manager for Training Resources and Date Exchange (TRADE)

ERP&M, Inc., Princeton, New Jersey 1/91-6/91
Personal Services Contractor:

City of Lawrenceburg, Lawrence County, Tennessee 1975-1990
City/County Emergency Management Director; Chaired Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and 911 Emergency District Board

Professional Affiliations:

National Coordinating Council on Emergency Management (NCCEM)
American Society of Professional Emergency Planners (ASPEP)
National Association of Female Executives (NAFE)
American Management Association (AMA)
Toastmasters International (TI)
Emergency Management Association of Tennessee (EMAT)

* * * *