Association of Flood Plain Management Annual Conference

Over the past few months, the Department of Economic and Community Development's Local Planning Office has worked with the newly formed Tennessee Association of Flood Plain Management in the development of its first state conference. This conference will be held on July 21 - 23 at Montgomery Bell State Park in Burns, Tenn. The conference will be directed toward local community floodplain administrators, but anyone interested in floodplain management is invited to attend. In addition to presentations from FEMA, there will be technical sessions involving private consultants, TDOT, TDEC and ECD.

Information concerning registration or the conference agenda can be found online at www.TNAFPM.com.

Floodplain Protection

More than $145 million is being set aside to help Tennessee landowners restore thousands of acres of frequently flooded land to its natural state, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The ARRA funds are available through the floodplain easement component of the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program. Landowners can sign up for the easements through March 27, 2009 at their local USDA Service Center. The funding includes both technical and financial assistance to restore the easements. The goal is to have all floodplain easements acquired and restored within 12-18 months. Additional information can be found at: http://www.tn.nrcs.usda.gov/.