Amendment #18 to H3899

Creating a Process to Evaluate Exposure to Catastrophic Flooding

Representatives Rushing of Boston and Livingstone of Boston moves to amend the bill by adding the following new sections:-

SECTION XX.Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of Energy & Environmental Affairs shall convene an advisory committee on flood risks created by climate change. The advisory committee shall be chaired by the secretary, or his designee, and be comprised of representatives with expertise in the following areas: coastal zone and river flooding, hydrological and hydraulic modeling, natural hazard preparedness and mitigation, sea level and storm surge projections, risk measurement and reduction, emergency management planning and scenario planning.

The advisory committee shall complete a report, not later than July 1, 2015 which shall include:

(1) a set of combined sea-level rise and storm-surge scenarios for Massachusetts;

(2) estimates of risk levels of each scenario occurring by 2030, 2050 and 2100;

(3) estimates of flood water levels in coastal areas under each scenario which shall reflect appropriate local information such as local uplift and subsidence, and coastal erosion rates;

(4) estimates based on hydrological and hydraulic modeling of flood water levels in each scenario in historically coastal areas now currently protected by dams, including the Charles River Basin and the Mystic River Basin;

(5) maps of areas subject to inundation in each scenario; and

(6) recommendations for additional study to assess the vulnerability of state agency and public utility assets based on the scenarios developed.

The committee shall conduct a public hearing before procuring any contract for consulting services and a second hearing before finalizing its report.  The report shall be filed with the Clerks of the House and Senate, who will forward the report to the Chairs of the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.

SECTION XXI. For the purpose of funding the measures in Section XX, $500,000 shall be appropriated from the General Fund to the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #18, as changed to H3899

Creating a Process to Evaluate Exposure to Catastrophic Flooding