The No Adverse Impact (NAI) approach to floodplain management provides local floodplain managers with a process that is beneficial, legally acceptable, palatable, and understandable to the community as a whole. Courts have broadly and consistently upheld performance-oriented floodplain regulations including those exceeding minimum FEMA NFIP standards. ASFPM’s new NAI Legal Guide to Flood Risk Management is a tool for floodplain stewards and their legal representatives. This webinar will consist of presentations and facilitated discussion giving participants insight on the common law, constitutional law, and legal foundation of the NAI approach to flood risk management and floodplain stewardship.

Workshop Materials:

• Presentation Recording

• Presentation Slides

Learning Outcomes:

Following this workshop, the learner will be able to…

• Understand the concept of No Adverse Impact (NAI) Floodplain Management and the rational nexus between it and the law
• Understand several specific legal issues in tort law as they are particularly related to flooding
• Understand how U.S. Constitutional protections of private property impact local government floodplain management, with a focus on avoiding potential takings liability for floodplain management activities
• Understand relevant federal laws and their relationships to floodplain management
• Be able to articulate how to utilize the NAI Legal Guide as a resource they can use to communicate with the floodplain managers they may advise
• Realize that the NAI Legal Guide provides valuable legal analysis and case law that gives them immediate access to analyses and case law linked specifically to the concerns of floodplain managers

Speakers:

• Jerry Murphy, J.D., AICP, CFM is a State Specialized Program Agent for the Program for Resource Efficient Communities at the University of Florida. His work and research involve land use planning and control law, community-based planning, code and regulation drafting, floodplain management, growth and infrastructure finance, post-disaster redevelopment planning, and community resilience/sustainability. He currently works with local governments and regional planning councils to assemble teams of expert faculty, researchers, and student assistants to craft planning approaches and strategies to climate change, extreme weather, sea-level rise and other challenges facing local governments in the 21st Century.
• Thomas Ruppert, Esquire serves as Director of the Virginia Coastal Resilience Collaborative (VCRC), an initiative of William & Mary that builds upon the foundation established by the Virginia Coastal Policy Clinic, which operated out of William & Mary's law school. The VCRC continues the work and partnerships of the Virginia Coastal Policy Clinic and seeks to expand the network of resilience collaborators in Virginia. The VCRC will engage with others to develop physical- and social-science translations that inform policy analyses for decisionmakers tasked with making the Commonwealth and its communities more resilient.
• Terri L Turner, AICP, CFM is the Owner/Principal of HALO Strategic Planning, LLC. Ms. Turner has worked for city and county government for over 28 years as a planner, floodplain manager, and hazard mitigation specialist. She serves as a No Adverse Impact Committee Co-Chair for the Association of State Floodplain Managers. Terri spends countless hours writing for national publications and touring the nation speaking as a local government expert on NAI and community planning initiatives such as green infrastructure, sound floodplain management, the need for hazard mitigation, and promoting community sustainability and resiliency.
• Janet Thigpen, CFM is a Flood Mitigation Specialist at the Southern Tier Central Regional Planning and Development Board. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geology from Carleton College and a Master of Science Degree in Geology (Geophysics) from Cornell University. Ms. Thigpen has implemented a regional Flood Assistance Program since 1996, providing the three-county Southern Tier Central Region of New York State (Steuben, Chemung, and Schuyler Counties) with technical and planning assistance for diverse flood damage prevention activities. She received the Louthain Award for Distinguished Service in 2018 from ASFPM and currently serves as Co-Chair of the ASFPM No Adverse Impact Committee.

Visit the No Adverse Impact Legal Guide for Flood Risk Management