FORTY FORT — U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright Tuesday said he is introducing legislation this week that would improve government readiness for extreme weather disasters.
“As we experience another potentially busy hurricane season, we must remember that floods, heat waves, wildfires and drought are not just becoming more and more frequent, they’re becoming a regular phenomenon,” said Cartwright, D-Moosic. “To save lives and reduce federal fiscal exposure, I am pleased to be leading the charge for improving our nation’s resilience to extreme weather events with my bipartisan, zero-cost PREPARE Act.”
Cartwright held a news conference Tuesday at the base of the levee in Forty Fort, not far from the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority’s new headquarters to announce the bipartisan PREPARE Act, (H.R. 4177).
Co-sponsored by Republican representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), David Rouzer (N.C.), Doug LaMalfa (Calif.), and Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon (Puerto Rico), the PREPARE Act — Preparedness and Risk management for Extreme weather Patterns Assuring Resilience — also serves as a major milestone in the legislative journey of the Pennsylvania lawmaker, marking the 150th bipartisan bill he introduced since Jan. 3, 2013 — the most of any Democratic Congressman during his time in office.
Building off existing mitigation and resilience efforts, Cartwright said the PREPARE Act would create an inter-agency council charged with developing recommendations for federal agencies to strengthen their planning and preparation for extreme weather incidents.
“This legislation would reduce the risk before a disaster occurs,” Cartwright said. “Call it pre-disaster mitigation. It’s a common-sense solution.”
The bill also highlights the responsibilities of state and local governments in resilience planning and directs federal agencies to make best practices and the best available extreme weather data available to assist them.
Cartwright said a coalition of more than 50 business and thought leaders supports the legislation, including the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, PennFuture, the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, and the National Wildlife Federation.
“Through the PREPARE Act, the Federal government will assist municipalities and other forms of local governments, like the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority, to better prepare for extreme weather impacts,” said Chris Belleman, executive director of the LCFPA. “By assisting communities with improved planning and communication, we can better protect their residents and infrastructure against future extreme weather events. With extreme weather events occurring more often, this legislation will be beneficial to Northeastern Pennsylvania communities.”
Belleman explained that the LCFPA operates and maintains the 16-mile Wyoming Valley flood protection system, which protects 12 riverside communities from an Agnes-level flood event along the Susquehanna River. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Agnes Flood of 1972.
“In these protected communities, the estimated total population is nearly 100,000 residents,” Belleman said. “The system directly protects more than 14,000 residential, commercial and tax-exempt properties that have a total assessed value of nearly $2 billion.”
Cartwright also said the PREPARE Act will also save taxpayer dollars by requiring agencies to incorporate extreme weather in planning activities and by establishing a regional coordination plan to ensure greater coordination and information sharing to ensure cost-effectiveness.
“We applaud Rep. Cartwright and other Congressional leaders, who clearly recognize the need for improving federal response to extreme weather events such as floods, wildfires and droughts,“said Heather Taylor-Miesle, senior vice president, Advocacy & Regional Conservation at American Rivers. “As extreme weather become more frequent, communities need reliable solutions that protect people and property and safeguard river health.”
Last year, the costliest U.S. weather and climate disasters did an estimated U.S. $145 billion in damage and claimed at least 688 lives, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in January 2022.
Penn State’s most recent Climate Impacts Assessment, in a section devoted to the current and expected climate impact on the Northeast, describes a future where increased flooding and heavier precipitation in Pennsylvania will challenge riverbank communities and overwhelm infrastructure built with an outdated sense of a “normal” climate in mind.
According to the Penn State study, the region already has seen the greatest increase in extreme rain and snow events in recent decades of any area of the country. The amount of precipitation falling in “very heavy events” increased 74% in the Northeast over the past 55 years, the report also finds.