Because natural and man-made disasters (not to mention climate change impacts) do not respect municipal boundaries, it is critical to conduct “contingency planning” at a regional level.  Such planning would include homeland security planning, pre-disaster mitigation planning, and climate change adaptation planning.  Evacuation routes, transportation resources, medical resources, and communication resources can all be planned regionally.  

Many regional emergency planning efforts are already underway with the assistance of MAPC and the Northeast Homeland Security Regional Advisory Council.  MAPC helped to develop evacuation and sheltering plan templates to coordinate local efforts and multi-jurisdictional responses.  MAPC also assisted with the creation of three regional caches of emergency response equipment, which can be loaned out to communities during emergencies or for regional drill exercises.

95% of municipalities in the MAPC region are preparing or have already completed pre-disaster mitigation plans with the assistance of MAPC and funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  These plans include many specific recommendations related to infrastructure, communications, and planning.  Municipalities should explore opportunities to collaborate on implementation of recommendations with regional impacts.  For example, the cost of dam repairs or stormwater management infrastructure could be shared by all municipalities downstream of that structure.  

Collaboration on many such efforts could be accomplished through use of the Environmental Joint Powers Agreement (EJPA -- Mass. Gen. L. c. 21A, §20), a statute that authorizes municipalities to establish an intergovernmental entity charged with the management, protection, and enhancement of natural resources.  Inter-municipal districts based on watershed boundaries can conduct floodplain management and hazard mitigation efforts to consider the entire watershed not just the areas directly affected by flooding.  The EJPA has been applied in the Mystic River Watershed and by the municipalities of Arlington, Belmont, and Cambridge.  Municipalities seeking to address flooding issues on a regional basis can use the Environmental Joint Powers Agreement to establish regional stormwater utilities that could raise money (through fees and grants), develop capital and operational plans to manage flooding, and construct physical improvements.  Such an arrangement would allow municipalities to share resources to make the most significant improvements, rather than focusing on limited improvements within their municipal boundaries. 

10.a    MAPC should facilitate municipal use of Environmental Joint Powers Agreements to create regional stormwater utilities

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