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FALMOUTH – After failing to gain the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency’s (MEMA) approval in 2014, Falmouth will once again submit a multi-hazard mitigation plan. However, this time the document received support from the Woods Hole Group.
If the latest draft of the plan is approved, it could bring the town as much as $500,000 in flood insurance savings.
The effort comes after a working group was formed in 2000 to address erosion and storm-related damage to coastal assets.
Assistant Town Manager Peter Johnson-Staub updated selectmen with the news of the new draft last month. He said the plan doesn’t just concern itself with flooding, but other forms of natural destruction caused by droughts, fire and more.
“It allows us to cover the full gamut of potential hazards,” he said.
The plan basically acts as a pre-requisite for the town to fall under the Coastal Rating System, the actual program by which Falmouth could receive insurance discounts.
Meanwhile, Selectman Doug Brown advised that focus shift to preparing a vulnerability assessment, which would involve a consultant and would identify problem areas along the coast.
That route, he said, would specifically target what needs to be done to protect the town from storms.
Applications for the next round of Coastal Zone Management projects are due in June.
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