WHEREAS the Province of Saskatchewan has received record rainfalls in many areas in recent years;

WHEREAS municipalities and individuals do not have sufficient funding to handle the expenses incurred due to this unusual and severe weather; and

WHEREAS this was acknowledged by the Province of Saskatchewan when the Emergency Flood Damage Reduction Program was announced this year, a program that deals only with emergency expenses and does not address any permanent solutions for individual municipal or joint municipal flood mitigation projects; and

WHEREAS it is imperative that permanent flood mitigation work be commenced as quickly as possible to ensure similar flooding issues do not occur in the spring of 2012;

BE IT RESOLVED that SARM lobby the provincial government to develop and implement programs to provide assistance to municipalities for permanent solutions to flood and water control concerns.

Response from Honourable D.F. (Yogi) Huyghebaert, Minister of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing:

Resolutions 8-11M and 9-11M both speak to the need for longer-term flood mitigation, something with which CPSP is also concerned about. The Emergency Flood Damage Reduction Program (EFDRP), which was developed in 2011, was targeted at both temporary and permanent flood mitigation works.

The Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP) typically provides funding to restore infrastructure to pre-disaster condition. However, there are circumstances where enhancements are permissible with additional financial support provided to cover the incremental costs:

• In situations where the standards (by-laws, codes, etc) have changed since construction and were in effect prior to the disaster, PDAP accepts all incremental costs to achieve this standard, as fully eligible expense under the local municipal claim; and,
• In situations where an alternative or innovative recovery solution is identified, which prevents or reduces the risk of future similar damage, additional incremental funding of up to 15% of the original restoration costs may be available upon application and prior approval.

CPSP remains committed to assisting municipalities and is currently in discussion with the Federal Government to develop a long term national flood mitigation strategy, which would provide assistance to municipalities beyond 2012. Direct assistance and advice is also available from our Emergency Management and Fire Safety branch (EMFS) for municipalities that need guidance through flood preparation and mitigation prior to spring 2012.