President obama, fema, the rest of the administrations team working hand in glove with their state team. In this case there was really a team. As i like to say there is no i in the word team. I should have the army corps of engineers has been particular in responding to Hurricane Sandy. Over the years, funded by a series of storm protection projects in maryland are polite, robust and strong, healthy systems. These types of projects criticized at the time by some on my opinion because they performed exceptionally well during sandy black hundreds of millions, maybe billions of dollars in damage. Ashur protection withstand storm surge in better then baked circe wells while also enhancing the environment. Although the project on our coast of their job, they were weakened or in the storm not require repairs so were not for mobility future storms. Unfortunately the northeast midatlantic received more frequent and larger storms like standing in the future. The 70 to find costeffective ways to ensure projects will continue to protect lives and property. We also need to look into whether adaptive measures. Wetlands, oyster beds and sea grass that are cost and can be sustained for years to come. But can also get better results for less money if we allow states more flexibility in managing different sources along the shoreline is a complete set of the system instead as an individual project. This strategy is called Regional Government man to rent this one that deserves more attention. Madam chair and colleagues, i think youve concluded your draft of Water Resources bill in which i appreciate and i hope we can address that later this year. Unfortunately, other areas where this will protect it and saw. This first photo this is a new bridge over the indian river inland. You can ask the Atlantic Ocean to the delaware. Thats a new bridge could be spent over 200 million on the bridge in the last several years. A lot of federal money, quite a bit of state. This is the old bridge. It disappeared. Its gone. This is a highway to the old bridge. Ron. Four months ago people make their way up and down the east coast. Today the bridge is completely gone along with highway approaches. The new bridge are threatened and we want to make sure weve made a 200 Million Investment that we dont use the bridge. Until the bridge can work underwater. Unfortunately you cant get to the bridge and the beaches of rio to the easter pate densities to be there argonne and they need to be replaced. Thank you. In addition, a huge breach fewell with the delaware bay and Delaware River and i want us to take a look at a couple other photosphere just north of the town called lewis, we have a huge 10,000acre plus National Wildlife refuge called crime hook and its important to replace lopez migratory flyway. What are the only places where you or shoot come to shore to spohn. Severe during breaches on the right of this photo is the Atlantic Ocean for the delaware bay. This is refuge, big refuge. That is a modest breach in the system, which allows the ocean, if you will, to come into the refuge. Lets look at the next picture. This is that same refuge. Top part of the picture. What used to be a wildlife refuge is now water surge through the expanded jim bridges and return a freshwater refuge into a saltwater marsh. It used to be a road that went through their and connect to the western part of our state to the shore communities. Thats the road. Thank you very much. Weve also experienced widespread damage to broader state stakes, dance as far north as Delaware City in newcastle. Roads and bridges in various parts of our state have been damaged and will need to be repaired or replaced. Meanwhile we continue to work at fema and other agencies to determine the full extent of damage. Delaware and its local jurisdictions contribute a large amount of resources and a short period of time to prepare for and respond to the storm and to begin rebuilding and its weight. Eliminate Damage Assessment show more will be required and given already state budget we need help in filling the gaps as much as the gulf coast states needed. Madam chair, and i just want to say thanks for the chance to share some of these with you today and let you know about the impacts. In delaware we have a long tradition of helping our neighbors, whether they live down the street are well beyond our borders. For years weve helped other sister state suffered from disasters be they hurricanes, tornadoes, floods or wildfires. Today, the shoe is on the other foot. We need to help our neighbors, not just in delaware, but all across the country. Just as weve been there for them, we hope they will be there now for us, new jersey, new york and other hardhit states as well. But look forward to working with all of you to enable us to recover and rebuild a cell is better protect ourselves from future storms that are likely to come our way. Thanks. Thank you very much, senator. Senator cardin. Thank you, madam chair. Let me ask my entire statement be included in the record. Thank you so much not just for convening this hearing, but for your leadership in dealing with these issues, but for your leadership in dealing with these issues to the needs of the communities and individuals who issues to the needs of the communities and individuals who impact did by the Severe Weather events, but your leadership in directing this committee to look at race in which we can make our communities less vulnerable. Sandy was a devastating storm. 80 lives were lost as a result of the storm. Seven in the state of maryland. 8 Million People in the United States for some time were without power as a result of sandy. Maryland feared much better than our surrounding states. We spent a lot of our resources to help friends in new york, new jersey and other states impacted, but of the severe for the people of hurricane. The amount of high sustained winds were unprecedented in our state. 70 mileperhour when for hour upon hour, doing incredible damage to our state. Heavy rains. We had Record Number amount of rain from the storm. Nine inches in the coastal area. That caused extreme coastal flooding. The storm surges were severe in the ways were as high as seven feet. I want to talk specifically about two regions of our state in which the people today are still trying to recover from the severity of the storm. One is western maryland. While we experienced nine inches of rain, on the western part of her estate in appalachia, they have this blizzard that dumped 30 inches of wet snow. Talk about one county, garrett county. Garrett county as a county located in appalachia, somewhat remote in the mountains. Total population of 30,000 people. 15,000 homes were without power. You could do a little bit of arithmetic. That is every home in that county. 3000 trees were down as a result the storm. Is a living as in remote areas, not use it to get to without power, extremely vulnerable to their Public Safety. Maryland devoted to the Maryland National guard in its top priority. 26 humvees were to save lives and they did an incredible job in were very grateful for their heroic activities in saving lives and trying to bring people into a more normal existence. At the other end of may state on the Eastern Shore of maryland, they suffered a different type of damage as a result of sandy. As you know, the Eastern Shore is pretty flat, pretty much at sea level. When a storm like sandy approached, it caused severe flooding. In somerset county, the people of crisfield were severely impacted with the loss of their homes, businesses, aquaculture crops ruined and this is a very foldable community, not a chair. 32 live below poverty. They dont have a lot of options. They dont have resources to take care of their needs without assistance from government. Im very proud of the leadership of our state in trying to help those individuals in the entire team that were ominous. Many are familiar with Brewster County were maryland is located. 9. 8 of Worcester County is below poverty and they have twice the number on average of alter the that we have in our state. They were particularly impacted by the storm. Thanks to the extraordinary leadership of governor omalley, our Maryland Emergency Management Agency and the full partnership they brought into being, including our state, local officials. We have extraordinary leadership from county executives, Maryland National guard. I was with them throughout the storm. They do put people where they were needed and work around the clock and save lives. I want to thank the red cross. They were there helping us in as soon as we were stabilized and moved onto the next community that could use their resources. We sought extra efforts by her First Responders and ordinary citizens that help save lives. We had evacuations and queen and county, harper county, baltimore county, Baltimore City people of equity from homes. 41 childress established, with dozen citizens in the shelters. Bottom line is we cant handle this on our own. To underscore your point senator carper made, we as a nation have come together to communities impacted by these types of events have used federal government and its resources to help bring communities back to where they need to be. We were very much in tune and as disasters have been about parts of our country to be a Good Neighbor and we need help today. I want to thank president obama for the disaster declaration for maryland. That allows fema to be available for public assistance. We have a request for individual Disaster Assistance for the individuals impact did. That proposal is still pending. Ill be working with governor omalley to make sure the individuals impact did by this storm have a strong departure from the federal government as we can possibly have. Madam chair, its highly likely will have to pass a supplemental urgency appropriations bill. I know thats not in this committee, but a to point out we had to make sure the resources are available in congress were shortly be a churning. I hope we Pay Attention during this session of congress to make sure federal agencies have researches resources they need to deal with the consequences of Hurricane Sandy. From this committees point of view, we need to put at the environmental impact. Theres been numerous oil spills that have impact on our environment. Weve had major problems on our shorelines and were going to need to take a look at shoreline restorations and other issues. I would urge our committee to be prepared to deal with those issues. As the chairman pointed out, we have to deal with the funding of storm infrastructure. Your absolutely right. Our first obligation is to make sure people affected and communities affected that we do what we can to where they need to be and we need to do with Public Safety issues because these will occur more frequently in the future. Let me just give you one example. Weve invested in and see colin. The beaches have been the prime last because it acts as a natural storm break to ocean city in which theres lots of people who live, how poems, et cetera. It were. It prevented a lot more damage that would otherwise occur. I know it is an investment. Sometimes people wonder why we make those investments. They make those investments to save lives and property and it didnt work. Im going to be coming back to my colleagues in telling you we need to invest in those types of common sense ways we can deal with the realities of Severe Weather. We also need to share the development atwater bill. I know you had a hearing on that. We need to move that forward. That provides areas where we can help with the necessary infrastructure to deal with flooding and storm damage. It introduced the Water Infrastructure resiliency sustainability a such as reducing flood and vulnerable communities. It deals with those communities at sea level issues. Sea levels rising and we have to do with that in the way we provide support to our local communities. As i said before, our First Priority is to help affected communities and individuals to get the help they need. I would commit to addressing the problem or frequency of severe storms increasing and we can double fortunate click the safety that is posed by the storms. Longterm safety must be her focus of where to protect our Natural Environment and the safety of our citizens. Thank you so much, senator. While senator vitter is here, she and i discussed bringing the bill forward within the first 30 days. That is our goal. So we really are going to work and weve been working on this so we dont waste any time given what we see. Were going to have a really Strong Partnership on this. So were going to go to senator lautenberg for 10 minutes then senator whitehouse and governor gillibrand. Thank you very much, madam chairman. I think the fact that we are bringing notice about her particular situation, but highlighting the fact that across this country there is no state spared and the more we get the word out to get an understanding of this thing in the more we cooperate one with another in the congress, the better chance we have to preempt the damage resulting from these storms and making life a lot easier, better and safer. And spoken on the senate floor before the committee to outline what happens in my home state of new jersey brought on basic or storm sandy. The total of the storm, roughly 8 million households throughout the power in the storm, including more than 2. 5 million in my state alone. Fema estimates the total number of damage to nearly seven the 2000. Restaurants, public buildings and its pretty hard to imagine what life is like when you are home when your home is gone. Its not just the physical possessions. Its the memories, memorabilia, history of the house. Imagine these things disappearing in front of you. Things which represents your aspirations, reduced arrival. Imagine having to evacuate and coming home to find that the mayor. The place where you base your children created so many memories. Thats the reality for far too many natures since. So i say move forward, we must make sure when the next storm strikes it doesnt happen again. Madam chairman, thank you for your leadership on this issue. We learned a valuable lesson, but we learned that the hardest way. When we dont invest in infrastructure, within our communities and residents engraved danger and thats why in the wake of the storm we work not only to recover, but to build so we are better prepared for the next storm. Today is that you take the opportunity to highlight areas that were vulnerable before the storm. Flood control projects, Water Infrastructure, Transportation System and of course sites which unfortunately has the largest number. Ill begin with the storm surge destroyed neighborhoods, displaced families. We found that even among the damage, however, there is a Silver Lining that points to what we can do to devote resources now and into the future replenishment. We been shaded about that over the years. Just be a more. This is part of natures balance but the tunes are in place, the damage is substantially less and its quite an awakening. The federal government has invested that these and other infrastructure in storms and flooding. In new jersey, the beaches are our levees. They have critical buffer zones that protect communities from flooding and replenishment projects brought in to widen existing beaches in order to provide better protection against storm surges. Up and down the jersey coast, we saw that that are built sub by the army for replacement project Still Standing after the storm come at even nearby homes without projects were totally destroyed. We see the stark contrast on the Barrier Island that we have in new jersey in Long Beach Island. Long beach Island Community didnt have an army corps project. We see this picture. The projects when you look at this picture thank you salvific beach projects. On this Barrier Island communities of Long Beach Island. See how well they withstood the storm. Heres where the storm lost its fury much lower than the houses were located. The picture shows how the dune was instruct kids who could absorb and protect the homes and neighborhoods behind it. Overall, new jerseys initial s. Event is at least 29 billion expected to rise and our governor did a wonderful job in the management of this crisis. Rot in additional costs that theyre still uncovering. So will be higher than that. We couldve avoided some of the damage if we had tested in advance. Army corps beach projects by preventing the damage that seem to was cleaning up at a fraction of the cost. So i am pleased that chairman baucus included a program that i requested to allow new projects to deconstruct the following a Natural Disaster. I intend to work with the chairman to encourage the core to rebuild damaged beaches, dams, levees, better than before as opposed to the Current Practice is merely repairing or rehabilitating project. During sandy, we also saw outdated Water Infrastructure the two failures such as Wastewater Treatment facilities, releasing millions of gallons of sewage as a result. The infrastructure in its entirety has to be in concert with what