Intergovernmental Success in Multi‐Component Flood Mitigation: The Lock Haven Flood Protection Project Experience

The City of Lock Haven is a small community near the geographical center of Pennsylvania. In 1982 Lock Haven had a population of about 8,500; 2,500 of whom were college students at Lock Haven University. The City, on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, has experienced severe flooding every seven years on average; most notably in 1936 and 1972. After the 1936 flood a federal protection project was planned but citizens rejected it because of local costs, loss of river access and property, and reductions to the tax base. Flood protection was revisited after the Hurricane Agnes flood of 1972 which wiped out Piper Aircraft and hit Hammermill Paper Company causing a desperate economic situation, even after a $18 million federal/state redevelopment project. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE) was called in to study flood protection in the area. At the time, Corps reconnaissance studies, alternatives analysis, and preliminary plans did not require local cost-sharing. The city and the county provided the required Letter of Intent and the project moved forward. Costsharing occurred only if the project was constructed. In 1982 the process was stymied by the need for money from federal appropriations. Redevelopment fund remained so Lock Haven used them to incorporate the Lock Haven Flood Protection Planning Board (FPPB) under the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act. Members of the Board represented the city and county, nearby Woodward and Castanea Townships, Hammermill Paper Company, and Piper Aircraft Company. The FPPB hired a director to chase money, work with the Corps and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources on planning and design, and to lobby for necessary legislative action at the state and federal level. In the early 1990’s the Lock Haven Area Flood Protection Authority was created to act as the local sponsor with legal authority to contract, apply eminent domain where necessary, and otherwise accomplish local obligations under a Local Cooperation Agreement (LCA) which was signed in 1992. Constructing the $86 million flood protection project began soon thereafter. By 1995 the project was complete. Floods in 1996 provided the first test, which it passed! In September of 2004, remnants of Hurricane Ivan threatened the City again. Lock Haven’s flood protection prevented over $144 million in damages from these storms, according to the Baltimore District Corps of Engineers. Many elements contributed to Lock Haven’s success, two of which were the project’s design and cooperation among stakeholders at all levels.