MCA Helps Connecticut Recover from The Devastation of Superstorm Sandy

Connecticut is home to some of the most beautiful shores, historical landmarks, and peaceful towns. However, on October 22, 2012, "Superstorm Sandy" struck the state wreaking havoc on charming shoreline homes and businesses, devastating the lives of many. Homes in our state of Connecticut were flooded, ripped apart, completely blown down or even washed away. The storm was a tragic event for all in Connecticut, leaving its mark throughout the state and causing upwards of $360 million in damage.

Soon after the storm, Congress began their work to aid home and business owners whose properties were damaged by passing the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 (Pub. L. 113–2). This act allocated $5.4 billion of Community Development Block Grant funds to repair and restore areas affected by Superstorm Sandy and other nationwide disasters. The grants were distributed to states that were most heavily affected by the storm including Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maryland. Connecticut received “tranches of funding” that were allocated at the state level, through the Connecticut Department of Housing (CTDOH).

In February of 2014, MCA was awarded a contract by the CTDOH to complete work on the owner-occupied, and the scattered site rehabilitation programs. Each project started with conducting an initial evaluation of the property, assessing the damage, and providing cost estimates for rehabilitation and mitigation. The primary goals were to repair damage caused by the storm, restore the properties and to mitigate future flooding by physically elevating structures. The intent was to establish safe and sanitary conditions. It was not an insurance policy approach of replacing “old-with-new”. As part of this program, MCA completed the designs for the repairs and the elevations of structures compliant with FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CTDEEP) Flood Management Regulations.

This process included the implementation of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), checklists to US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) criteria and coordination with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). The environmental evaluation checked for hazardous materials including asbestos containing materials (ACM), poly-chlorinated biphenyls (PCB), lead-based paint, air-borne mold species and Radon. Research included the US Fish & Wildlife Service, the Natural Diversity Database (NDDB), and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CTDEEP) the wetlands on the properties were investigated, located, and identified on surveyed site plans for permitting.

Once the evaluations were complete, MCA prepared design plans, specifications, bid documents, cost estimates and conducted pre-bid contractor meetings. As part of the scope, MCA managed the rehabilitation design, including site/civil engineering, architectural/structural engineering and geotechnical investigations. MCA also completed over 30 property surveys, which were required for local permitting, site plans and sediment and erosion control plans for each property.

As the Construction Consultant in the program, MCA frequently communicated with the multiple stakeholders including the CTDOH, homeowners, local municipalities, and other state regulatory agencies. During the design phase, MCA worked with the homeowners to review drawings, answer questions and get approvals for each project scope before construction could begin. In many cases, the repairs to the homes required multiple design elements including rehabilitation to roofing, decks, mechanical systems, windows and siding.

Elevating the structures was a complex process. MCA had to coordinate the requirements of the state and local permitting, as well as the various cities and towns regulations for each project. MCA engaged Structural and Geotechnical Engineers to assist with the foundation designs which required soil borings to determine the most appropriate type of foundation system.

To date, MCA has assessed over 120 properties and designed and rehabilitated 50 properties. This included elevating 30 homes in place and three (3) new home constructions with finished floors elevated above the 500-year flood elevation. This was required to mitigate future flood damage. Although the disaster recovery funding was for the entire State, approximately 80% of the money was spent in coastal Fairfield and New Haven Counties. Most of the homes for rehabilitation and mitigation completed by MCA, were in Bridgeport, Norwalk, Milford, and Fairfield. MCA also evaluated some homes located in Danbury and Stamford.

This project reinforced MCA's connections to local boards, coastal towns, and federal agencies. Although we hope that another disaster will avoid our great state, MCA is ready and prepared to help homeowners and local businesses when the next big storm hits.