Vent installation aimed to drop Owego flood insurance rate

OWEGO — A 30% reduction in flood insurance costs may be on the horizon for the Village of Owego following recent action taken at the Tioga County Planning Board.

At their recent meeting, board members recommended approval for a variance from local flood damage prevention law to allow Upstate Shredding to install flood vents at their property, rather than dry flood proofing, which is typically preferred by the state and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

County Planning Director Elaine Jardine explained that the flood damage mitigation will be the installation of 67 vents that are mounted one foot above ground level, since the building is not able to be elevated or made dry flood proof.

Once completed, the village will be in good standing with the NFIP, Jardine said.

Attorney Anthony Paniccia, representing owner Adam Weitsman, said that the vents allow flood water to keep moving so that it doesn't adversely affect neighbors.

"The way it is now, he could close all his doors, and other than seepage that comes through the building, all that water is diverted to the neighbors," Paniccia said. "When you put in the flood vents, the water has to go through the flood vents and flood his building."

Jardine said the state Department of Environmental Conservation NFIP coordinator said that dry flood proofing at that elevation was impractical and not cost-effective.

"No red flags came up that there were any problems with this solution," Jardine said. "Adam has been working on this for years and even ordered a set of vents previous to this, but (those) had to be returned because they weren't designed correctly."

Electric at the facility has already been moved above flood level to meet code.

When the building was constructed in 2012, overhead doors were installed, making it impossible to seal or make water-tight.

"That was done like three years ago," Paniccia said. "I hate to say it, but we've been working at this for five years and we just can't get the state to give us the variance."

Paniccia said he wanted to note that Weitsman was given a certificate of occupancy because no one knew this flood variance existed.

"In fairness to Adam, he didn't violate something that he didn't know existed," Paniccia said. "When he found out he was in violation in 2021, he was proactive in trying to remedy this by moving forward ... in order for the entire village to get a 30% discount on their flood insurance."

Paniccia said while the process requires an additional variance to be granted by the state, the state still says Weitsman does not need one.

"We've been working with the state to try to get this variance, and the state says we don't need a variance," Paniccia said. "We've had two meetings canceled and after today, I can go back to the state and say, 'Well, everyone else gave us one.'"

Weitsman says he doesn't care about flooding in his building because it's just scrap metal on the ground; he can just power wash it and it's good to go, he said.

"From Adam's standpoint, he is spending over $120,000 for these flood vents, and for him, he doesn't need them because it's just storage and there's no damage," Paniccia said. "He's doing it for the village. I don't want to say he's benevolent, but he's doing the right thing."

On Wednesday, Village Mayor Mike Baratta said once the project is completed, there is still a lengthy process to go through to get the flood insurance reduction approved.