IBTS Provides Added Benefit to Communities across Louisiana with Floodplain Management
April 11, 2019
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Communities enrolled in FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) are required to designate a floodplain manager, however finding one with experience is difficult and can be a strain on local budgets. IBTS recognized this as a problem through our work providing regional building department services to jurisdictions across Louisiana, and addressed it by adding floodplain management to our scope of services at no additional cost. In this blog post, learn what your community and IBTS can do to help improve floodplain management.
IBTS’ Louisiana Regional Office has provided statewide guidance on building codes and operated numerous building departments throughout Louisiana for over a decade, and floodplain management for almost as long.
“The reason we started providing floodplain management was to help communities that we were already contracted with as a building official that were struggling with floodplain management,” says IBTS Louisiana Branch Manager Larry Walters. “We took the stress off the community by providing them with an experienced floodplain manager to ensure properties are compliant with the ordinance.”
Floodplain managers are responsible for adopting and enforcing FEMA’s floodplain ordinance and the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for map for the community. Because most communities don’t have a staff member experienced with floodplain management but are required to have one, they often fill the position with a secretary or clerk that has little to no floodplain management experience. Although it meets the requirement, it can be detrimental to the community.
“When you don’t have experienced floodplain managers, you end up with properties not built to the regulatory ordinance or assigned to the wrong flood zone,” Walters says. “This means the homeowner and the jurisdiction are out of compliance. Not only are you putting your citizens at risk, but you and your jurisdiction are liable for covering flood losses.”
Although not all communities can have access to third-party contractors like IBTS that can provide floodplain management support, Walters offers a few simple tips to get your community’s floodplain manager on track.
- Join your state floodplain managers association, and become a Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) .
- Know your ordinance, know how to read your maps, and know your community.
- “You can’t base it all on the maps,” says Walters. “There might be properties located in a flood zone area on high land where you can claim it to be comfortably not in a flood zone area.”
- Follow through with your substantial damage assessments after a flood event. Property owners who experienced over 50% damage will not want to raise their home or move, but it is an NFIP compliance requirement and also in the best interest of preventing future property damage.
Larry Walters is IBTS’ Louisiana Branch Manager. He is a Certified Floodplain Manager, a member of the Louisiana State Floodplain Manager’s Board, and was named the 2014 Floodplain Manager of the Year by the Louisiana State Floodplain Manager’s Office.
San Juan, Puerto Rico - March 6, 2026 ---The Institute for Building Technology and Safety (IBTS) shared insights from its extensive work supporting disaster recovery and infrastructure resilience in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands during the 2026 Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) San Juan Field Chapter Industry Day 2026, held March 3–5. Hosted by SAME at El Conquistador Hotel in Fajardo, the multi-day conference convened federal agencies, government leaders, engineering and construction professionals, and private sector partners to discuss regional infrastructure priorities and collaboration opportunities across Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the broader Caribbean. During the panel “Resiliency for the Future,” Agnes Crespo Quintana, Esq., IBTS’s Director of the Puerto Rico Region, shared field-based perspectives on the long road to recovery following the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Drawing from nearly a decade of on-the-ground implementation experience, Crespo Quintana emphasized the importance of community-driven recovery strategies that prioritize local engagement, transparency, and long-term resilience. “Recovery and resilience cannot be designed from afar”, said Crespo Quintana, adding that “they must be built alongside the communities who lived through the disaster and understand its realities. At IBTS, we believe that the most effective solutions begin with listening — ensuring community voices guide strategy while technical expertise translates those needs into practical, scalable solutions that strengthen resilience for generations”. IBTS is a nonprofit organization with more than 50 years of technical, engineering, and professional services experience supporting federal, state, and local governments, as well as private-sector partners. Its expertise includes program and project management; quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC); engineering review and technical oversight; inspection and monitoring; regulatory support; community engagement and stakeholder coordination. Across the Caribbean, IBTS has supported efforts to strengthen infrastructure, reduce risk, and advance energy independence and grid reliability, including initiatives related to distributed energy systems, microgrids, and other strategies that enhance long-term power security and dependable service. A hallmark of IBTS’ work in the region has been its community-centric, “bottom-up” approach , which integrates risk assessment, stakeholder mapping, and local engagement to ensure recovery strategies reflect the priorities of the communities they serve. This approach strengthens transparency, accountability, and compliance across federally funded recovery programs while fostering trust between institutions and residents. That approach is reflected in IBTS’s work supporting resilience, recovery, and mitigation planning through HUD and FEMA-funded programs, along with related workforce development and program implementation efforts carried out in partnership with public-sector entities. “Preparation must become part of our culture,” she noted. “In the Caribbean, where natural disasters are an ongoing reality, resilience cannot be optional. It must be embedded into our systems, our infrastructure, and our people. By equipping local communities with knowledge, tools, and opportunity, we ensure recovery efforts lead not just to rebuilding, but to lasting stability and prosperity”. During the panel, Crespo Quintana also underscored that investments in workforce training and local capacity-building are essential to sustaining these long-term resilience strategies. The SAME Industry Day conference featured exhibits, technical training sessions, networking events, and panels focused on doing business in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, including sessions on small business engagement, mentor-protégé partnerships, and infrastructure development across the region, with key panelists from the Government of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, among others. About IBTS: With a mission to strengthen communities, IBTS serves as a trusted advisor and partner to local, state, and federal governments in advancing economic development. Its services ensure the effective planning, implementation, and evaluation of renewable energy projects and federally funded energy and sustainability programs—optimizing performance, reducing risk, and promoting the efficient use of public funds. Beyond its expertise in solar quality assurance, IBTS’s Puerto Rico office provides services in federal fund management; disaster planning, mitigation, and recovery; municipal planning; and resilience strategies. As a nonprofit organization, IBTS is guided by a Board of Directors with representatives from the Council of State Governments (CSG), International City/County Management Association (ICMA), National Association of Counties (NACo), National Governors Association (NGA), and the National League of Cities (NLC). For more information, visit www.ibts.org .
Fajardo, Puerto Rico – January 27, 2026 ---With the goal of strengthening the local economic development ecosystem in Puerto Rico’s eastern region, the Institute for Building Technology and Safety (IBTS) hosted “Sembrando Oportunidades: Regional Economic Development Forum,” an initiative designed to identify strategic assets, promote cross-sector collaboration, and expand access to support tools for entrepreneurs, microbusinesses, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The event, held at the Fajardo Multi-Purpose Center, was open to community organizations, nonprofits, government agencies, cooperatives, private-sector businesses, and the general public. Participants engaged in dialogue, networking, and collaborative action aimed at advancing a more inclusive and sustainable economic development model for eastern Puerto Rico. This initiative is part of a grant awarded to IBTS through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Program , which supports regional planning efforts, the strengthening of intersectoral support networks, and local economic development in rural communities. As part of its mission, IBTS works closely with communities and grassroots organizations to build skills that foster local entrepreneurship. The organization helps participants better understand the requirements of business projects and SMEs, including key tools such as strategic planning, business plan development, and networking. IBTS also supports municipalities in promoting ordinances and public policies that facilitate entrepreneurship and respond to local economic realities. In particular, IBTS has focused its efforts on the eastern region, impacting municipalities such as Ceiba, Naguabo, and Fajardo. “At IBTS, we believe sustainable economic development begins when people are connected to useful information, practical tools, and real support networks”, said Agnes Crespo, Esq., Executive Director of IBTS Puerto Rico . “Sembrando Oportunidades aims to be a turning point so more entrepreneurs and SMEs can grow with direction, structure, and access to concrete opportunities. This forum is an invitation to align capacities, join efforts, and build community-driven solutions that directly impact quality of life and economic resilience in our eastern region”, she added. Event agenda highlights included: · Presentation of key socioeconomic and business ecosystem data relevant to the region. · A participatory data validation exercise integrating collected data with local knowledge and lived experience. · A roundtable discussion with eastern-region businesses and entrepreneurs, highlighting challenges, lessons learned, opportunities, and best practices. · An open forum focused on collaborative strategies and actions for regional economic development. The event, is a collaborative effort with the Municipality of Fajardo to further strengthen regional economic development efforts to generate entrepreneurship-driven ideas, share findings from the survey conducted with local entrepreneurs, and propose practical solutions for business owners. In anticipation of a newly announced hotel development in the Fajardo area, the program also aims to train and strengthen a network of local suppliers by connecting eastern-region entrepreneurs and SMEs with opportunities to provide goods and services. This approach seeks to amplify the regional economic impact of growth and ensure broader participation in new economic opportunities. In addition to its experience managing federal disaster recovery funds and implementing renewable energy initiatives, IBTS has incorporated a renewed focus in its 2026 agenda on supporting communities and municipal governments to foster microenterprise and SME development as key drivers of regional economic growth. Participating organizations that provided guidance, resources, and presentations included: · Consorcio del Noreste · SBDTC Eastern Region · PECES · Vieques Air Link · Cooperativa Roosevelt Roads · Pathstone About IBTS: With a mission to strengthen communities, IBTS serves as a trusted advisor and partner to local, state, and federal governments in advancing economic development. Its services ensure the effective planning, implementation, and evaluation of renewable energy projects and federally funded energy and sustainability programs—optimizing performance, reducing risk, and promoting the efficient use of public funds. Beyond its expertise in solar quality assurance, IBTS’s Puerto Rico office provides services in federal fund management; disaster planning, mitigation, and recovery; municipal planning; and resilience strategies. As a nonprofit organization, IBTS is guided by a Board of Directors with representatives from the Council of State Governments (CSG) , International City/County Management Association (ICMA) , National Association of Counties (NACo) , National Governors Association (NGA) , and the National League of Cities (NLC) . For more information, visit www.ibts.org .
IBTS helps jurisdictions deliver safe, compliant stadiums on time and on budget with expert plan review, inspections, and code compliance services.