Flooding has long shaped the story of our region in the Southern Tier of New York—testing our infrastructure, our ecosystems, and our resolve. In the wake of the devastating floods of 1972, communities across the region faced not only the challenge of rebuilding, but also an urgent question: How can we reduce flood damage and protect future generations?

A Program Born from Experience

Recovery from the 1972 flood was not easy. Regional planning boards, alongside Steuben, Schuyler, and Chemung Counties, partnered with corporate leaders such as Corning Incorporated and other local entities to restore what had been lost. But from those early recovery conversations emerged a forward-thinking vision—moving beyond reaction toward prevention.

By 1996, that vision led to the creation of a dedicated Flood Recovery Specialist position at STC. This role was groundbreaking for its time. The specialist’s duties were highly technical and wide-ranging: identifying flood-prone areas, working with municipalities to plan for future flood events, serving as a liaison between federal, state, and local partners, and providing education and outreach on flood mitigation and resiliency. The position also offered hands-on assistance during flood emergencies and post-disaster recovery.

Importantly, this role was made possible through true regional collaboration. Funding was shared equally by Chemung, Schuyler, and Steuben Counties—an investment that demonstrated collective commitment to protecting people, property, and infrastructure.

Thirty Years Later: A Program That Endures

Today, nearly 30 years later, STC continues to maintain this vital position. What began as a bold experiment has grown into an essential, trusted program that communities rely on year after year.

Our long-serving Flood Recovery Specialist—the first of her kind when she began in 1996—has shaped the program into a regional asset. Under her leadership, floodplain management became more proactive, grants were secured for tools like additional stream gauges, and communities gained hands-on support to update Flood Damage Prevention laws. While we prepare to celebrate her well-earned retirement, we are also actively seeking the next Flood Recovery Specialist to carry this work forward.

The legacy of Janet Thigpen’s leadership is clear: stronger policies, better-informed communities, and a deeper regional understanding of flood risk and resilience.

Education, Outreach, and the Power of the Flood Model

Much of this program’s impact goes beyond planning documents and regulations. Education has always been central to flood resilience, and STC staff work to reach residents of all ages—from kindergarten classrooms to seasoned municipal leaders.

STC regularly participates in Environmental Field Days, Earth Day celebrations, Regional Leadership Conferences, and Planning Board and Town Board meetings across the region. At the center of many of these efforts is our Flood Model—an interactive, hands-on teaching tool that makes flood concepts tangible and memorable.

Using everyday objects like Monopoly houses, putty, sponges, and matchbox cars, participants can explore real-world flood mitigation strategies. Houses can be elevated on stilts. Sponges demonstrate how wetlands absorb water. Participants can even attempt to dam or redirect flowing water—only to learn an important lesson: eventually, water will find a way. Matchbox cars help reinforce the life-saving message, “Turn around, don’t drown,” showing how even a small amount of moving water can sweep vehicles away.

The model is fun, creative, and engaging—but its impact is serious. It provides residents with a real-life understanding of why certain mitigation strategies are recommended and how thoughtful planning can reduce damage and save lives.

Looking Ahead

As flooding continues to affect communities throughout Appalachia, the lessons learned over the past 30 years are more important than ever. STC’s Flood Recovery Program stands as an example of long-term regional collaboration, proactive planning, and the power of education.

By investing in preparedness today, we help ensure safer, more resilient communities tomorrow.

In a small rural community like Westover Borough, water isn’t something many people think about until a problem arises.

For many years, this Clearfield County (PA) community relied on a single surface water source to serve every home and business in town. While the system worked, it left the community vulnerable. Any sort of disruption could have left the entire community without water, something no one should have to worry about.

In 2025, that vulnerability was addressed.

With support from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and assistance from the North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission, Westover completed a nearly $500,000 project to establish a second, reliable water source. The effort included drilling two test wells and one production well, along with major upgrades to the Borough’s existing water treatment plant.

Upon completion, the results were substantial. Daily water capacity increased from approximately 20,000 gallons to more than 70,000 gallons, more than tripling the available supply.

Today, 154 households and several local businesses are served by a stronger, more dependable water system. The added capacity not only improves reliability and public health, but also creates room for future residential growth and expanded tourism activity in the area.

In rural communities like Westover, infrastructure projects may not always serve massive amounts of people, but they serve everyone who calls that place home. With this project complete, Westover Borough has greater stability today and more opportunity for tomorrow, demonstrating how strategic investments can help prepare rural Appalachian communities for the future.

Across Appalachia, the future of the forest economy depends on collaboration that crosses state lines, sectors, and disciplines. Over the past three years following the closure of the Pactiv-Evergreen paper mill in Canton, NC  Land of Sky Regional Council and Southwestern Commission have been convening a growing interdisciplinary and multi-state Forest Sector Stakeholders group monthly to do just that—bring together economic developers, foresters, industry leaders, researchers, workforce organizations, and state and regional partners from North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina.

This group has been funded to grow and expand through Appalachian Regional Commission’s ARISE Planning grant. This stakeholder group has served as a consistent forum for shared learning, problem-solving, and strategy development. Monthly meetings have focused on understanding regional supply-chain challenges, identifying emerging market opportunities, and aligning workforce, research, addressing Helene Recovery, and economic development assets across the Southern Appalachian forest basin. The group reflects the full forest value chain from landowners and first processors to advanced manufacturers, community colleges, universities, and public agencies ensuring that solutions are grounded in real-world conditions and regional capacity to encourage a circular economy that benefits the entire spectrum across the three-state region.

This sustained collaboration has been complemented by technical and economic analysis led by RTI International and North Carolina State University’s SOFAC. Together with stakeholder input, these partners conduct supply-chain and market analyses, conducting industry interviews, and regional assessments that helped clarify both the challenges facing the sector and the opportunities for transformation.

The culmination of this work is the submission of a Southern Appalachian Forest Economy Cluster (SAFEC) ARISE Implementation grant application. The proposed cluster builds directly on the planning effort and reflects the same ARC counties across North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina, recognizing that the forest economy functions as an interconnected, multi-state system. SAFEC proposes a coordinated approach to modernizing the forest sector supporting advanced materials, industrialized construction, workforce development, and value-added manufacturing while strengthening resilience across rural communities.

Equally important, SAFEC represents a shift from planning to action. The Forest Sector Stakeholders Partnership will continue to play a central role as the initiative moves forward, providing governance, regional alignment, and on-the-ground insight to guide implementation.

This work demonstrates what is possible when Appalachia invests in long-term, cross-sector collaboration. By aligning research, industry, workforce systems, and regional leadership, the Southern Appalachian region is positioning its forest economy for sustainable growth—rooted in local assets and driven by shared purpose.

Stakeholders and partners are encouraged to stay engaged and watch for updates as the SAFEC proposal moves through the ARC review process and the region prepares for the next phase of coordinated, multi-state implementation.

Georgia’s Appalachian Regional Port—A Partnership for Prosperity

 

Recently, the Georgia Ports Authority announced that the Appalachian Regional Port (ARP) in rural Murray County (GA) set a record in November 2025 with seven trains per week carrying nearly 4,000 containers—a 35% increase from November 2024.

The rail line serving the ARP connects the Port of Savannah, Georgia, the fastest-growing port on the East Coast and the nation’s fourth-busiest seaport, to Northwest Georgia, Northeast Alabama, and the Greater Chattanooga/Southeastern Tennessee area. Interstate 75 is the main artery connecting Atlanta to Chattanooga, 118 miles to the north.

The Appalachian Regional Commission has been a partner in creating and growing this major economic engine throughout the process, providing funding and initial credibility to the proposal.

In 2015, the Appalachian Regional Commission invested $300,000, and Murray County contributed $400,000 to purchase the 46-acre site. CSX Railroad contributed $7.8 million in private investment.

In 2016, ARC contributed $120,000 with a local match of $30,000 to prepare the Murray County Site Development Master Plan. The purpose of the grant was to “prepare an infrastructure master plan, including broadband and telecommunications, for future development around the Appalachian Regional Inland Port located in Murray County.”

In 2017, the $6.4 million City of Chatsworth/Chatsworth Sewerage System Improvements Project received $600,000 in ARC funding to “construct sewerage system improvements to serve northern Murray County, including the Appalachian Inland Port and surrounding industrial area.”

In 2018, ARC invested another $600k in the Murray County/Murray County South Industrial Park SSI to extend sewer service to the Murray South Industrial Park, enabling future development. The local match was $1.138 million, and a private company invested $6 million in a facility that created 58 jobs.

Most recently, ARC matched Murray County’s investment of $572,582 to develop more acreage in the South Industrial Park. It will construct a drive and extend water lines into the 349-acre Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) site. Interest in the park is primarily driven by its proximity to the ARP.

These investments have created many jobs and expanded the tax base in Murray County and beyond. The ARP is in the 15-county Northwest Georgia economic development region, where the economic impact of the Port of Savannah supports 45,800 full- and part-time jobs. Between FYs 2023 and 2024, a University of Georgia study found that the ARP supported an increase of about 5,600 jobs in Northwest Georgia. According to the Murray County Chamber of Commerce, “We have welcomed General Electric (GE) Logistics Center and Huali Floors, enhancing job growth in the region. Foss Floors and Polytech Fibers, LLC, are expanding. We welcomed Galaxy Group, a Las Vegas, Nevada-based manufacturer, to the Murray South Industrial Park, where they are building a facility. Green Galaxy Group purchased 41 acres for its back-to-the-U.S. manufacturing facility to make synthetic surfacing.”

The ARP has many benefits:

• Each round-trip container moved via the ARP offsets 710 truck miles on Georgia highways, improving safety and quality of life in a region where more than 60% of its workforce commutes outside the area for gainful employment.
• It is within reach of 75% of the continental U.S. in two days or less.
• It serves as an economic generator not only for Murray County, but for the Northwest Georgia, Southeastern Tennessee, and the Top of Alabama LDDs.
• According to an economic impact study by the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, port-supported employment across Northwest Georgia increased by 14 percent or more than 5,600 jobs between fiscal year 2023 and FY2024.

ARC’s endorsement and financial assistance in the development of the ARP and related projects will pay dividends for generations to come. It exemplifies transformational change produced by vision, leadership, and clear project goals. The Appalachian Regional Port is an excellent example of interstate cooperation that partners, innovates, and strengthens the region’s economy.

Boyd Austin, Executive Director

Northwest Georgia Regional Commission

baustin@nwgrc.gov