Lyon County residents will have 90 days to appeal to proposed flood-plain map, representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said at a meeting Wednesday night.
One of the concerns citizens brought up at the meeting was the levy surrounding Hartford. According to a May 2006 article in The Gazette, Steve Samuelson, Lyon County zoning director and flood plain manager, said the 1982 flood plain map for Lyon County had Hartford outside the flood area. The proposed map, didn’t take into account the levy around Hartford causing the east half of Hartford to show up in a flood zone.
The Hartford levy is owned by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. If the corps does not get the levy certified by FEMA’s standards, it could spell monetary disaster for the citizens of Hartford — anyone who holds a federally backed loan. These homeowners will likely have to purchase flood insurance, which could cost residents more than $1,000 a year in certain flood risk areas.
Julie Grauer of FEMA’s Region 7 said her understanding of the existing maps does not show the levy as protection for residents. It does not have an identifying levy mark. Grauer stated that the appropriate paperwork, which has to come from the owner of the levy, was not filed with FEMA. Grauer said she would work on the issue on Friday.
“We still have potentially nine months,” Grauer said. “Within that time, I’ll do everything I can.”
If the levy is registered with FEMA, it will take Hartford out of the high-risk area. Samuelson said he contacted the governor and other government representatives on Dec. 26 to attempt to get the issue resolved for the citizens of Hartford.
“I got tired of waiting,” Samuelson said. “I’ve been talking about this levy for nine months.”
Commission Chairman Marshall Miller also expressed concerns over the Hartford levy.
“We need answers over in Hartford and that area,” Miller said.
The levy issue is not an issue that has to be “appealed.” It is labeled as a “problem,” which residents are hopeful will get resolved before the new maps are finalized.
Roger Benson of FEMA led most of the meeting and talked about the new maps. He explained terminology to audience members and the importance of community participation in the National Flood Insurance Program.
Benson explained terminology first.
“Most of us talked about the 100-year flood,” he said. “The 100-year flood really refers to a one percent chance a year of a (flood).”
What was formerly referred to as the 500-year flood now carries a .2 percent chance a year — five times less risk than the one percent chance.
Flood insurance premiums are based on where a house is in relationship to flood plain maps. The closer the home is to the flood area, the higher the premium.
Benson also explained that communities voluntarily participate in the NFIP.
“Flood insurance can be sold to everybody in that community,” Benson said. “No flood insurance can be sold in a community unless they participate in the program.”
Lyon County, Emporia and Americus have participated in the program since 1975. The flood insurance program started in the late 1960s.
Benson had copies of the new maps with him and explained the appeal process and the public’s role in that process.
“What will be submitted is known as an appeal,” Benson said. “An appeal is where you think the boundaries are wrong.”
But to appeal to FEMA, the proper evidence has to be produced. This means having an engineer come and look at and evaluate the boundaries. The appeal must be sent to county or city representatives and it’s up to them to determine which appeals are credible, Benson said.
“For a period of 90 days, you can submit that kind of information,” Benson said. “Talk to your flood plain administrators about this.”
Benson said the new maps are based on scientific evaluation of the areas.
“We tried to use the highest standards of analysis technique developed,” he said. “This data didn’t just haphazardly fall onto this paper. If there’s a problem with this map in your opinion, it requires an engineer to (re-study).”
Benson said the 90 day appeal period is a projected date.
“If you come in at 91 days, we are going to listen to what you have to say,” he said. “But it could slow down the actual publishing of the new map. We really try to move the process forward as fast as we can.”
At the end of the 90-day appeal period, which will begin as soon as Benson files his report, there will be a point of which the engineers in Washington will determine when the map actually will be published.
“It takes about a year,” Benson said. “They’ll determine a day that the maps will come out. That day is known as the effective date.”
Congress has determined that whenever a new map comes out, every participating community must re-adopt their flood insurance ordinance to include the new maps.
“That community will automatically be suspended from the National Flood Insurance Program until they adopt the new maps,” Benson said. “I don’t want to see any community get a letter of suspension.”
A letter of suspension would mean homeowners could not renew their flood insurance policies required by the lender. The lender can come back on the homeowner and require the loan be paid off, Benson said.
On the Net:
www.floodsmart.gov