Flood Mapping Flaws Bring Broad Response

Washington, DC—Problems with the way the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) conducts federal flood mapping have resulted in a broad-based, bipartisan call for change that straddles state and federal jurisdictions.

Twenty-seven members of the U.S. Senate, a considerable bipartisan group pointing out the importance of the issue, have joined with Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch in a letter to FEMA officials calling for changes in the way federal flood plain maps are drawn. Outdated methods of FEMA planning can drive up the costs for insurance to property owners who find themselves designated as inside a federal flood plain area, despite existing protections.

The Senators say that too often, the agency ignores the existence of levees or other structures that can affect the extent of flood damage, forcing property owners to purchase costly flood insurance that may not be needed. “’Without’ levee modeling methods assume an existing levee or flood control structure that exists in physical reality does not exist for the purposes of modeling, reducing the precision of flood maps and eroding public confidence in the mapping process itself,” wrote Crapo, Risch and other Senators in the letter to FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. The Idaho Senators say they have been urged to act by members of the Idaho Legislature and state officials. The issue has affected residents ranging from Idaho’s Silver Valley to the Treasure Valley, and is growing in impact in Boundary County as increased development is proposed along the Kootenai River.

“We support FEMA’s efforts to maximize taxpayer dollars by choosing simpler, more cost effective modeling techniques when appropriate. However, in cases where FEMA treats a flood control structure as if it has been completely wiped off the map, we may be unnecessarily devaluing property and hurting the economies of cities, towns, counties and businesses. This approach is particularly troubling since FEMA has the tools at its disposal to obtain more precise data,” the Senators added.

“Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s when FEMA was developing flood plain maps for Boundary County, the lands along the Kootenai River were mapped as being within the 100-year flood plain,” said county flood plain coordinator Mike Weland, “but because much of the landed was protected by dikes and levies and by the Libby Dam, no additional studies were done to determine what the actual base flood elevation was, resulting in a lot of land being designated ‘unnumbered A flood zone.’ When I was hired to my position in 1997, FEMA didn’t look at unnumbered A flood zones when they tested the county for FEMA compliance and the county didn’t require that FEMA standards be met, as there were no established standards. Since Hurricane Katrina and the flooding that hit New Orleans, FEMA started looking at development in unnumbered A flood zones the same as they look at numbered A zones, where a base flood elevation was established and the requirements are known. Now, they’re saying the county has to comply, and that it’s up to the property owner to prove base flood elevation through advanced engineering studies before they can develop. That’s an expensive proposition for a land owner who knows the land they own hasn’t gotten wet in even the highest recent flood years. If it’s marked on the FEMA map, they’re stuck.”

The Senators agreed with Idaho officials that the so-called “without levees” analysis can result in inaccurate maps and force property owners to purchase costly and unneeded flood insurance policies that can run as high as $2,000 annually. They said FEMA can correct the process by working more closely with local communities to ensure that correct modeling and recognition of structures like levees are correctly represented when federal flood maps and documents are created.

The matter was brought to the attention of the Senators by Idaho State Senator Joyce Broadsword of Sagle. Brig. Gen. Bill Shawver of the Idaho National Guard helped confirm how FEMA mapping was conducted and provided a statewide view of the problem.

While it may seem a simple problem affecting a few people who might choose to build in a place at risk of being washed away, Weland said the problem affects everyone in the county.

“Every two or three years, FEMA sends someone in from Seattle to conduct a ‘community assistance visit,” he said. “I don’t know about it until he or she comes to my office and drops off a stack of pictures of houses that might or might not be in the flood plain. By federal mandate, I have to provide documentation to show that FEMA standards have been met and present an elevation certificate signed and certified by a licensed engineer, prove that the structure was there before the FEMA maps were adopted, or provide proof that the developer has adequately shown me through historic proof that the specific site isn’t in danger of flooding. If I don’t or can’t, the entire county can be placed on probation and denied flood insurance, and flood insurance is a requirement of nearly all lenders. If the county loses FEMA flood insurance coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program, land sales basically become a cash and carry proposition.”

He said he experienced his first CAV visit just a few weeks after being hired, and out of six places cited for concern, no records could be found for three of them.

“By assessor’s records, they weren’t there before 1982 and there was no record on file that they’d been built,” he said. “No permits had been issued by the county. FEMA put us on notice that the county was in violation and threatened to withdraw the county from eligibility for the National Flood Insurance Program. Rather than face the loss of potential land sale financing, county commissioners spent taxpayer money to hire an engineer to determine base flood elevation. Each of them met FEMA standards, but one only by an inch. It cost the county about $700. All three were in numbered A zones, so there were standards to measure by.

“Under current FEMA requirements, if one person builds in an unnumbered A zone without a county permit, costing $35, the whole county can be held hostage. And I don’t think the county is going to be able to afford the studies FEMA requires on lands that have been protected for years by the dikes and levies the pioneers of this community built.”