The U.S. House Financial Services Committee passed House Resolution 5114, the Flood Insurance Reform Priorities Act of 2010, in April. The bill, if it becomes law, would postpone the finalization of flood maps revisions.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been analyzing its flood maps, adding and subtracting properties. Homeowners in a flood zone generally must obtain flood insurance if they have a mortgage.
However, the bill, if passed, could postpone finalization up to five years and eliminate some homeowners' requirement that they purchase flood insurance.
The FEMA remapping process is expected to digitize more than 20,000 flood maps across the nation and more accurately reflect areas vulnerable to a 100-year flood. In areas where levees are being repaired or updated, FEMA's ability to update flood maps could be hindered for up to seven years under the proposed pieces of legislation.
Once repairs are made and levees are certified by FEMA, insurance rates for properties in those locations could drop significantly, according to experts. Communities across the United States, including Ventura County, Calif., have submitted map amendments to carve out certain properties from the FEMA map revisions.
HR 5114 is expected to move to the full House for debate.
Meanwhile, House Resolution 3415, introduced by U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), would extend remapping efforts to include not only Army Corps of Engineers levees, but also private levees.
Source: Ventura County Star (CA) (05/19/10) Bakalis, Anna
Source: INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD
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