Tuesday, July 29, 2008

FEMA Changes Flood Plain Maps

By Rozanna M. Martinez
Journal Staff Writer
          Some Bernalillo residents are finding that they will have to obtain flood insurance because their homes are in high-risk zones identified by newly expanded Sandoval County FEMA flood plain maps.
        In addition, the town of Bernalillo will have to consider whether to improve its levee along the river or scrap it and build a new one, according to discussion at a public input meeting on the expanded flood plain maps, held Wednesday at Town Hall.
        Federally required upgrades have not been done to the levee built in the 1930s.
        The town has teamed up with Sandoval County to analyze the levee issue and see what needs to be done. There's been some patchwork here and there, but nothing substantial to make it compliant with new federal regulations. Now the Federal Emergency Management Agency has stepped in and declared parts of the town as flood plains.
        FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers are working to identify risks associated with levees nationwide, according to a FEMA fact sheet distributed at Wednesday's meeting. If a levee is found to be deficient or unsafe, structures located behind it will be mapped into high-risk areas and flood insurance will be required for most mortgage holders, it says.
        Bernalillo residents in flood plains are required to buy flood insurance if their mortgages are from a federally regulated lender, according to Dale Hoff, a FEMA natural hazards program specialist who gave a presentation and answered questions Wednesday.
        Some residents whose homes had been listed in low-risk areas spoke up and said their homes, according to the newly expanded Sandoval County FEMA flood plain maps, are now in high-risk zones known as Special Flood Hazard Areas.
        The maps are available for viewing at the Planning and Zoning Department at Town Hall. Staff can help residents determine whether their home is in a Special Flood Hazard Area.
        Hoff suggested that residents call the department and give staff their address to identify their property's zone designation. Zones A, AE, A1-30, AH, AO, V, VE and V1-30 are high-risk zones, according to the FEMA fact sheet.
        The Planning and Zoning Department can be reached at 771-7118. Maps can also be accessed from the FEMA Web site at www.fema.gov.
        According to Hoff, the expanded map for Sandoval County went into effect March 18. Some residents might be able to save some money and retain a flood insurance rate associated with the previous map's flood zone and Base Flood Elevation under a grandfather rule.
        The National Flood Insurance Program's grandfathering provision offers savings to property owners of structures that were built before a flood map was issued for that community or were built in compliance with the flood map in effect at the time of construction, according to the FEMA fact sheet.
        The grandfather rule applies to homes built prior to 1983, Bernalillo Mayor Patricia A. Chávez said at Wednesday's meeting.
        Residents who purchased a flood insurance policy before the newly expanded Sandoval County FEMA flood plain maps went into effect in March and maintained coverage without a lapse are eligible under the grandfathering provision.
        According to a rate comparisons sheet distributed at Wednesday's meeting, the cost of a standard flood insurance policy is estimated at $1,208 per year for a single-family, one-floor, no-basement home. An additional $326 is estimated for the same home for a preferred-risk policy that covers the structure's contents.
        More information on flood insurance rates can be found at www.floodsmart.gov.