Live in Bennington County? - Check the New Flood Map !

On December 2, 2015 the new Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map will go into effect covering Bennington County, Vermont.  If you live in or near a floodplain you should check the map to see what level of risk has been identified for your building.

The Special Flood Hazard Areas (Zone A and AE) on the new Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) can be viewed on the Flood Ready Atlas tinyurl.com/floodreadyatlas.   Choose "Flood Ready Tools" then "Zoom to Address" and "Toggle Flood Data On".

Special Flood Hazard Areas include areas with a 1% annual chance of flooding.  This is more than a 1 in 4 chance over the period of a 30 year mortgage.  Some parts of the mapped floodplain get flooded more frequently and are subject to high velocity flows.

The current FIRMs (made town by town) will expire in December.  They can be viewed online (as .pdfs) at the FEMA Map Service Center www.msc.fema.gov   You can make a small official FIRMette map and plot the location of your building from mapped road intersections.

Check the maps to determine if your building is at risk of damage from the base flood.   Federal law requires lenders to ensure that any mortgages or loans to buildings in the high risk SFHA have insurance to at least cover the mortgage, the value of the building, or the total amount available from the National Flood Insurance Program (whichever is lowest).

If your building was built before the first municipal Flood Insurance Rate Map (late 1970's), and your structure will become identified as being at high risk for the first time, you should learn about "grandfathering your flood zone".  To grandfather your flood zone you would need to buy a flood insurance policy before the map change and then maintain the policy going forward.  This would give you an opportunity to grandfather the lower risk / lower cost Zone X status on the basis of "continuity of coverage".

There will be public meetings in the fall to discuss flood insurance, grandfathering, and how to make buildings less vulnerable to damage and less costly to insure.

Bennington County has over 600 families as well as educational, government and critical facilities in the high risk flood zone.

Across the county (and the state) the Town of Bennington has the most structures in the Special Flood Hazard Area, around 480 (8% of all buildings in town).

Overall there seem to be around 450 buildings that may be indicated as in the high risk flood hazard area (Zone A, AE, AO) for the first time.  Approximately 350 have been newly identified as in the low to moderate risk Zone X.

The towns with the most structures that have been newly identified as at high risk include Bennington, Pownal, Arlington, Manchester and Dorset.

Watch for updates regarding insurance meetings in the fall.

FEMA Flood Hazard Map Updates

Currently in Vermont a flood map update process is underway in Bennington County and the Town of Richmond.   Beyond those areas there is no other work scheduled by FEMA.

At this time roughly half the state does not have access to Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMs) this includes most of Addison, Grand Isle, Franklin, Lamoille, Orleans, Essex, Caledonia and Orange Counties.  Most of these maps are over 30 years old.

Years since Publication of Flood Maps

FEMA began a modernization process for the flood hazard maps in 2004 with the primary intention of making an official computer version available for users.  It was projected at that time that the process would be complete nationally by 2009.  Since that time pressure for updated studies (not just digitized), and the requirements, for those studies have increased the quality of the new maps at the expense of the quantity.

Since FFY11 the federal budget for map updates has been cut by 60% and priority for the dwindling investment has been directed to mapping flood hazards for coastal communities and communities behind levees.

Federal Budget Allocated to Update Flood Maps

When funding does become available for mapping in Vermont it will be through the process and standards of RiskMAP.   Through RiskMAP new flood hazard maps need to have high quality topography (i.e. the equivalent of two foot contour intervals) and a model-based delineation of flood hazards.  The map work will focus on watersheds (HUC-8).

HUC-8 Watersheds in Vermont

At this time multiple agencies have worked through USGS in Vermont to secure high quality topography from LiDAR for several watersheds that need updated flood hazard maps.  These areas include: the Missisquoi, Upper Connecticut River, and lower Otter Creek Watersheds.  LiDAR is also being acquired for much of the Lake Champlain Shoreline.

In March of this year the Association of State Floodplain Managers released a paper Flood Mapping for the Nation: A Cost Analysis for the Nation’s Flood Map Inventory  detailing funding needs to complete and maintain flood maps nationally.

VT DEC continues to express the acute need for map updates in Vermont.  Hopefully, as national coastal projects are finalized, FEMA can initiate work on inland riverine and lakeside flood maps.  Inadequate funding from Congress will prolong the absence of accessible and current data.  Data that is needed to plan for plan for community flood resilience, mitigate structures, and to correctly identify flood risk for insurance needs.

Free Online Trainings Offered in April

We recently received an announcement that 5 online trainings will be offered throughout the month of April.  These trainings will be hosted by STARR, one of the FEMA contractors that has been working on FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) updates throughout New England and the rest of the United States.

The trainings that will be offered cover several different topics that may be relevant and helpful to anyone who has some involvement with or interest in floodplain management.  Many of the courses are eligible for CEC credits for Certified Floodplain Managers.

To register for a course or to check on upcoming courses, navigate to http://j.mp/starrwebtraining and click the “Upcoming” tab. Below are the available courses offered in April. We understand that there will be monthly updates on upcoming courses. Courses like the MT1 training and NFIP basics are repeated frequently.

April 11, 1:00 pm Eastern – Elevation Certificates for A Zones

Training on the proper way to complete FEMA Form 81-31 and best practices for using the Elevation Certificate in the floodplain development review process. Special consideration to using the form in A Zone without a BFE. 2 CECs for ASFPM Certified Floodplain Managers (CFMs) that register and attend individually and pass the learning objectives quiz at the end of the session.

April 17, 1:00 pm Eastern – Biggert Waters NFIP Reform Act of 2012

The Biggert-Waters National Flood Insurance Program Reform Act of 2012 (BW-12) resulted in major changes to the NFIP. This session, presented by FEMA Region X, will provide an overview of the changes and what is being done to implement the legislation. Continuing Education and Professional Development Credits are available.

April 18, 1:00 pm Eastern – NFIP Basics

This one-hour session will cover the history of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), basic terminology, governing authority, and provide an overview of the community’s role in floodplain management through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The target audience are state and local officials who need a general understanding of the ins and outs of the program and guidance on where to go for more training and answers. Continuing Education and Professional Development Credits are available.

April 24, 1:00 pm Eastern – Preparing Data for Hazus

This session is targeted to those interested in how to update Hazus with local data from parcel/assessors information. We will describe the data required to update the Hazus general building stock data. The session will feature tutorials on how to update data using the Comprehensive Data Management System. We will also cover what is required for a user-defined analysis for the Earthquake and Flood modules. Continuing Education and Professional Development Credits are available.

April 25, 1:00 pm Eastern – MT-1 Basics

This webinar is designed to give a broad overview of the MT-1 review process and review procedures that will help applicants submit a completed MT-1 application to facilitate processing by FEMA. Attendees will learn what is required to submit a complete application, including how to fill out the forms and use FEMA’s new online LOMC submittal tool. In addition, the course will outline the differences between LOMAs, eLOMAs, LOMR-Fs, and conditional LOMCs. Participants will learn how to submit more complete LOMC requests that can be processed more quickly and with fewer additional data requests. The community’s role with regards to the MT-1 process will also be discussed. This course is designed for State and Local officials, engineers, surveyors, and anyone interested in learning more about the MT-1 process. Continuing Education and Professional Development Credits are available.

 

If you have questions about the webinars or course information, please contact the New England region STARR contact, Alex Sirotek:

Alex Sirotek, CFM
STARR
FEMA Region 1 Regional Service Center
99 High Street, 3rd Floor
Boston, MA 02110
617-574-4402, SirotekAR@cdmsmith.com

Washington County – Do new maps show your Home in a Flood Hazard Area for the First Time?

The Washington County Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) will become effective on March 19, 2013.   This is an important time to look at your flood insurance needs.

If your structure is in the Special Flood Hazard Area for the first time (please see the earlier blog post “Washington County - New Flood Map Effective March 2013” ) then you should get flood insurance well before the map change to benefit from a more gradual change in insurance costs.

As a structure that is now in a Zone X (outside the Special Flood Hazard Area) your structure will probably qualify for the most favorable terms of a Preferred Risk Policy.  A Preferred Risk Policy is intended to cover the structure and contents from damage from overland flooding in areas that are not high risk areas.

The Preferred Risk Policy can be renewed on an annual basis twice after the effective date for the new Washington County DFIRM.  At the end of that period the actuarial rate of flood insurance for the structure will be determined and the cost of insurance will increase step-wise until the premium is at full actuarial rates for the correct risk zone.

In 2012 the Biggert-Waters Act made a number of changes to the National Flood Insurance Program.  Most of the changes are intended to eliminate subsides so as to cover the actual operating costs of the NFIP, and therefore flood insurance premiums are expected to increase.  The implementation of the B-W12 legislation is being phased in over the next few years.

During this period of map change there is still an opportunity to take advantage of the Preferred Risk Policy and PRP Extension.   To secure the PRP it would be best to have the insurance agent deposit the payment at least 30 days before the effective date of the new map.  Since the date of the new map in Washington County is March 19, 2013 - a PRP policy should be secured by early February.

 Existing Letters of Map Change

If your home or site has a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) you should check on what the effect of the new map will be.  Most LOMAs will continue to be valid; however other LOMAs will be affected by the new data and will no longer be valid.   Every municipality in Washington County has been provided with a Summary of Map Actions (SOMA) to identify how the new DFIRM will act on existing Letters of Map Change. 

Copies of LOMCs since 1997 are available online at the FEMA Map Service Center.

If your structure is currently out- by-letter but will be identified as in the Special Flood Hazard Area when maps become official in March,you should take advantage of the PRP option, too.

Contact your community Zoning Administrator for more information on the effect of the map, or, contact VT DEC with your LOMC Case Id number or street address.

Do you need Flood Insurance?

Perhaps, and it may be critical.  The Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map provides key information about exposure of locations to damage from inundation.  However flooding and flooding-related erosion damage occurs in many areas that are not well studied or mapped.

Your homeowner’s insurance policy does not cover damage caused by the overland flow of water.  Damage from this kind of impact is only covered by flood insurance.  Wet basements impacted by groundwater levels can be carried as a special rider on your homeowner’s policy.  Ask your insurance agent about these.

Aside from the legal requirements regarding mortgages and flood insurance, flood damage can and does occur more widely.  Damage from flooding can occur outside of the Special Flood Hazard Area when there are larger floods than the size that is mapped.  Overland flow can occur in Zone X for many reasons including local watershed changes, storm water management problems, failure of culverts, dams, ice jamming, and simple unstudied risk. 

Over 500 structures in Washington County will no longer be mapped as in a Special Flood Hazard Area after March 2013.  Flood insurance is still available to any structure in Washington County, however structures located in a Zone X will benefit from lower available flood insurance premiums. Confirm the flood zone of your home on the new Washington County DFIRM and then contact your insurance agent for more information.