FEMA's help needed on new flood zone maps
Your Turn
Letter to R. David Paulison,

administrator of the Federal

EmergencyManagement Agency

Iam writing to you regarding the new flood zonemaps being proposed by FEMA for the Bayshore area of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Enclosed are petitions from well over 1,000 of my constituents, who are angry that they are being placed in a flood zone with little information provided by FEMAabout this sudden change of status. The number of signatures continues to grow daily.

To date, FEMA has ignored my repeated requests to assist my office in responding to constituent concerns. I will not give up, because the people I represent deserve attention and answers.

My goal in collecting these signatures is threefold:

• To raise awareness of this issue.

• To collect enough names to make sure your agency's representatives understand the depth of community anger and anxiety.

• To help me understand how I can best helpmy constituents navigate this process.

In talking to hundreds of homeowners, homebuyers, municipal officials, and others who will be affected by these maps, I learned there are at least three things they need:

1. They need help and guidance in understanding your maps. Simply put, the maps are nearly incomprehensible to those of us who are not experts in the field. It is clear that we need representatives from your agency to make themselves available to citizens, as well as to elected officials, so that we can help each other.

2. I asked your agency to help me offer a public presentation on howto prepare an appeal, but they were unwilling to do that. Given this unwillingness, how do I help these residents? They need guidance in navigating the appeals process, as many are convinced it is an injustice to be placed in a flood zone in the absence of any evidence of flooding on or near their property over the course of many years.

3. People need an explanation of grandfathering. They have repeatedly been told that if they purchase flood insurance now, before the new maps take effect, they will be able to keep their low rates going forward. What assurances do they have that their rates will not skyrocket once the new maps are implemented?

Finally, FEMA has said that the primary reason for imposing the flood insurance mandate is that the protective structures in our area are no longer adequate. Where is the plan for fixing these structures? Your representatives have told us that thousands of people are now vulnerable to flooding, but it seems that all you are willing to do is make them economically vulnerable as well. Even if they all purchase flood insurance, they should not be forced to live with the prospect of losing their homes, if indeed the area is insufficiently protected.

I thank you for your attention to this matter, as do thousands of constituents in my district. I look forward to your response.
Amy H. Handlin
Assemblywoman
13th N.J. Legislative District