Pallone wants hold on FEMA flood maps
Bill would provide tax credits, grants to affected towns
BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr.

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th District) introduced legislation on June 26 in the House of Representatives that would place a moratorium on the federal government's plans to expand flood zones.

Earlier this year, Pallone voiced concern over the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) new Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) that would expand the existing flood zone maps to include 4,300 more homes in the Bayshore area of his district.

In some cases, properties that have not required flood insurance, or have been considered to be in low- or moderate risk zones, may now be considered to be in high-risk areas, and residents could be forced to pay premiums of up to $5,000 per year.

The revised maps have created a great deal of confusion in Hazlet, Keansburg, Middletown and Union Beach, and Pallone said FEMA must institute a more comprehensive community outreach plan in order to properly address the residents' concerns.

Pallone's proposed legislation calls for a national moratorium on the maps until FEMA has developed an extensive public notification plan so that all affected communities are individually briefed and affected residents have the opportunity to investigate whether their homes were placed in the flood zones appropriately.

The New Jersey congressman's bill also provides financial relief in the form of tax credits to affected homeowners for the first five years after a new flood zone map is revised or updated to include their property.

Under HR-6413, homeowners earning $50,000 or below as a single tax filer, or $100,000 or below as a joint tax filer, could write off 100 percent of their flood insurance premiums.

Homeowners making above those income levels would be eligible for a tax credit based on a sliding scale up to the maximum of $150,000 for a single filer and $300,000 for a joint filer.

"New Jersey homeowners are understandably concerned about the financial impact inclusion in a flood plain will have on their future," Pallone said. "My legislation directs FEMA to create a comprehensive community outreach program so that homeowners receive all the information they need to make the best possible decisions. It also provides critical assistance to families who are hit with this new financial obligation at a time when many middle class families are struggling just to make ends meet."

The legislation also creates a new program through FEMA that would provide grants to local communities to develop projects that would reduce flood insurance premiums throughout the community.

The National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System (CRS) is a voluntary incentive program that recognizes and encourages community floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum requirements.

Communities that reduce flood risks through public information, flood damage reduction and flood preparedness, see flood insurance premiums discounted anywhere between 5 and 45 percent.

In addition, a resolution sponsored by state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-13th District) urges Congress to enact legislation that would override FEMA regulations requiring the purchase of flood insurance in certain areas in proximity to the Raritan Bay. The resolution passed the state Senate unanimously on June 24.

The resolution, SR-74, urges members of Congress to enact legislation that would prohibit the Federal Emergency Management Agency from requiring the purchase of flood insurance.

"Requiring Bayshore residents to purchase federal flood insurance based on the determinations of bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., is irresponsible and unfair," Kyrillos said. "Federal flood insurance is expensive and in many of the areas being designated unnecessary."

FEMA is currently revising the maps for the Bayshore area in Monmouth County and has made a determination that the existing beach and dune system located along the Raritan Bay in Keansburg does not comply with its existing regulations.

As a result, several thousand residents of the Bayshore in Hazlet, Keansburg, Middletown and Union Beach will be required to purchase the federal flood insurance.

Kyrillos said that he still does not understand FEMA's actions.

"The rationale of FEMA for requiring flood insurance for thousands of Bayshore residents is that the existing beach and dune system located along the Raritan Bay does not comply with its existing regulations," Kyrillos said. "This is why I am dismayed that the Senate today voted to divert $9 million from the beach replenishment program. It defies common sense to divert this dedicated appropriation that could rebuild the beaches and dunes and save taxpayers thousands."

Jamie Romm can be reached at

jromm@gmnews.com.