County challenges FEMA on flood maps
Burry faults Army Corps for neglect of flood barriers
BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer
Monmouth County has filed an appeal to block the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from implementing revised flood zone maps this week.

Freeholder Director Lillian Burry

The county filed the appeal with FEMA's Region II office in New York by the Sept. 8 deadline, Assistant Monmouth County Counsel Gil Messina said Monday.

The appeal seeks to have the new flood zone maps rescinded and to delay their implementation pending the outcome of the appeal, according to Messina.

"Our position is that FEMA did not follow the procedures required by law to consult with community officials in advance of issuing their flood insurance study report or the maps, and did not meet the requirements calling for an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement," Messina said. "We assert that they improperly disregarded the protection that is afforded by the levee in the Bayshore and, finally, the maps are not accurate in setting out the flood zone delineation."

The flood maps added thousands of homes that would need flood insurance by expanding flood plains in local coastal communities. The new maps could cost Bayshore homeowners thousands of dollars in flood insurance premiums.

Assemblywoman Amy Handlin

"Monmouth County has responded in a constructive and forceful way," Assemblywoman Amy Handlin (R-13th District) said last week.

Some 1,820 properties in Middletown, 640 in Hazlet, and 100 in Union Beach were added to FEMA's new flood zone maps, according to a press release from Handlin's office.

Federal law requires property owners to purchase flood insurance for any building that is located in a high-risk zone.

Handlin said she first heard about the appeal when talking with Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry.

Burry recently released a statement regarding the county's ongoing efforts to delay FEMA's planned Sept. 8 adoption of the expanded Monmouth County flood zone maps in order to make sure they are accurate.

"Monmouth County directed counsel to investigate the history and accuracy of the FEMA mapping process in June," Burry said. "We have also begun a thorough assessment of the engineering standards and assumptions used by the Army Corps of Engineers when they constructed the existing flood control structures.

"Our goal in all of this is to protect the lives and property of our residents, with or without flood insurance, and by doing so, eliminate the need for this added expense."

Handlin said the appeal has a combination of objectives regarding the flood plain maps.

"It is looking to shift the burden from where it is now to where it should be," Handlin said. "It is [about] taking the burden away from homeowners and the towns as it demonstrates that the maps are unfair. This challenge would shift the burden to FEMA."

She said the problem lies in the fact that residents have to argue with FEMA as opposed to working with them.

"Homeowners should not have to fight with the federal government," Handlin said. "But the federal government should show their support to the residents."

Handlin said the appeal contends that the only way to protect the Bayshore is to restore the protective flood barriers as opposed to requiring residents to pay for flood insurance.

She also said the map revision process was done incorrectly.

"They have requirements in which they have to notify the affected communities before issuing the maps," Handlin said. "All of the informational meetings that I have been to have been after. There is no evidence that they did adequately consult with the affected towns beforehand, but well after the process began."

She said Keansburg is the only town to give its support to the county action so far, but that many other Bayshore towns are expected to join in the appeal.

At the Middletown Township Committee's Sept. 2 workshop meeting, the county's action was a topic of discussion, with committee members saying they will be discussing over the next few weeks whether the township will add its name to the appeal.

"We are looking into what joining the [appeal] entails," Middletown Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger said. "We would have to pass a resolution to show our support at the upcoming meetings."

Burry said that along with Handlin, the county is working with public officials throughout Monmouth on the suit.

"In this effort we are working closely with Assemblywoman Amy Handlin and Sen. Joe Kyrillos (R-13th District). County Engineer Joseph Ettore and Assistant County Counsel Gil Messina and I will be meeting with Dr. Tavit O. Najarian, of Najarian Associates, a civil engineering and environmental consulting firm based in Eatontown, to review information about the proposed FEMA maps," Burry said. "We will also be meeting with Congressman Frank Pallone (D-6th District), who is offering some support for our efforts."

Pallone currently has proposed legislation that 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 bill also would provide 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.

"Although what Congressman Pallone is proposing will help, it is primarily a short-term measure," Burry said. "While we welcome such assistance for our Monmouth County residents, our long- term objective is to prevent flooding from ever occurring with the firm belief that it is better to have no flooding and need no insurance than to have your home flooded with insurance in hand."

Handlin recently held petition drives to gather signatures of residents opposed to the revised maps in Middletown, Hazlet, Union Beach and Keansburg.

"We sent copies of the 1,200 signatures who signed the petitions," Handlin said. "The petitions help to demonstrate how broad our opposition is."