Towns work to lessen impact of FEMA maps

Thousands of Bayshore residents are still on track to pay hundreds of dollars for flood insurance come Sept. 25, despite the efforts of local, state and federal leaders.

A lawsuit from Monmouth County, a congressional bill from U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th District), and appeals from affected municipalities have yet to stop or even delay the planned Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Flood Insurance Rate Map.

The map, which was drawn up by FEMA engineers in February 2008, marks what areas of the region have at least a 1 percent chance of flooding each year, commonly called "a 100-year flood."

The government mandates that federally regulated lenders require mortgaged homes in these areas to have flood insurance, according to floodsmart.gov, the website to FEMA's flood insurance program.

The region's flood zone map was last updated in 1982. The new maps would add more than 2,300 new homes in Middletown, Hazlet and Union Beach once they go into effect.

According to FEMA records, 338 homeowners purchased flood insurance in those three towns between January 2008 and May 2009, the latest data available.

Assemblywoman Amy Handlin (R- 13th District), one of the most vocal critics of the rezoning, said her office is still fighting the changes.

"We've been working all summer to turn over stones to find any way possible of further delaying that implementation," she said. "It's not over until it's over. I'm not ready to concede defeat."

Handlin said she opposes the changes because of the burden it adds to homeowners in an already difficult economic climate. Worse still, she said, the maps only alert the community of potential flood danger without physically protecting the area.

"FEMA is claiming that property and even lives are in danger. That's the theory behind these new maps," she said. "It seems to me if there is real danger to lives and danger to property, that's a first priority in using the public funds.

"If you're in serious danger, you ought to be doing something about that."

For her part, Handlin said she has written letters to every federal and state authority that plays a role in where stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are used. Her hope is that the funds can be used to construct dikes, levees and berms to enhance the coastal barrier from flooding.

At least one higher authority has tried to at least delay the changes. Pallone introduced a bill that would create a moratorium on all flood maps until FEMA submits a community outreach plan to Congress. It would also create a tax credit to households buying flood insurance. The bill has sat in committee since its introduction in January, according to thomas.gov.

Not all the towns in the region are looking for a moratorium, however.

"We knew this was going to go through," said Hazlet Mayor Kevin Lavan. "It's not a matter of who's blue or red. It's not the point. It's to protect the people."

Instead, the township will send people door to door to educate affected homeowners on how they can lower their rates and answer any questions they may have, said Joseph Pobega, a member of the Hazlet Environmental Commission.

Middletown officials also sent letters to homeowners last month with similar information, said Middletown Mayor Pamela Brightbill.

Homeowners who sign up for flood insurance before the Sept. 25 deadline are eligible for up to a 40 percent discount, because they are grandfathered in at the previous rate, according to FEMA officials. The actual amounts homeowners will pay will depend on the property value of the home, the risk it is in, and when they select their insurance, Pobega said.

Pobega also said the number of homes added to the flood zone in Hazlet is closer to 500. Previous reports placed the number at 640.

Additionally, Hazlet is trying to get an additional discount for residents by improving its Community Rating System score. The CRS is a voluntary program run by FEMA that grants discounts ranging from 5 to 45 percent for meeting various objectives, according to a CRS fact sheet. Hazlet is aiming for a 5 to 10 percent discount, Pobega said.

Reaching the higher discounts is a rare achievement. It took 16 years for any municipality in the country to achieve the 45 percent discount, according to the fact sheet.