Norton to Speak to Residents on New Flood Insurance Required by Federal Law (08/17/2010)

Norton to Speak to Residents on New Flood Insurance Required by Federal Law

August 17, 2010

WASHINGTON, DC -- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will make opening remarks at the District Department of Environment's (DDOE) community meeting today at 6:30 p.m. at the Riverside Center, 5200 Foote Street NE, on the new flood zone maps mandated by federal law that will require a number of homeowners and businesses in the District to purchase flood insurance. Norton also will speak to residents at another community meeting on the flood zone maps on Thursday, August 19, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 I Street SW, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The briefing on details of the locations and requirements of the new flood maps will be offered by DDOE and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Norton convinced FEMA to delay the new flood zone maps in D.C. by working with FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Park Service to obtain federal funding for a federally owned levee in Southwest, which, after construction, will allow residents in certain parts of Southwest to discontinue their flood insurance. She was able to get $5.8 million in federal stimulus money for construction of the levee, which will be built by the Army Corps, but the law requires homeowners and businesses with federally backed mortgages to purchase flood insurance. Norton said, "I regret that buying flood insurance now, during a deep recession, will further burden residents who are already struggling to make ends meet. I held back the implementation of the new maps for as long as I could, but there was no way to block the force of law entirely."

Recently, FEMA updated its 1985 Flood Insurance Rate Map which identifies Special Flood Hazard Areas in the District of Columbia and throughout the U.S. The map outlines potential flood zones in portions of the Northeast, Southeast and Southwest areas of the city.