FEMA Offers Public Forum in Columbia on December 16th

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will hold a public forum in Columbia on Wednesday, December 16th, to discuss impending changes to flood insurance and building requirements that may result from changes next year to the accreditation status of levees that protect the Mississippi River flood plain in Madison, St. Clair and Monroe counties.  FEMA manages the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which assists local communities in adopting and enforcing floodplain management ordinances that will reduce future flood damage.

At the meeting, which will be held from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. at Columbia City Hall, FEMA and NFIP officials will provide a general overview for elected officials, businesses, community organizations and individuals in the 28 affected jurisdictions along the American Bottom. RSVP: (618) 274-2750 x.279.

FEMA claims that flood damage is reduced by nearly $1 billion a year through communities implementing sound floodplain management requirements and property owners purchasing of flood insurance; additionally, the agency calculates that buildings constructed in compliance with NFIP building standards suffer approximately 80 percent less damage annually than those not built in compliance.

Flood Prevention Council Staffs Up, But Faces Funding Challenge

The recently formed Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention District Council has hired Lester Sterman, the long-time executive director of the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, to serve as its chief supervisor of construction and works. While the addition of this veteran administrator increases the Council's odds for success, the effort faces huge financial challenges.

About 35 percent of the funding for the levee repairs was expected to come from the new quarter-cent sales tax that has been being collected in Madison, St. Clair, and Monroe counties since January 1st. The rest--about 65 percent--was expected to come from the federal government; unfortunately, the economic recession has hurt collection of the new sales tax revenues, while reports indicate an unwillingness for the federal government to provide its anticipated share.

Jim Pennekamp, special assistant to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's chancellor for regional economic development and executive director of University Park as well as chairman of the Madison County Flood Prevention District, serves as president for the Council. Dan Maher, director of administration for St. Clair County and chair of the St. Clair County Flood Prevention District, serves as vice president of the Council. John Conrad, editor and publisher of the Monroe County Independent and chair of the Monroe County Flood Prevention District, serves as secretary/treasurer. Two additional commissioners from each county round out the nine-member Council.

River Down, Sales Tax Now May Be Going Up

The Monroe County Flood Prevention District, a three-person committee appointed by the Monroe County Board of Commissioners, approved a recommendation Tuesday night to impose a 1/4 cent sales tax in order to pay for area levee upgrades. The proposed tax hike now goes before the Board, which can authorize the increase without public referendum, for approval.

Earlier this year, the Illinois General Assembly passed SB836 and SB2052, authorizing the formation of flood protection districts by the three counties in the Metro East. These new districts have been expected to seek to raise revenues needed to fund levee repair work--taxes that will start being collected in the spring of 2009--allowing them to pay for levee repairs now and be reimbursed by sales taxes later.

The new districts are part of a regional effort involving Madison, St. Clair and Monroe counties as well as 25 cities and villages to restore certification for the five levees between Wood River and Columbia that protect the Metro East’s flood plain. This flood plain is home to more than 150,000 people and 50,000 jobs. The regional effort is needed because the infrastructure of roads, transportation, and jobs in the American Bottoms is a shared resource and because the five levees represent an interdependent system that is hydrologically connected.

Another Way to View the Flood Maps

FEMA and IDNR held a series of open houses about two weeks ago to display preliminary versions of updated flood insurance rate maps. Local officials, property owners and resident from Madison, Monroe and St. Clair counties had the opportunity to comment and/or correct the maps and learn about flood insurance options and requirements. A very limited number of local business and property owners took advantage of these opportunities.

Fortunately, an alternative means for accessing this information remains available online at www.illinoisfloodmaps.org. Here is how to access that information:

1. Click on the county (Monroe, probably) that is of interest;
2. Scroll down to the "index panels" and click there;
3. Find the bold alpha-numeric code in the maps blocks;
4. Return to the list of panel numbers and click on the corresponding last three-four digits.

There is information on how to interpret the maps on FEMA's website with a description of the new Monroe County Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) as well as a tutorial on their Map Service Center page.

Thanks to Patrick McKeehan at the Leadership Council Southwest Illinois for these directions.

Levee Low-down Next Week

As noted in a previous post, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released new maps for Southwestern Illinois that show the American Bottoms, from the Mississippi River east to Bluff Rd., as no longer protected. Next Tuesday evening, the public will be able to see those maps for the first time:

Tuesday, July 29th
5:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Monroe County Annex (901 Illinois Ave.) in Waterloo

Representatives from FEMA and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources will be on hand to answer questions and accept comments regarding the flood mapping project. Those attending this open house will have the opportunity to:

• Locate their property on the newly produced Monroe County digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM);
• View the new Flood Insurance Study Report (FIS);
• Review map panels & FIS for accuracy & submit comments;
• Learn about the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Understanding the new maps and checking their accuracy are among the most important things that property owners can do to protect their interests--plan to participate!

Levees: Rising Above That Sinking Feeling

Yesterday's post about regional efforts to fund Mississippi levee improvements was a "big picture" post; today I will focus on what citizens and business owners can do to control their costs, both as individual entities and collectively.

Columbia City Engineer Ron Williams serves on a task force created in early 2008 by the East-West Gateway Council of Governments to help restore the levees and build support for the funding that will be needed to achieve recertification by FEMA. Yesterday I participated in a briefing hosted by Ron's group for other local officials where I garnered the following advice applicable to small business owners, major employers and local residents alike--especially those who own property in the Bottoms:

Know your property's designation within the restoration zone--every parcel in the flood plain has been assigned a flood risk profile that you can access online requiring only your address.

Carry flood insurance--property owners in the Bottoms currently enjoy a preferred rate which will vanish when decertification is complete; it makes economic sense to purchase now, when rates remain low, and have an additional year to assess the next step. The AR zone will require that residents and businesses purchase flood insurance but will guarantee a reduced rate.

Know your limit--the National Flood Insurance Program provides government-mandated low rates for just the first $250,000 for residents and $500,000 for businesses, but this coverage is a good start for an umbrella supplemented by private carriers.

Drove My Checkbook to the Levy...

Property owners in the Mississippi Bottoms take note--it's not what was rising (river waters) that you need to worry about now as much as what's about to rise (your taxes and other costs). A little time and attention now may save a good deal of money in the future.

Last summer, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shocked communities across the nation by announcing that it would decertify many levee systems which badly need restoration and repair. In the Metro East, the Corps cited past problems with floods and current issues with underseepage and sand boils as evidence of the need for as much as $180 million in repairs; worse yet, Congressional leaders were quick to caution communities here and elsewhere across the country not to expect federal funds to pay for these repairs.

Earlier this year, the Illinois General Assembly passed SB836 and SB2052, authorizing the formation of flood protection districts by the three counties in the Metro East. These new districts are expected to be given the authority to impose a 1/4 cent sales tax to raise revenues needed to fund levee repair work--taxes that will start being collected in the spring of 2009--allowing them to pay for levee repairs now and be reimbursed by sales taxes later.

The new districts are part of a regional effort involving Madison, St. Clair and Monroe counties as well as 25 cities and villages to restore certification for the five levees between Wood River and Columbia that protect the Metro East’s flood plain. This flood plain is home to more than 150,000 people and 50,000 jobs. The regional effort is needed because the infrastructure of roads, transportation, and jobs in the American Bottoms is a shared resource and because the five levees represent an interdependent system that is hydrologically connected.

As the first step in decertification, FEMA has released new maps for Southwestern Illinois that show the American Bottoms, from the Mississippi River east to Bluff Rd., as no longer protected. The regional effort hopes to achieve a special designation known as a restoration (AR) zone. This designation recognizes that the levees still offer a significant level of protection and that restoration is underway.

The funding for this regional effort, mandated by federal action, will come from local sources. Property owners in the Bottoms, especially, need to find out what improvements are proposed and what alternatives (limited though they may be) currently exist for paying the bill. A few resources are already being deployed to help business owners and residents better understand the costs of proposed action--and the potentially higher costs of doing nothing.

FEMA and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources will host a flood risk information open house in Monroe County in about two weeks:

July 29th - Monroe County Annex Bldg
Public Officials Briefing - 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Public 5:00 - 8:30 p.m.

This open house will educate and inform residents and business owners about the remapping process affecting the region. Recently released preliminary flood plain maps will be on display during the event.