Sen. Landrieu criticizes FEMA's development of flood risk maps

Sen. Mary Landrieu presses FEMA to do more to make sure its flood risk maps are accurate. (J. Scott Applewhite, The Associated Press)

Bruce Alpert, NOLA.com on May 14, 2014 at 7:56 PM, updated May 15, 2014 at 1:45 AM

WASHINGTON -- FEMA's flood risk mapping process came under attack during an oversight hearing Wednesday by the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee on emergency management.

David Miller, associate administrator of Federal Insurance and Mitigation for FEMA, told the subcommittee the agency is implementing pilot programs to give credit for non-accredited levees that weren't considered in previous flood risk maps. FEMA developed a revised mapping process last summer in 25 counties and parishes, including Lafourche, Terrebonne, Plaquemines, St. Charles and St. Tammany parishes and hopes to expand the program to 80 counties and parishes in the future.

But, in response to a question from Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., Miller said that given the agency's limited resources the pilot program is concentrating on communities with the largest populations and property values to get the biggest bang for the buck.

"That's a shame," Landrieu said. "That is not going to be okay with the senators that represent rural areas."

Farmers in rural communities ought to get the benefits of locally built flood control systems with lower flood insurance premiums, Landrieu said, given that they helped pay for them.

Landrieu also pressed Miller about the accuracy of FEMA maps. In Louisiana, official have said that FEMA's flood risk maps use criteria more appropriate for communities that face river flooding, not coastal communities that face problems of storm surge.

Miller said the agency deploys contractors with expertise in mapping. Landrieu said that the agency needs to do a better job because communities and homeowners can't make appropriate decisions about how high to build and other mitigation steps without accurate map reflecting actual risk.

Landrieu asked what percentage of counties and parishes have accurate maps.

"We as nation, honestly, we don't know," said Chad Berginnis, executive director of the Association of State Flood Plain managers. Miller said he'd soon provide a full mapping analysis for Landrieu and other subcommittee members so they'd see how far along FEMA's mapping process is.

The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in March, averts immediate rate hikes to market levels for most homeowners. But Landrieu called on Miller to put a priority on getting the maps right, even, if the legislation, averted some of the large immediate premiums hikes homeowners faced under the 2012 Biggert-Waters Act.

In Jefferson Parish for example, officials said the preliminary FEMA flood risks maps might not correctly model the width of Jefferson Parish's drainage canal banks, resulting in maps showing more flooding around canals than the parish actually experiences. In other communities, officials blamed outdated or erroneous information for putting homes that never flooded were put in the highest risk categories.

Several of those who testified at Wednesday's hearing, including Miller, endorsed stronger mitigation procedures, saying that they more than pay for themselves in reduced damage from storms and other disasters.

Miller said mitigation is more critical than ever, with a "higher percentage living in vulnerable areas than ever before."

Chris Currie of the Government Accountability Office said the federal government spent more on Super Storm Sandy relief and recovery efforts than it used to spend in an entire decade on disaster recovery and rebuilding efforts.

"In a study conducted in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina researchers at the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center estimated that stronger building codes would have reduced wind damage from Katrina by 80 percent, saving taxpayers and the local economy $8 billion," said Robert Detlefsen, vice president of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. He acknowledged that since the 2005 hurricane, Louisiana has "adopted and enforced model building codes."

Much of the damage from Katrina, at least in the New Orleans area, was caused when the federally built levees failed.

Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, who chairs the Subcommittee on Emergency Management, Intergovernmental Relations and the District of Columbia, said FEMA can improve mitigation by speeding up the process in which it awards mitigation grants. It often takes eight years or longer, he said.

Detlefsen, who said each dollar of mitigation saves $4 in rebuilding and recovery costs, also suggested Congress adopt tax-free savings accounts homeowners could use to finance mitigation projects.

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