Government Flood Program Tied To Environmental Damages And Economic Distortions

Contact Edna Ishayik – New York University School of Law – April 21, 2010
The government’s flood insurance program gives discounts to homeowners who build in flood prone areas, often causing significant environmental damage.  In an analysis released this morning, the Institute for Policy Integrity finds that this practice can benefit wealthy owners of expensive homes at a cost to the average taxpayer. This analysis comes as the House Financial Services Committee is set to advance legislation that would maintain many of NFIP’s current policies for several years.  The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides low cost insurance rates for homes and businesses.  The cheap policies encourage development in risky, low-lying and coastal areas—the same areas that tend to be ecologically sensitive.  When disaster strikes, the government (and ultimately taxpayers) must pay the bills. For the full analysis, go to: http://www.policyintegrity.org/documents/FloodingtheMarket.pdf

National Flood Safety Awareness Week – NOAA Announces – March 15-19, 2010

Every year during National Flood Safety Awareness Week (March 15-19, 2010), the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) educates Americans about how floods occur and what residents can do to safeguard their lives and property. This year FEMA is partnering with NOAA to introduce flood insurance as an important element in flood preparation and protection. http://www.mariettaga.gov/departments/pubworks/docs/engineering/FloodAwareness
Week2010.pdf   For a related story, Flood insurance needed as NOAA predicts historic floods go to: http://www.examiner.com/x-12837-US-Headlines-Examiner~y2010m3d17-Flood-
insurance-needed-as-NOAA-predicts-historic-floods-photos

Floodplain Managers’ Response to Fleecing of America report on NBC Nightly News

Association of State Floodplain Managers Leadership Alert – March 17, 2010
Recently on the NBC Nightly News they did a Fleecing of America report on "FEMA forcing homeowners to by unnecessary flood insurance." If you did not see the report on March 17th, it is available on the Nightly News website at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/
vp/35901842#35901842  The letter begins: Dear NBC Nightly News, The Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) was disappointed in your Fleecing of America segment on last night’s Nightly News regarding “FEMA Forcing Homeowners to Buy Unnecessary Flood Insurance.”   The segment depicted homeowners as “victims” when they had to buy flood insurance because they live in an area where they had lived for 40 years but have not experienced a flood.  In reality, those homeowners live in or near a mapped flood zone and face a very real risk of flooding. The impression left was that it is okay to ignore one’s flood risk.  How ironic that this was aired during National Flood Awareness Week, a time when people should be encouraged to become more aware of their personal flood risk and act to help protect themselves against injury and economic loss.  We urge you to do a follow up story on this topic this week. The full letter is here: http://www.floods.org/PDF/Letters/ASFPM_Comments_
NBCNews_Fleecing_3_17_2010.pdf  Additional comments are posted here: http://www.floods.org/n-news-hottopics/article.asp?id=42

MN: Lesson learned: More buy flood insurance after '09

By Dave Kolpack – Associated Press – March 17, 2010
When the swollen Red River threatened his uninsured house last spring, all Mark Baumgardner could do was pack up, leave and hope he wouldn't lose everything. In the end, his house was spared. But he learned a lesson: This year, he bought flood insurance. "When the weather service started saying, `Yeah, it's going to be as bad as last year,' I decided I was going to get some peace of mind and be done with it," he said. Thousands of people in flood-prone areas of North Dakota and Minnesota are purchasing flood insurance after gambling for years without it. The number of policies obtained through a government-backed program has ballooned since the 2009 deluge along the Red River, which runs between the two states. For full story, go to: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5icOaItkNPwI0ikQFub3FFlCbUgbwD9EFUK000

White House lays out plans for Gulf Coast renewal

WWLTV News - March 5, 2010
The Obama administration has laid out a strategy to deal with the catastrophic dangers of rising sea levels, hurricanes and erosion on the Gulf Coast, and on Thursday backed efforts to invest in restoring barrier islands and wetlands in Mississippi and Louisiana. Experts hailed the document as the strongest sign of support for coastal restoration on the Gulf Coast ever endorsed by a White House. The document, called a "roadmap" for the coast, says the nation's energy supply, crucial ports and waterways, vital habitat for fish and wildlife and the Gulf Coast's "rich cultural legacy" were at stake. At risk, the paper said, was "not only the economies of Louisiana and Mississippi, but also the economy of the nation as a whole." http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/86430157.html

Wetlands loss tied to flooding, scientists say

By Leah Hoenen – Cape Gazette – January 31, 2010
Sussex County is losing wetlands, and damage to wetlands is, in part, responsible for devastating flooding across the county. Environmental officials say remaining wetlands must be protected and rehabilitated. The Delaware Wetlands Conference opened to stark news that standing water inundates the county as wetlands disappear, and predictions of more of the same. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Secretary Collin O’Mara said devastation from recent flooding is a wake-up call. “This will be the new normal with climate change,” he said. Building in wetlands areas, as well as wetlands loss, has contributed to area flooding, he said. “We have people’s attention now because people are looking for solutions.” Dave Fowler, Region V board director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers, said his group’s mission is to mitigate losses and suffering caused by flooding. “Floods are natural, disasters are usually man-made. A lot of our development is in the way,” said Fowler. http://www.capegazette.com/storiescurrent/201001/wetlands_flood29.html

TX: Breathing life into wetlands: Linking healthy marshes to flood control may help Galveston proposal pass

by Harvey Rice – Houston Chronicle – January 24, 2010
The destruction of environmentally sensitive wetlands during one of the most recent and largest residential construction projects on Galveston Island galvanized Alice Anne O'Donell. O'Donell watched in dismay as workers surrounded each bit of wetlands with orange plastic fencing. For full article, go to: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6833389.html

Editorial: Yes to Greenseams

Journal Sentinel - January 1, 2010
Want less flooding, fewer sewer overflows, fewer bypasses into Lake Michigan? Let nature do its job. That's the idea behind a program of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District that preserves green space upstream to prevent flooding downstream in area waterways. It's an idea that deserves support - and copying by municipalities and other sewerage districts. Development can often mean additional flooding for area waterways as water-soaking ground is replaced with concrete. And additional water pouring into sewers can overwhelm a sewage system, resulting in flooded basements and overflows. For full editorial, go to: http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/80418527.html

Reconnection plan to cut flood risk?

Sideways News – December 29, 2009
Connecting flood plains to rivers could help reduce the risk of more flooding in the coming years, according to a new study. Research conducted by the Nature Conservancy's Global Freshwater Team and detailed in Science highlights that allowing such areas to go underwater during storms would reduce the risk of flooding in nearby urban communities, reports the BBC. The study's authors cited the example of California, where the flood season and the growing season do not coincide, meaning that if farmland was submerged during heavy rainfall then there would be no permanent damage to any crops or fields. However, local towns and villages may be offered some protection. For full article, go to: http://www.sidewaysnews.com/environment-nature/reconnection-plan-cut-flood-risk  for more information on the Nature Conservancy’s Freshwater Conservation initiatives, go to: http://www.nature.org/initiatives/freshwater/

The New Orleans Hurricane Protection System:
Assessing Per-Katrina Vulnerability and Improving Mitigation and Preparedness

By the Committee on New Orleans Regional Hurricane Protection Projects: National Research Council – 2009
Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans and surrounding areas in August 2005, ranks as one of the nation’s most devastating natural disasters. Shortly after the storm, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers established a task force to assess the performance o the levees, floodwalls, and other structures comprising the area’s hurricane protection system during Hurricane Katrina. This book provides an independent review of the task force’s final draft report and identifies key lessons from the Katrina experience and their implications for future hurricane preparedness and planning in the region. For a link to this book, go to: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12647#description

Principles for Reform of Catastrophic Natural Disaster Insurance

By Matt Mayer, et. al. – The Heritage Foundation – April 8, 2009
Along with the winds, rain, and storm surges of Hurricane Katrina came a cacophony of voices urging Congress to adopt a catastrophic hurricane fund (CAT fund). A CAT fund, like the bankrupt and highly inefficient National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), would provide government insurance to homeowners and businesses to protect against the next catastrophic hurricane. Lost in the chorus of doomsayers is the inconvenient fact that Hurricane Katrina—the most expensive natural disaster in American history—did not bankrupt the insurance industry. http://www.heritage.org/Research/HomelandSecurity/bg2256.cfm