Congressional delegation takes on flood map protest

Douglas County's congressional delegation has joined the protest of upcoming federal flood maps that if implemented mean a substantial increase in homeowners' insurance.

Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign and Rep. Dean Heller sent a letter Sept. 30 to W. Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency that is enforcing changes to the flood maps county officials claim are inaccurate.

The lawmakers asked FEMA to abandon the proposed maps and start over "with improved communication and coordination with Douglas County and other stakeholders."

"While we agree that the flood insurance rate map for this area needs to be revised, replacing a dated and incomplete flood hazard map with a significantly flawed flood hazard map is inappropriate and will cost the residents of Douglas County thousands of dollars to purchase unnecessary flood insurance for their properties," the letter said.

The letter is the latest move in the county's efforts to have the flood maps thrown out.

Last month, county officials filed a lawsuit against FEMA asking for judicial review of the maps set to be implemented in January or a temporary injunction.

"The Washington delegation worked very hard to put this letter in," County Engineer Mahmood Azad said Friday. "The fact that all three came together to put their signature on this letter is a very strong statement. They heard from the citizens this is the right thing to do."

In their letter, Reid, Ensign and Heller reiterated the county's objection to the flood insurance rate map that centers on the use of a hydrology method that overestimated precipitation for the area of the eastern Sierra.

"FEMA has used a proprietary model that is too expensive for the county to duplicate," the letter said. "We believe that many of the technical concerns about hydrology and topography can be resolved if FEMA will reach out to these agencies doing a remapping of the area."

Azad said the county would continue to work with FEMA with which it has tried to maintain a strong relationship.

"We wish it had never come to this and coordination between Douglas County and FEMA Region IX would have prevailed. But it has come to this, and we want FEMA to clearly understand that we can either do very good work together or Douglas County will use its full capability to act against a very flawed preliminary flood impact study," Azad said.

He said the county was "greatly disturbed" by additional findings about flaws in the preliminary study.

"It appears there is an area around Buckeye Road that shows inundation although the on-the-ground elevation at this location is above the base flood elevation. Also, in the Lake Tahoe area a creek was mis-mapped and the flooding from the creek is shown in an adjacent canyon, through which the creek does not flow," he said.

If FEMA prevails with the new flood maps, county officials have estimated an additional 1,400 Douglas County property owners covering 4,000 acres would be forced to purchase flood insurance for their homes which could add $800-900 to their annual premiums.