Nearly every municipality in Lincoln County will consider adopting a new floodplain management ordinance to stay in compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program.
Those ordinances must be adopted by July 16 or municipalities will be suspended from the program, State National Flood Insurance Program Coordinator Sue Baker said.
The National Flood Insurance Program, which is housed in the Federal Emergency Management Agency, provides federally backed flood insurance to homeowners in participating municipalities. Flood insurance is the only insurance that covers losses due to floods, Baker said.
Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program is also a prerequisite to receive federal grants and loans following a declared flood emergency, Baker said.
According to Baker, Whitefield is the only Lincoln County municipality that does not participate in the National Flood Insurance Program.
The updated floodplain management ordinance is the last stage in a multi-year process that has revamped flood insurance rate maps in coastal areas. Those updated maps are the basis for the insurance program, Baker said.
The new maps delineate flood hazard zones, or high-risk areas, a zone that no municipality in Lincoln County is spared from, Baker said.
The proximity of structures to flood hazard zones is one factor that helps National Flood Insurance Program agents determine insurance premiums. Due to the multitude of factors taken into account when determining flood insurance rates, there is no blanket answer to the cost of flood insurance in high-risk zones, Baker said.
According to Baker, the new maps are a significant improvement that will benefit homeowners by more accurately designating boundary lines for flood hazard zones. While the maps will move some structures into flood hazard zones, other structures will be removed from those zones, Baker said.
Flood insurance is mandatory for homeowners in high-risk areas with a federally backed mortgage, according to the National Flood Insurance Program website, www.floodsmart.gov.
A federally backed mortgage is a designation that encompasses most mortgages, Baker said. They include mortgages from lenders that are backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, mortgages extended through the Federal Housing Administration, and mortgage refinancing programs created by the federal government to help stabilize the housing market after the crash of 2006.
According to Baker, there are currently 414 flood insurance policies in Lincoln County covering approximately $103 million in property.
The updated flood maps will not necessarily reset premiums for those with current policies, Baker said. Those policies will continue with their previously designated flood zone, Baker said.
Flood maps in Lincoln County were approximately 30 years old before their recent update, Baker said. FEMA’s comprehensive “Flood Insurance Study” of Lincoln County, released in February 2014, guided the redrawing of the maps.
The updated flood maps were sent to Lincoln County municipalities on Jan. 16, Baker said. Municipalities have six months to adopt an updated Floodplain Management Ordinance, which would have to include the new flood insurance rate maps.
The new floodplain management ordinance was developed by the state and customized for each municipality, according to the notification letters sent to each municipality.
The ordinance requires special permitting and development standards for new and improved structures in areas designated as flood hazard zones.
According to the standardized ordinance, all new developments in flood hazard zones must be adequately anchored and use materials and construction methods that will minimize flood damage.
New or improved homes must also be elevated at least 1 foot above the base flood elevation determined by the maps or the code enforcement officer.
The code enforcement officer is responsible for reviewing all flood hazard development permits.
If the updated ordinance is not approved by July 16, Baker said, the municipality will be suspended from the program effective July 17.
Suspension from the National Flood Insurance Program will set off a “chain reaction in lending,” Baker said. No flood insurance policies will be issued or renewed in the municipality, which will cause issues with mortgage lenders, Baker said.
The new ordinance must go through a public hearing process and be approved by a town-wide vote before it is adopted. Lincoln County municipalities are in various phases of considering the ordinance.
