[StBernard] Keeping Flood Insurance Rates Stable While Levees Are Fixed

[Westley Annis]

Dear Friend, 

	

Communities across Louisiana are facing challenges to make repairs and
upgrades to their levees in order to keep them on the Federal Emergency
Management Agency flood maps.  These maps and levee certification play a
critical role in establishing flood insurance rates for Louisiana
homeowners, and many could soon encounter large increases in their insurance
rates if the FEMA flood maps are updated before the levee repairs are
completed.  In some areas, levees are at risk of being removed completely
from the flood maps. 

	

As local communities continue their work to repair levees, I'm working to
make sure that these communities aren't penalized with higher flood
insurance rates and further financial burdens during these trying economic
times.  This month I introduced the Community Protection During Levee
Recertification Act. 

	

My bill would prevent changes to the current FEMA flood insurance rate maps
from being implemented in areas where there is an active effort under way to
fix levees.  Such a policy will block massive increases in insurance
premiums for the duration of levee repairs, protecting local communities
from incurring even greater costs during an already expensive process. 

	

Louisianians are tired of unworkable federal policy made in Washington that
has negative effects on their day to day lives.   Delays and unrealistic
timelines coming out of FEMA are going to be the culprit for crippling
homeowner flood insurance rates if they aren't addressed. 

	

That's why I continue to meet with officials from FEMA and the Corps of
Engineers as well as a bipartisan Senate working group on the levee
certification issue.  I recently sent an official memo to FEMA Administrator
Craig Fugate asking for FEMA to administratively increase Provisionally
Accredited Levee timelines to five years after hearing concerns from local
communities and officials about not being able to meet the current,
near-impossible deadline of only two years.  And I am working with a
coalition of senators from Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas and
Illinois to push for a legislative fix to this levee certification issue in
the next Water Resources Development Act. 

	

Levee certification, as a component of FEMA's flood map update, is quickly
becoming a national issue, and you can rest assured that I will continue to
work for solutions that keep homeowner flood insurance rates stable. 

Sincerely,
David Vitter
U.S. Senator