Parish Leaders Continue to Call for Congressional Action on Flood Insurance Increases

HAHNVILLE, La., May 16 -- St. Charles Parish issued the following news release:

St. Charles Parish was involved in several developments in the fight to correct changes to the National Flood Insurance Program resulting in outrageous and unaffordable premium rates after last week's Washington, D.C. visit by more than 20 south Louisiana parish leaders, including Parish President V.J. St. Pierre (http://www.stcharlesparish-la.gov/index.aspx?page=30).

Though Sen. Patrick Toomey (http://www.toomey.senate.gov/) of Pennsylvania on Tuesday blocked Sen. Mary Landrieu's amendment to the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) to delay for five years the implementation of flood insurance rate increases outlined in the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reformation Act of 2012 (http://www.stcharlesparish-la.gov/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=4756), the issue is now inching ever closer to hitting the national spotlight.

"The efforts of our residents and others around the state and on the east coast, coupled with the fly-in, have opened many eyes to the reality of this situation," St. Charles Parish President V.J. St. Pierre said. "I want to thank anyone who has worked on this issue - members of the public especially - and encourage your continued support and action."

St. Pierre said he would continue to be committed to working with regional partners to restore grandfathering provisions and reduce flood insurance costs for local residents and businesses.

Landrieu's amendment would have delayed the implementation of Biggert-Waters, as it relates to grandfathering, for a period of five years. The amendment, No. 802, had six co-sponsors, including Senators David Vitter, Kirsten Gillibrand (New York), Frank Lautenberg (New Jersey), Charles Schumer (New York), Robert Menendez (New Jersey) and Thad Cochran (Mississippi).

In response, a core group of southeast Louisiana parish leaders, in conjunction with economic development organization GNO Inc. (http://gnoinc.org/), will communicate with Congressional members in an effort to write new legislation addressing statutory (reinstatement of grandfathering) and regulatory (recognition of local levees and setting responsible rates) fixes. GNO Inc. will also be establishing a national coalition on this issue, bringing in similar groups in New York, California and elsewhere on the Gulf Coast.

St. Charles Parish Council members (http://www.stcharlesparish-la.gov/index.aspx?page=37) echoed the sentiment of other parish leaders.

"It sounds like we have got the attention of some who can help," Councilman Paul Hogan said. "And we need to keep their attention."

"Last week's actions by our delegation are promising, but it is not the final solution our people need," Councilwoman Traci Fletcher said. "I look forward to supporting the efforts of fellow leaders in the region to reduce flood insurance premiums for our parish."

In addition, a meeting on May 9 with Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration Associate Administrator David Miller yielded a commitment from the administrator that FEMA would take into account features that have a mitigating impact on flooding which are not part of 100-year levee protection systems. In effect, this action could change the current proposed flood maps for St. Charles Parish, which put about 9,000 homes within a flood zone for the first time. St. Charles Parish Chief Administrative Officer Buddy Boe attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, Rep. Maxine Waters, a co-author of the Biggert-Waters Act, stated publicly that the premium rate increases thus far reported by FEMA were not the intent of the Act. She further stated that she is "committed to working with my colleagues in Congress and with FEMA to solve this problem." The south Louisiana parishes delegation met with Waters' office on May 8.

St. Charles Parish is also preparing to advertise for bids later in 2013 to construct Phase II (Willowridge) of its much-needed West Bank Hurricane Protection Levee (http://www.stcharlesparish-la.gov/index.aspx?page=959). The current plan has been in the works since 2008, with the permit received from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2011.

At a town hall meeting at Lakewood Elementary SchoolMay 9, parish officials laid out plans for construction, which is expected to begin before the end of 2013. The first phase will raise the levee to 5.5 feet over a one-year period. Subsequent work will raise the levee to a completed height of 7 feet and add a 300 cubic-foot-per-second pump station, along with other improvements, over approximately five years. The contractor will access the project site through Willowdale Boulevard and will employ dust control measures and street sweeping. The St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Department will enforce a 15 mph speed limit for dump trucks.

In addition, the St. Charles Parish Council at its regular meeting May 20 will consider whether to move approximately $1.2 million in parish sales tax revenue generated by the Louis Armstrong International Airport to Fund 310, for the West Bank Hurricane Protection Levee.

For more information, including background, videos, contact sheets and other downloads on flood maps and flood insurance, as well as plans for West Bank levees, visit www.scpfloodmaps.com and www.scplevees.com respectively. The Willowridge town hall meeting is viewable in its entirety at www.vimeo.com/stcharlesgov , or at 1 p.m. daily on Cox Cable Channel 6 until June 16.

The powerpoint for the meeting is available here. The mission of St. Charles Parish government is to provide high quality, efficient services to sustain and enhance the quality of life for all residents of St. Charles Parish.

For more information on parish activities, visit www.stcharlesparish-la.gov, www.facebook.com/stcharlesgov or www.twitter.com/stcharlesgov.

DOWNLOAD THE WILLOWRIDGE LEVEE POWER POINT PRESENTATION (http://www.stcharlesparish-la.gov/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=4843)

WILLOWRIDGE LEVEE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (http://www.stcharlesparish-la.gov/index.aspx?recordid=4180&page=26)

Please watch video here: (http://www.stcharlesparish-la.gov/index.aspx?recordid=4180&page=26)

TNS C-Santpan-Santpan 130517-4351793 71Santosh