Carteret officials voice concerns about flood insurance reform

Feb. 22--BEAUFORT -- Carteret County commissioners agreed with concerns about a flood insurance reform act but stopped short this week of adopting a resolution calling for an amendment to the federal legislation.

The Board of Commissioners heard a presentation Monday night from Morehead City resident John Droz about potential implications of the Biggert-Waters Act, known as the flood insurance reform act. He said in an email in advance of the meeting that he had asked to speak as few people are aware of the seriousness of the matter.

Droz, a retired physicist, has been critical of a Coastal Resources Commission science panel report on sea level rise and said the issue has "collided" with the National Flood Insurance Program.

Specifically, he said a major change is planned to how coastal flood maps are made, a change that will raise flood insurance rates and make some coastal property uninhabitable.

Droz said that flood maps have been based on 100 years of flood experience, but new methodology will now use projected sea level rise, projections he said are unproven.

"The fact is that existing sea level rise has always been incorporated into flood maps. Now they are requiring future, speculative sea level rise to also be added," he said. "In other words the flood mapping and insurance program will change from being exclusively based on the last 100 years of historic data to a program that is significantly influenced by future guesstimates. These future speculations will be concocted by unknown computer programmers, making unidentified assumption, based on unproven scenarios. Not good."

Droz said there isn't a final number, and projections of sea level rise have varied. The science panel report said coastal North Carolina communities could see 39 inches of sea level rise by 2100. He said a Technical Mapping Advisory Council established by the Biggert-Waters Act has accepted a National Oceanic Atmospheric (NOAA) recommendation of 6 feet sea level rise by 2100.

Regardless of the amount of sea level rise, Droz said the change in methodology for flood maps is unwarranted.

Droz said the Congress passed the Biggert-Waters Act and can make amendments.

He suggested the board adopt a resolution in favor of amending the act to delete the sea level rise mandate.

"Switching the entire flood program from historical records to future speculations is an unwarranted change that will adversely affect millions of innocent U.S. property owners, including hundreds in Carteret County," he said.

Commissioners took no action.

Commissioner Mark Mansfield said he didn't see the necessity of a resolution at this point.

"I agree with a lot of the comments but I don't think passing a resolution does anything for anybody," he said.

- At the close of the meeting during commissioner comments, Commissioner Elaine Crittenton said that she personally agrees changes in the flood maps will impact the county, causing some property to become unbuildable.

"I do think it's going to cost us," she said.

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