EDITORIAL: Efforts help local flood-plain residents

March 13--Elected officials in several local communities are wisely accepting free assistance from the SEDA Council of Governments to help residents who own properties in flood zones adjust to flood insurance premium increases.

Members of the Danville Borough Council unanimously approved SEDA-COG's flood resiliency project this past week. SEDA is also working with Selinsgrove and Newport and expects to assist Lewisburg this spring.

Flood insurance premiums are increasing up to 18 percent for newer properties and as much as 25 percent for older ones because the national flood insurance program is 28 billion in debt.

Bill Seigle, chief of community development at SEDA-COG, told Danville officials that the flood resiliency program is designed to address local flood insurance issues and to help residents mitigate their insurance premium hikes.

"This is an excellent idea and I enthusiastically support it," Danville Council President Scott Richardson said. "If I could etch it in gold, I would."

The resiliency program begins with a pre-paid postage survey mailed to homeowners in the flood plain regions. Residents will be asked if they want to serve on working groups to brainstorm solutions for flood insurance reforms. A public meeting will follow the survey.

Then, three working groups made up of flood-plain property owners will meet to analyze data from the survey and identify priorities. Working groups could include bankers, engineers and insurance agents, working with members of the borough staff and the residents.

Using information generated by the working groups, borough officials would designate a task force to address concerns.

SEDA-COG also offers a program to help residents obtain an elevation certificate at a reduced rate. A land surveyor has offered to do the work at a bulk rate of $450 per property, less than the normal rate of $700 to $900. An elevation certificate could help property owners get the best rate for flood insurance, based on their risk of flooding.

Increasing flood insurance rates place residents, including those attempting to sell their homes, in a difficult financial situation. Through these recent efforts, experts from the SEDA-Council of Governments and local communities are offering residents helpful assistance.

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