First Colony Levee Improvement District Issues Public Comment on FEMA Notice

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 -- Scott Jacobson, president of the First Colony Levee Improvement District, Houston, Texas, has issued a public comment on the Federal Emergency Management Agency notice entitled "Request for Information on the National Flood Insurance Program's Floodplain Management Standards for Land Management and Use, and an Assessment of the Program's Impact on Threatened and Endangered Species and Their Habitats". The comment was written on Jan. 18, 2022, and posted on Jan. 26, 2022:

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First Colony Levee Improvement District of Fort Bend County, Texas (the "District") appreciates the opportunity to provide comments on the October 12, 2021, Federal Emergency Management Agency ("FEMA") posting related to floodplain management requirements and protection of threatened and endangered species under the National Flood Insurance Program ("NFIP").

We strongly recommend that changed floodplain management standards are neither well-supported nor advisable at this time.

Until the District and the Nation fully understand and absorb Risk Rating 2.0, FEMA should not be seeking to revise the NFIP floodplain management requirements.

The District is extremely concerned about the possibility of redefining the Special Flood Hazard Area ("SFHA") from the 100-year flood area to the 500-year flood area.

The District has constructed levees to protect the property, but also has contributed significant capital to build a regional large pump station to protect regional acreage in the area.

Places that have developed and prospered in the approved 100-year SFHA need to fully understand any changes proposed by FEMA to the NFIP and future floodplain management standards.

Sincerely,

Scott Jacobson

President

cc: District File

Jeff Wiley, Fort Bend EDC

County Judge KP George

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The notice can be viewed at https://www.regulations.gov/document/FEMA-2021-0024-0001

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