New Luzerne County flood maps could mean higher insurance for some

Sep. 17--Flood insurance rates may rise for properties protected by two Wyoming Valley Levee stretches -- Wilkes-Barre/Hanover and Plymouth -- due to an issue with the height of a safety buffer atop the levee known as a "freeboard," officials said.

The possibility dates back to the federal government's 2014 determination that parts of both Susquehanna River levee stretches had around 2.3 feet of freeboard -- inches below the 3-foot standard required for full accreditation, said Christopher Belleman, executive director of the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority that oversees the levee.

The Kingston-to-Exeter levee stretch remained accredited because it's on higher ground, Belleman said.

Accreditation means the federal government is confident a levee will provide adequate base flood risk reduction for insurance and building requirements. Commonly known as a "100-year flood," a base flood has a 1-percent chance of happening or being exceeded in any given year.

The financial impact of the freeboard finding is expected to come when the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, enacts its first update of county flood insurance rate maps since 2012.

The new maps are now projected to be issued this winter, although it's still unclear what changes will result from the freeboard issue, Belleman said.

Belleman said he hasn't received new preliminary maps but foresees at least some impacted property owners switching from a flood insurance "X" zone for low-risk, levee-protected properties to a new "D" zone.

According to FEMA's website, a Zone D designation is "used for areas where there are possible but undetermined flood hazards." Zone D is not a high-risk special flood hazard area in which flood insurance is federally required for properties with mortgages, but insurance is available, encouraged and still may be mandated by some bank lenders in Zone D, it said.

Zone D premiums can be higher than those for X zone properties, it said.

"They'll still be considered protected by the levee, but unfortunately, in all likelihood, their insurance premiums are going to increase," Belleman said of property owners along the two stretches. "I have no idea what the dollar amounts are going to be."

Belleman said the authority plans to seek a grant to perform a new survey of the covered areas along the two stretches to determine if any affordable projects can be completed to correct or compensate for the freeboard shortage.

He declined to speculate on possibilities. Making the levee higher may be too costly because height requires widening at the base for stability, often leading to property acquisition, he said.

"We're not talking about another $200 million levee-raising project," he said, referring to the levee boosting completed in the early 2000s.

The levee was designed for 41 feet, with the additional 3-foot freeboard, and held up when the Susquehanna rose to a record 42.66 feet in September 2011.

After that record river high, the federal government analyzed new hydrology and hydraulic data and concluded the base flood elevation has increased by 0.7 feet to 4 feet at some locations along the river in the 100-mile stretch from the Luzerne County line in Exeter Township south to Sunbury, Belleman has said.

The post-2011 analysis focused heavily on the massive, 10,000-square-mile watershed that drains into the local stretch of the Susquehanna and cited development, more frequent storms amid climate change and increased sediment and tree growth in the river channel among the reasons warranting a base flood elevation increase.

In comparison, the current flood insurance maps implemented in November 2012 were based on analysis compiled in 2003, officials said.

Belleman said the new survey he wants to complete would provide more detailed on-the-ground analysis. The federal assessments rely heavily on satellite technology, he said.

"It's accurate, but it can be off a few inches," he said of the federal analysis.

FEMA could not immediately be reached for comment Monday on the specifics of the new flood map implementation. The agency had originally estimated the new maps would be in effect in 2018.

Belleman said property owners and officials would have the opportunity to issue comments and contest the new flood maps before they take effect.

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.

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