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Lack of flood ordinance to cost county |
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Written by Andrew Powell
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Friday, 21 August 2009 |
The Fiscal Court has neglected to pass a flood zone ordinance that could cost the county federal assistance if a disaster were to occur.
The Fiscal Court has neglected to pass a flood zone ordinance that could cost the county federal assistance if a disaster were to occur.
In two separate meetings of the Fiscal Court, Judge-Executive Blaine Phillips has delivered Ordinance No. 340.2, which will implement regulations on building construction within local flood plains. The first time the measure was presented, court members wanted more time to study the measure. When Phillips proposed the measure during this month’s meeting, the court balked at the proposal bringing a motion on the subject only to open the floor for discussion.
“If we do not have this on the books, they will withhold any future FEMA monies,” Judge Phillips pleaded before the court. “I want to remind you what a disaster will do financially to McCreary County.”
Phillips said lack of passage of the ordinance “places the county in a dire situation.”
During discussion of the measure, Magistrate Roger Phillips said since the measure originated at the federal level, “Then let them come down here and pass it.”
The measure failed and now the federal deadline for passage, September 2, is approaching. Once the deadline hits, the county will lose its ability to access FEMA disaster funds and eligibility for flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Deborah S. Ingram, FEMA Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Mitigation, told Judge Phillips in a July 31 letter, the county stands to lose quite a bit by not having the ordinance on the books.
Public law “prohibits Federal officers or agencies from approving any form of loan, grant, guaranty, insurance, payment, rebate, subsidy or disaster assistance loan or grant, for acquisition or construction purposes within Special Flood Hazard Areas,” Ingram wrote. “Your community’s suspension from the NFIP would prohibit mortgage loans guaranteed…” or secured by one of several federal programs. “In the event your community does not adopt and/or submit the necessary floodplain management measures that meet or exceed the minimum NFIP requirements, I must take the necessary steps to suspend your community.”
“This is the most important decision we had to make in there; the most important business we have conducted and we didn’t do anything,” Judge Phillips said this week.
As revealed during the meeting, the county does have a flood plain management ordinance on the books, that he says is very similar to the one recommended by the federal government, But, state and federal agencies say that ordinance won’t work and they want the new one passed.
“Our county attorney is reviewing these ordinances, speaking with the state and trying to see if something can be worked out,” Phillips said.
If the county is declared ineligible for federal insurance or disaster aid due to lack of the ordinance, the county can reapply for eligibility once it meets the federal requirements, which includes passage of the flood plain management ordinance.
“But, I don’t know what would happen to us were a disaster to strike and we were not eligible for federal assistance,” Judge Phillips said. “I don’t even know if they would let the National Guard come in. We may just be out of luck all together trying to figure it out on our own.”
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