Letter to the Honorable Craig Fugate, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator - Necessary Study of Urban Flooding

Letter

The Honorable Craig Fugate
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Administrator
500 C Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20472

Dear Administrator Fugate:

As Members of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, we write to bring to your attention a Congressional mandate that was signed into law as part of the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Act (Pub. L. No. 114-113) that directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to conduct a nationwide study focusing on the prevalence, causes, and costs of urban flooding. In light of this directive, we urge you to quickly initiate the requested study and ask that you provide our offices with clear guidelines on the design, implementation, and timeline for its completion.

Urban flooding has been a reoccurring, prevalent concern in the state of Illinois, where increasingly destructive storms have pummeled through our cities at alarming rates. Chicago alone has seen three "hundred year floods" in the past five years. These storms have threatened the quality of our drinking water, eroded river banks, and spread pollution. It also has brought tremendous amounts of property damage to Illinois homeowners and businesses, many of whom do not qualify for federal flood insurance because they do not reside in FEMA designated floodplains. A 2015 report by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources found that 92 percent of flood damage claims occurred outside of current floodplains.

The current flood insurance program focuses almost entirely on designated floodplains along rivers, not in urban areas. Without the necessary research to determine effective strategies to reduce urban flooding, Illinois communities and taxpayers will continue having to pay for the high price of these disasters. According to the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), urban flooding cost tens of billions of dollars annually across the United States. Unfortunately, these costs will likely rise as precipitation increases as a result of climate change.

A FEMA and National Water Center-led study that evaluates the latest available research, laws, regulations, policies, best practices, procedures, and institutional knowledge regarding urban flooding will be invaluable to homeowners and businesses across the country. By conducting this study and reviewing the prevalence and costs associated with urban flooding, FEMA can help experts articulate the scope of the problem and develop solutions to protect our neighborhoods.

Thank you for your attention and consideration of this important request. We look forward to working with you to gain a better understanding of flooding in our cities and help our communities identify ways to protect our investments and our environment.

Source