Letter to the Honorable Brock Long, Administrator of Federal Emergency Management Agency - Ensure Accurate Flood Mapping

Letter

Dear Administrator Long,

On behalf of the City of Hendrum, the City of Halstad, and the Wild Rice Watershed District, we are requesting the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) delay issuing new preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) for Norman County, Minnesota.

As you know, Hendrum and Halstad are nearing the completion of multiple Army Corps of Engineers flood control projects to protect their communities. However, the current preliminary maps as shown at the Consultation Coordination Officer meeting on May 21, 2018 do not include the significant progress both cities have made in their levee improvement projects. Moreover, these efforts are expected to be completed by the end of 2019, ensuring both cities meet FEMA levee accreditation standards and rendering the preliminary FIRM obsolete by the time they are made effective.

Finalizing flood maps that FEMA knows will be immediately outdated is counterproductive to the goal of the program, which is to give residents the most accurate understanding of and protection against the flood risk for the area.

We urge you to work with the communities of Hendrum and Halstad, the State of Minnesota, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to coordinate mapping efforts with the forthcoming flood control projects to ensure that the new finals maps for Norman County are comprehensive and accurate.

We appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to your response.

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