At Schumer's Urging, Investigative Arm Of Congress Initiates Investigation Into Flawed Flood Map Technology

Press Release

After FEMA Flood Maps Were Proven Imprecise, Schumer Requested That Government Accountability Office Examine FEMA Technologies and Techniques; GAO Accepts Request and Announces it Will Initiate Investigation

Because of Inaccuracies, Communities Have Been Forced to Pay Unnecessary Fees or Hire Costly Private Contractors to Show the Inaccuracies of the Maps

The Following Communities Have Experienced Problems With New FEMA Flood Maps: Port Jervis (Orange County), Middletown (Orange), Buffalo (Erie), Gates (Monroe), Irondequoit (Monroe), Webster (Monroe), Wheatfield (Niagara), City Of Cortland (Cortland), And Others

After urging the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to initiate an investigation into FEMA's methodology and policies for upgrading their flood maps and designating new flood zones, Senator Schumer announced today that the GAO has accepted his request and is poised to initiate the study. After discrepancies in communities across New York prompted questions about the accuracy of the new flood maps, Senator Schumer, along with Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), sent a letter to the GAO urging them to initiate an investigation of FEMA's methodology in order to save homeowners from costly, mandatory and unnecessary flood insurance fees. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy, which oversees flood insurance matters, later joined in support of Schumer and Bingaman's request.

Many homeowners and communities have hired private engineers, at great cost, who uncovered significant errors in the flood maps. At Senator Schumer and Bingaman's urging, the GAO has agreed to begin an investigation saying, "GAO accepts your request as work that is within the scope of its authority….We plan to initiate this work in about two months."

"New York homeowners and businesses have been saddled with mandatory, onerous flood insurance fees as a result of these often-severely flawed flood maps," Schumer said. "I asked for this congressional investigation to ensure that this problem is addressed and maps are accurately drawn. With GAO's commitment to examine FEMA's methodologies and policies, we are one step closer to creating safer, more accurate flood zones and putting an end to these faulty maps that force residents and businesses across New York State and the country to pay costly, unnecessary insurance fees."

FEMA is engaging in an overhaul of their flood maps as part of the Flood Map Modernization Initiative (FMMI). The goal of the program is to use new techniques to create more accurate maps, but the results have proven inconsistent and, at times, inaccurate, costing families whose homes have been mistakenly added to the maps hundreds of dollars each year for mandatory flood insurance. Significant problems stemming from the floodplain mapping programs were documented in New York, New Mexico and across the country. Several New York and New Mexico communities encountered problems with the new flood maps proposed under the FMMI.

Due to the concerns expressed by homeowners inaccurately placed in the flood zones, Senators Schumer, Bingaman and Brown sent letters to GAO Acting Comptroller General Gene L. Dodaro urging him to investigate the current system used to create and implement the flood maps, as well as FEMA's process for notifying individuals who are affected by map changes.

Upon receipt of the letter, the GAO sent a personal letter to Senator Schumer announcing that they have accepted the Senators' request and they will initiate an investigation into the implementation of the FMMI and Digital Flood Insurance Rate Flood Map Program within the next two months.

Senator Schumer has long worked to help Upstate New York residents struggling with back-breaking insurance fees because of inaccurate flood maps. In the City of Buffalo, flood maps were only revised after repeated appeals from Schumer and other local, state and federal officials brought FEMA officials to Buffalo to view the areas first hand.

In February, in the Town of Wheatfield in Niagara County, about 900 properties were added to the flood zones. But after ground level surveys revealed substantial elevation errors, nearly 60 percent of the additions were removed. To help save Wheatfield homeowners from paying unnecessary fees, Schumer wrote a letter to FEMA Acting-Administrator Nancy Ward, urging the agency to support the Town of Wheatfield's request for a revision of the floodplain maps based on the existing engineering study.

Schumer also worked with towns in the Rochester Finger Lakes area with similar flood map concerns. In December, homeowners throughout Monroe County unexpectedly received mandatory flood insurance notices after new flood maps were implemented without appropriate notice to property owners. Flood insurance costs ranged from $400-$1000 in new annual fees. A review conducted by the Monroe County Town of Gates revealed that inexact FEMA projections included several Gates properties in flood zones that were outside of the flood-threat range. Schumer sent a letter to then-FEMA Administrator Paulison supporting the Town's request to revise the maps to exclude certain properties from the flood zone, but the request has yet to be approved. When no response was given, Schumer made another push in January, personally calling Acting FEMA Administrator Nancy Ward to urge her to work with local officials to issue the Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) immediately and at no expense to the individual resident. Community officials are currently in the process of appealing to FEMA to amend the maps.

Communities that have experienced problems with the new FEMA Flood maps include Port Jervis (Orange County), Middletown (Orange), Buffalo (Erie), Gates (Monroe), Irondequoit (Monroe), Webster (Monroe), Wheatfield (Niagara), City of Cortland (Cortland), and others.

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