Flood Reform Bill Amended

Press Release

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree successfully amended a major flood reform bill that would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to re-examine the way it creates flood maps.

Last year FEMA proposed flood plain maps for Portland Harbor that would have made economic development on the waterfront extremely difficult. Pingree worked with the City of Portland to write the amendment, which would require FEMA to consider the unique nature of working waterfronts like those found along the Maine Coast.

Pingree said the models FEMA uses to create its flood maps are more appropriate for open, sandy shores and were not appropriate for Portland.

"Portland Harbor is not a barrier island nor is it a community built on shifting sand or even walled off from the sea by levees," Pingree said. "Rather, Portland Harbor is a working, thriving waterfront that has endured for hundreds of years."

In addition to Portland, numerous communities in York and Cumberland County are in the process of getting new flood maps and Pingree has urged FEMA to consider the unique nature of the Maine coast when creating those maps. The legislation passed today requires FEMA to examine its approach to flood mapping and determine if working waterfronts and sheltered harbors are factors that should be taken into consideration when producing those maps.

"Our nation's working waterfronts, like all of our communities, deserve to be mapped using the best science FEMA has available," Pingree said. "Our nation's waterfront businesses need accurate flood maps that don't needlessly place our businesses in restrictive flood areas that stifle economic activity on the waterfront."
Pingree's proposal is part of a major reform and extension of the nation's flood insurance program that passed the House today and will now on to the Senate.

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