HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoxer letterX13
BOARD 4F SUPERVISORS
ADMINISTRATION CENTER
25 COUNTY CENTER DRIVE, SUITE 200 - OROV[LLE, CALIFORNIA 95965
TELEPHONE: (530) 538-763'[
November 18, 2011
The Honorable Barbara Boxer
United States Senate
115 Hart Senate Office Building
Vi~ashington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Boxer:
BILL CONNELLY
First District
LARRY WAHL
Second District
MAUREEN KIRK, Vice Cfi~air
Third District
STEVE LAMBERT, Chair
Fourth District
KIM K. YAMAGUCHI
Fifth Dis#rict
As the Senate.moves to: consider legislation to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program {NFIP), we wish to
express our concern about a provision in the Legislation approved by the Senate Banking Committee that we believe .
will have a negative impact on our comtunity.
Section 107 of the-draft Senate bill directs. the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to issue
final regulations establishing a revised definition of special flood hazard areas to include areas of residual risk,
including areas that are located behind levees, dams, and other flood. control structures. Section 107 also requires that
these areas of residual risk be subject to the mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements of the NFIP, with tb,e
premiums for flood insurance coverage taking into consideration the level of protection provided by the-flood control
structures.
'While we agree that our citizens need to be aware of tike residual risk that exists in areas protected by flood control
works, we believe that the mandatory purchase requirement currently in the bill would.place an undue financial burden
on them. Around California and throughout the Nation, communities like ours Have invested or are planning to .invest
significant sums of money to improve to improve flood protection systems. 'This work is undertaken to not only
mitigate the risk of catastrophic floods but also to avoid the mandatory insurance purchase requirements under the
NFII'. In Butte County, this provision would increase the number of properties that would be required to purchase
flood insurance by over 14,000 parcels. As you know, many of our citizens are currently struggling to hold onto their
homes, and this additional cost could not come at a worse time: We also believe that this new mandatory flood
insurance purchase requirement would negatively impact private investment in our community.
We understand that Senators Cochran and Fryor have asked the Senate Banking Committee asking #o reconsider
Section 107 of the bill to address these concerns. We urge you to join that effort as consideration of the bill continues.
Thank you very much for your attention to this matter. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
e~ ~~~~
Steve Lambert, air
Butte County Board of Supervisors
cc: Members, Butte County Board of Supervisors
Kristi More, 'I`he Ferguson Group