Revised flood maps would have raised rates for over 60 percent of west bank

While the St. Charles Parish Council decided against adopting new FEMA flood maps, Parish President V.J. St. Pierre says that it’s still important for the public to view them to understand the importance of flood insurance.

FEMA’s newly revised Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMs) for all areas of St. Charles Parish are now available as a PDF download at www.stcharlesparish-la.gov. The maps, which were completed in October based on analysis from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, are an update to the post-Katrina Advisory Base Flood Elevations (ABFEs), or flood zones, now familiar to area homeowners. Flood zones directly affect the cost of flood insurance premiums for businesses, renters and homeowners.

“We thought it was important to let our citizens view this information,” St. Charles Parish President V.J. St. Pierre Jr. said. “It drives home the importance of flood insurance for all. Getting insured now is the only way to avoid potentially higher premiums in the future.”

While FEMA has not required the parish to adopt the revised maps, new flood zones are expected to be in place within the next three years after additional work is completed on the East Bank Hurricane Protection Levee. The St. Charles Parish Council at its most recent meeting opted to continue enforcement of the current ABFEs, keeping premiums at a standstill.

“When we started this process in 2005, [these maps] were something to look forward to. They were guaranteed to reduce the flood insurance of nearly every citizen in this parish,” St. Charles Parish Coastal Zone Management Supervisor Earl Matherne said. “But Hurricane Katrina changed how FEMA evaluates flood zones; in particular it changed how FEMA looks at levees.”

The revised maps are drastically different from those homeowners are living under today, he said.

At the heart of the issue are areas on the west bank, especially within the Sunset Drainage District, including Bayou Gauche, Paradis and Des Allemands, that would lose the X flood zone status. Construction in an X zone is considered to be outside the 100-year floodplain and is not required to carry federal flood insurance. The proposed maps do not recognize hurricane protection levees on the East or West Banks because the Corps has determined they are currently not up to standard.

Matherne estimates over 60 percent of west bank residents would have seen a drastic increase in their flood insurance premiums under the revised maps. At the same time, however, the maps represent premium reductions on the east bank.

Existing flood insurance policies would lose discounts associated with their flood zones if the policy exists before any potential zone change. But those not “grandfathered in” to the system could pay substantially higher premiums; some upwards of $4,500 a year, Matherne said.

For more information on obtaining flood insurance, visit www.floodsmart.gov.