Dawn Hallowell, Department of Environmental Protection
Dawn Hallowell: Eager to answer questions/concerns of property owners
Sea Level Rise & Coastal Sand Dune Rules
Revised in 2008 and 2006; incorporated a 2 ft rise in sea levels over the next 100 years
Focus on how sea level rise plays into coastal sand dune rules
CSDR regulate on csd systems; restrict size, placement of buildings
Why 2 feet? → best data they had at time of revisions; widely agreed upon by MGS that 2 ft rise in sea level for this area is reasonable; decrease from 3 ft in 1996 to 2ft in 2008
Factor for reconstruction projects, additions, new buildings in frontal dunes
4 Standards
- Shoreline changes - if property may erode in 100 years, project may be put on hold
- Mitigation and enhancement – project may not be approved if it interferes with movement of sand/water (mitigation – dune construction, moving structures landward, planting native beach vegetation) Example – vertical edition project in Scarborough, proposed that a dune be built in order to provide protection to properties
- Sand and water movement – reconstructing frontal house, in an eroding area; standard that requires that structure be elevated to account for 2 ft of sea level rise plus 1 ft buffer; must allow for movement of wind, water or sand
- Unstable back dune areas – erosion hazard areas (any area that can be expected to become a coastal wetland area in the next 100 years), new/reconstructed buildings must meet foundation standard
- Cobble-trapping fences are proposed to be added to the PBR in 2010 (relative confusion over what a ‘cobble-trapping fence’ is due to it being new legislation, discussion between homeowners on what it is/how it could be utilized on their property)
Q: Are the CSDR up for review every 5 years and are they up for review soon? A: Not to her knowledge, if you would like to see changes in the rules you need to contact your representative
Sue Baker: National Flood Insurance Program
NFIP – 3 Parts: Flood Mapping, Regulations and Insurance
Flooding a problem in Maine? – YES, February ’78 and April ’87, October 1991 ‘Halloween Storm’
1968 – Congress established NFIP – distributed responsibility of floodplain management to all levels of government
Resulting effects – better building codes, acquired and relocated buildings from era’s without standards, retrofitting buildings, levees/sea walls and other systems to protect homeowners
Quid Pro Quo – mutual agreement between Feds and Community; community will regulate development in mapped floodplains; in return anyone in a community can purchase flood insurance
Mapping – FEMA developed and mapped flood hazard data; insurance and lenders use maps
FEMA maps ‘base flood’ (100 year flood)
30-Year Mortgage – for house located in Special Flood Hazard Area 26% chance you will have a flood; SFHA is darkly shaded area on a floodplain map that has 1% chance of being flooded in any given year
Base Flood Elevation (BFE) – elevation water’s expected to reach in 1% chance flood
- Zone A – no BFE’s determined
- Zone AE, A1-30 – BFE’s determined
- Zone AH – flood depths of 1 to 3 feet (areas of ponding)
- Zone AO – flood depths of 1 to 3 feet (areas of movement)
- Zone V1- flood depths of 1 to 3 feet with wind/tide effects (coastal velocity zones)
- Why require local permits for developments? – balance needs of envi and pressure of development, protect natural and beneficial functions of floodplains, protect life and property, goal is to break cycle of having flooding – damage - repair
- Minor Improvements – normal maintenance, non-structural: adequately anchored, flood damage resistant materials, construction methods and practices to minimize flood damage
- New Construction/substantial improvements; 50% of more improvement in the value of the building only; lowest floor must be elevated to 1’ above the base flood elevation; 2’ in some coastal communities; there are different methods for different zones of flooding to elevate a structure
Flood Insurance
- Floodplain construction and its effects on flood insurance rates: build it right and insurance premiums will be affordable; build it wrong and premiums will be expensive
- Mandatory purchase requirement: if you’re taking a loan from a federally backed lending institution
Floodplain deals with elevation where DEP deals with setbacks (pushing structure back from area of risk); DEP and grandfathering – if you’ve had fire/need to replace you have 1 or 2 years to rebuild, if building is in floodplain your building isn’t grandfathered in, it’s considered as ‘new construction’
Questions
How does FEMA decide on 50% increase in value? FEMA can use market value but that means different things for different communities; rates are increased for that building’s owner, not for the community at large
Limit of $250,000 for any residential building on structures in a floodplain
Are there communities opposed to the NFIP? Yes, about 40 statewide. They’re penalized indirectly (loans for property in flood zones harder to acquire in towns who don’t adopt NFIP)
Is there a minimum amount of insurance you have to buy? No, you buy what you need up to $250,000
If your property is damaged, does flood insurance cover all damage up to the $250,000 max depending on how much you bought? Yes, if you purchased say $250,000 and receive $100,000 in damage, you get $100,000 of coverage
Would a house that was condemned due to property damage (collapsed land due to flooding) receive coverage under flood insurance? No because that house was damaged indirectly by flooding
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