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County must quickly pass flood plain law
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By ELISA SAND, Staff Reporter
| 08/05/2009 |
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Lake County Commissioners were informed Tuesday of the urgent need to approve a new flood plain ordinance in order to meet new National Flood Insurance Program regulations.
The ordinance must be passed by Sept. 2. Emergency Management Director Don Thomson said information had previously been sent to the county in regard to the need for this new ordinance, and new flood plain maps arrived earlier this summer. To date, no information has been brought to commissioners for approval.
Information was sent to Zoning and Drainage Officer Deb Reinicke, who was out of the office on Tuesday.
Thomson said the National Flood Insurance Program, a FEMA program, has provided an outline of the new ordinance that is required. All that is needed is to fill in the information pertinent to Lake County.
"We have to adopt or show evidence of adoption by Sept. 2," Thomson said.
Lake County Auditor Kay Schmidt said the proposed ordinance would have to be advertised twice prior to the first hearing. If drafted in time, advertising can take place prior to the commission's next meeting.
Thomson said the city of Madison has already gone through the process of updating its flood plain ordinance.
According to a letter from FEMA, failure to complete the process of adopting the new ordinance results in suspension from the NFIP, which means residents in Lake County become ineligible for flood insurance through NFIP, new insurance policies cannot be sold and existing policies cannot be renewed.
Suspension would also affect allocation of funding from several other federal programs, including VA mortgage loan guarantees, loans, grants and disaster assistance.
If suspension takes place, Thomson said the county could get reinstated but it could be a tough job.
"When FEMA suspends things, it takes an act of Congress to get things back on line," he said.
Commissioners acknowledged the letter from FEMA and directed Thomson to communicate the county's intent to get the ordinance approved by the deadline.
In addition, the commissioners heard several updates from State's Attorney Ken Meyer, who indicated that the final deadline for Charlie Scholl to complete cleanup work on property in Winfred is Aug. 15.
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©Madison Daily Leader 2009
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