The new FEMA mapping: a bombshell in the Bayshore

BY LILLIAN G. BURRY

When the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) presented its new flood zone maps for Monmouth County, it was nothing less than a bombshell landing on thousands of homeowners in our Bayshore communities.

Suddenly, residents were being told that not only would they need to buy flood insurance – an unexpected expense costing thousands of dollars per year – but that the system of levees and dunes they had relied on for decades to keep their homes safe from flood danger were now insufficient and their properties faced an unanticipated threat. This is an intolerable situation and one I am determined to see resolved.

The path that led us to this point should also lead us to that resolution. In the early 1970s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed design and construction of a levee along the Bayshore to protect these communities from coastal flooding. In 1974, the Army Corps turned over responsibility for maintaining this system of dunes to the state, which has had the responsibility ever since.

In 1982, FEMA reviewed and confirmed the adequacy of this levee system, stating, “The levee provides protection for the entire length of shoreline and is a protection measure for both the 1 percent annual flood chance and the 0.2 percent annual flood chance.”

This is an assurance that the people of the Bayshore have relied on for a quarter century and it was an assurance that was repeated again by FEMA in its initial 2008 Flood Insurance Study. Then, at the 11th hour, the FEMA position changed and this assurance was deleted.

The purpose here is not to point fingers or assign blame. I accept that the Army Corps designed and built the system to standards that were clearly appropriate both at the time of construction and for decades thereafter, as FEMA subsequently affirmed.

If FEMA, apparently based on its experience with the impact of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, now believes the protection to be inadequate, then it should work with the Army Corps to design a new system that will provide the intended level of protection.

In the interim, the state should take aggressive steps to improve the maintenance of the existing dunes to maximize their effectiveness. I believe we have a right to expect all government agencies involved to step up and take their share of responsibility instead of, in effect, saying to the residents, “Sorry. We made a mistake. It’s your problem now, so you better buy insurance.” This will not do.

People have built homes and lives with the reasonable expectation that the federal and state agencies that designed, built, reviewed and committed to maintain the levee system would continue to protect them from the dangers of flooding. That reasonable expectation of commitment to protect the health, safety and general welfare of the citizenry – the most fundamental obligation of government at all levels – should not be limited to the specific type or height of structure, but rather to the function of that system.

If compromises in procedure or timing need to be made in order to make things right for the people of the Bayshore, then that’s what should be done. What cannot be compromised is the safety of our residents. No amount of insurance makes up for the fear and uncertainty that comes with being told that a danger you never thought existed now hangs over your head, not to mention the real physical danger and loss that can occur if the levee system should fail.

To see to it that this never happens, Monmouth County is prepared to work with all agencies and levels of government to see this problem satisfactorily resolved. We shall take the necessary steps – coordination, collaboration, or litigation - secure the interests of our people.
* Lillian G. Burry is director of the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders.