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Bill Would Help to Map Flood Plains

February 02, 2010 - AUGUSTA -- As ice jammed the Kennebec River this week, lawmakers on the Natural Resources Committee considered a bill that supporters said would make it much easier to plan for future floods.

Maps used in the state to evaluate where floods are likely to occur are often 50 years old and "for the most part, useless," said Rep. Edward Legg, D-Kennebunk. He introduced a bill that would allocate $250,000 to map much of the state using technology called LiDAR – Light Detection and Ranging.

After floods hit York and Cumberland counties in 2006 and 2007, the Federal Emergency Management Agency ordered the two counties to remake their flood plain maps. Legg said the rest of the state will soon have to do the same thing.

Anybody who owns a house on a flood plain is required by federal law to buy flood insurance, which private insurers don't provide. That insurance costs $600 to $700 a year through the federal government, Legg said. After June 2011, the rate will increase to $6,000 to $10,000.

It is nearly impossible for a property owner in a flood plain to get a mortgage or refinance a home. Many people pay surveyors as much as $2,500 to prove that their homes are not in a flood plain, Legg said.

FEMA has begun determining the flood plain in Kennebunk, and many residents aren't happy with the process, said Town Manager Larry Mead. The process will place 600 more properties in Kennebunk into a flood plain, and the town has spent $15,000 to hire experts to refute FEMA maps.

U.S. Geological Survey maps, which are often used by planners, have 20-foot contour lines – and a margin of error of plus or minus 10 feet, said Joseph Young of the Maine State Planning Office. LiDAR maps generally show contour lines every 2 feet and can be accurate within inches.


By ETHAN WILENSKY-LANFORD, Kennebec Journal January 30, 2010


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