Blog Archive ? Shippensburg council addresses flood management

By MORGAN YOUNG
Staff writer

Shippensburg Borough Council approved two new ordinances that amended sections of the town?s zoning and flood management code Tuesday evening to be in compliance with the National Flood Insurance program.

The new sections, among other things, delegate the responsibility of adopting floodplain management regulations and require certain provisions to be included in the floodplain management ordinance in order for the community to be eligible for the coverage.

Some parts of the new amendments came under discussion at the meeting, including a passage that states that any amendments made to federal flood insurance studies and insurance rate maps would automatically be adopted as part of the new ordinances.

?That scares me, that really scares me,? said Bruce Hockersmith, Shippensburg mayor. ?I don?t believe it.?

The insurance program is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. According to the agency?s website, nearly 20,000 communities across the country participate in the program by adopting and enforcing floodplain management ordinances to reduce future flood damage.

In exchange, the agency provides federally backed flood insurance available to homeowners, renters and business owners in the participating communities.

Community participation in the NFIP is voluntary.

Solicitor Sam Wiser said the new ordinances are part of a comprehensive review of the flood insurance study, which hadn?t happened, he recalled, since 1972.

?These are FEMA-mandated changes to (our ordinance) and if we fail to implement these changes FEMA has said emphatically that they would be more than happy to cancel our flood insurance,? Wiser said.

A cancellation of the coverage, Wiser said, could have various negative consequences for the community.

?(It) basically means that you can?t buy a house in the Borough of Shippensburg because lenders require the flood insurance certificates and FEMA won?t issue them,? he said. ?FEMA holds a pretty big hammer over the borough?s head. We don?t technically have to (approve the ordinance), but what will we do to the local economy if we don?t, I guess is the counter question.?

The motions to approve the ordinances passed unanimously.
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Morgan Young can be reached at myoung@shipnewsnow.com and 262-4753, or follow her on Twitter @ShipNewsGirl.

Source: http://www.shipnewsnow.com/2012/02/shippensburg-council-addresses-flood-management/

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