King County must meet certain criteria to continue participating in the Federal Emergency Management Association’s (FEMA's) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Only those living in communities that participate in the NFIP can receive flood insurance from the federal government. On Sept. 9 the county’s Physical Environment Committee proposed revising Flood Protection Ordinance 10870 in order to ensure that its residents have continued access to this resource.
Earlier this year, the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology)—acting on behalf of the federal government—conducted an assessment of King County’s flood management regulations and found that its policy fell short in some areas.
The community assistance visit conducted by Ecology found that the county was not in compliance with FEMA provisions because the defined flood protection elevation did not include all areas located in the AO (“shallow flooding”) flood zone. AO zones are defined by FEMA as having a 1 percent chance per year of flooding with average depths between one and three feet.
The definition in the ordinance will be amended so that shallow flood zones are also included. The new ordinance will also permit recreational vehicles to be in shallow flood zones for no more than 180 days a year.
Furthermore, the county currently allows engineers to issue flood elevation certificates when only land surveyors can technically complete the certificates under state law. Therefore, a revision was included to prohibit civil engineers from preparing these certificates.
Summaries for all the revisions can be found here.
Related News Post: This week King County Executive Kurt Triplett requested $40 million to prepare the Green River Valley for possible flooding.
