Please Suspend the FEMA Flood Map Changes and Give Us a Chance to Fix Our Levees!

With all of the economic turmoil that our region, state and nation has faced recently, it is shocking to believe that it is our Federal Government that will deal the most devastating blow to the families and businesses in America’s river-bottom areas such as Southwestern Illinois and elsewhere. In Southwestern Illinois, alone, there are over 63,000 families (more than 154,000 people) that will be required to buy very expensive flood insurance that most simply cannot afford. With over 41% of the affected population being African-American or other racial minority, and over 35,000 (20%) below poverty level, (This includes some of the poorest cities in the nation - East St. Louis (37% poverty) Brooklyn (49%) and Venice (40%)), it is already a struggle for many just to pay their current living expenses. The additional cost of flood insurance will, without doubt, cause a wave of home foreclosures for those that are already barely surviving. Quite simply, not everyone can afford to tack on an extra $80 - $100 per month in added bills.

The Southwestern Illinois River-Bottoms are also home to many industrial and other businesses that provide over 69,000 jobs to the St. Louis metropolitan area. The added cost of flood insurance would further erode the competitive advantage of the companies located here by significantly increasing their costs. This, then, weakens the security of those 69,000 jobs, as it places pressure on companies to relocate or shut down operations. With the area already facing 10% + unemployment, the decertification of the levees reduces the chance of an economic recovery to an area that is one of the largest tax-generating areas in Illinois outside of Chicago. Furthermore, the policies and ultra expensive building requirements set forth by the State and Federal government for areas with decertified levees will wipe out all economic development efforts and new investments to the region. This ensures that the area will stagnate and die, thus leaving the loss of thousands of good-paying jobs in its wake, crippling the St. Louis metropolitan region’s economy and eroding the State of Illinois’ tax-base.

H.R. 3415, introduced by Congressman Costello and co-sponsored by Congressman Shimkus, would allow local governments the time and opportunity to fix our levees without being devastated economically in the process by suspending changes to flood insurance rate maps for up to seven years in areas where levees were designed to protect from a 100-year flood, but require repair to meet that level of protection. This would only take place under certain conditions: 1. there is an active and approved plan to fix the levees, 2. there is a financing plan in place to implement that plan, 3. there is an evacuation plan in place for the area, and 4. local authorities have implemented a surveillance and operations plan to provide advance warning and immediate corrective action during high-water events.

The purpose of this legislation is to encourage the repair of levees and allow homeowners and small businesses to avoid the payment of very costly flood insurance while the levee systems in southwestern Illinois are being repaired. For those homeowners with mortgages, their lender will require the purchase of flood insurance. If the homeowner does not buy flood insurance, the lender may foreclose on the property. If this legislation is not approved, there will be severe economic hardship for many, (especially poor minorities) and the area’s economy will be crippled.