Flood maps can be challenged, but surveyor required

Paul Meggers doesn't want the 100-year flood plain boundary to run through his living room, but getting it changed is going to cost him.

New flood insurance rate maps, set to go into effect April 5, will affect nearly 3,000 property owners in Linn County, changing their flood insurance premiums if their homes move into the high-risk flood plain.

The new map can be challenged, but residents have to hire a licensed surveyor to shoot elevations around their home and submit a report to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

If the surveyor finds a home shouldn't be in the 100-year plain, he or she will send a letter to FEMA. The work can cost more than $1,000, and usually runs at least $500.

“You can't get it much cheaper than that,” said Tom Watson, a city official in Palo who has dealt with the issue.

Rep. Dave Loebsack has asked FEMA to delay the effective date of the new maps so residents have more opportunity to ask for a revision. In general, communities get 90 days to review a new map and ask for revisions before it goes into effect. That 90-day period has passed.

But FEMA also issues revisions after the flood map goes into effect. If a resident sends in elevation data, FEMA will respond within 90 days.

Meggers, who has lived in his Troy Mills home for 16 years, said that's what he'll do. Not taking action will leave him with a requirement for flood insurance that could easily cost $1,000 per year.

“I don't see a lot of other options down the road,” Meggers said.