County sues feds over flood maps

Douglas County officials are suing the federal government over new flood insurance rate maps which if implemented would add hundreds of dollars to some residents' home insurance bills.

A Sacramento environmental legal firm as been hired to proceed with the county's two-pronged approach.

"For the first part, we've asked for a judicial review," County Engineer Mahmood Azad said Friday. "FEMA regulation allows us to go to the federal court and basically show the judge that FEMA did not follow its own process or procedure. Therefore, Douglas County should be getting some judicial relief."

If that isn't successful, the county wants a temporary injunction so the new Federal Emergency Management Administration flood maps would not go into effect in January as scheduled.

Filed in U.S. District Court in Reno on Thursday, the lawsuit says that because of FEMA inaccuracies, some 1,400 properties and 4,000 acres have been added to the special flood hazard areas "which will cause significant and unnecessary development restrictions and insurance costs within Douglas County."

"We sent a letter to the FEMA administrator that the agency failed to follow its own procedures, therefore they should give us relief now," Azad said.

For Douglas County residents suddenly advised they're in a flood plain and must purchase flood insurance, the legal developments mean little at this point.

"What this means for residents is that Douglas County is still on their side fighting for them and we haven't given up. But, for the protection of the citizens, they should still buy insurance," Azad said.

"It may turn out that they only have to buy it for a month or two, but I would encourage it," he said.

Even if the maps are under appeal, residents still must have insurance.

Workshops will be set up for property owners, insurance agents and Realtors to explain the process and a FEMA representative is to attend a session in late October.

"We still work very well with FEMA," Azad said. "This is not about FEMA being a bogeyman. It's about us doing the right thing for our citizens. We will continue to work with FEMA."

People who buy the insurance before January will get grandfathered in to the "preferred risk policy" which means lower rates.

"We're hopeful this will result in the least some solid judicial review; and perhaps may facilitate a proper dialogue between Douglas County and its consultants, and FEMA and their consultants," said Joe Ward, Douglas county's chief deputy district attorney.

He said the county had been making progress with FEMA Region 9 officials in Oakland in the administrative appeal of the maps when William R. Blanton Jr., chief of FEMA's engineering management branch, sent a final determination letter that the maps would not be changed.

The federal government never responded to the county's request to withdraw the final determination pending a review of the administrative appeal.

The county is represented by Nicholas Jacobs of Somach, Simmons & Dunn in Sacramento.

Ward said it would be premature to anticipate how long the legal process might take.

"Basically, we're just out of the starting block," he said. "We want the court in reviewing this to properly conclude that federal statute and federal code provisions pertinent here simply weren't complied with, and for the status quo to remain."