After several severe storms that depleted the federal insurance programs, a law known as the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 was enacted. The idea was to require flood insurance premiums to actually reflect the real risk of flooding.

At the time of the enactment, the National Flood Insurance Program was $24 billion in debt and (forgive the pun) rising higher. The results were horrific, making many homes in flood zones unaffordable. The act was amended with the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014, but just as another “affordable” insurance law, it did not help homeowners much. So, now we have the Flood Insurance Affordability and Sustain.ability Act of 2017. The law titles get longer, but fortunately, they do seem to be getting a bit better.

There is a program out of these re.cent laws that may help some home.owners significantly. The Lycoming County Commissioners announced that they are doing a project to assist residents who are mapped floodplain and may qualify for a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). If the owner can establish that their property is not in a Special Flood Hazard Area (a high-risk area subject to inundation by a base flood, known as a 1-percent-annual-chance, or 100-year-old flood), then they can be removed from the Federal flood insurance requirement.

It begins with an elevation certificate. This can be obtained from a state-licensed surveyor, architect, or engineer, and could cost anywhere from $500 to $2,000. If the elevation certificate shows that the ground around the house is above the base flood elevation, then a LOMA application can be processed.

But since the cost of an elevation certificate can be above what many can afford, the county is funding a LOMA program through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Administration’s Pennsylvania Housing Affordability (there’s that word again!) and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund (PHARE) program. These PHARE grants are from the Act 13 Impact Fees from the gas industry. If the property owner qualifies, the Lycoming County Plan.ning Department will process the LOMA application for the residents.

The county is being proactive in this endeavor, as the County Planning Department is already using the information found on the new flood maps to identify potential residents. In the summer, elevation certificates were completed in Susquehanna Township. In the past few months, they have looked into areas around the Little Muncy Creek in the eastern end of the County, and next year intend to look at the Jersey Shore flood plain.

“Our depth grids help us see if the home is potentially above the 100-year-flood level. It is not 100% accurate, but we can see where there is a high likelihood that residents may receive a LOMA,” said Fran McJunkin, Deputy Director in the Planning Department. “We are looking for areas that we did not change the flood boundaries. This works when we have a group of homeowners that we can do at one time,” McJunkin noted.

If you wonder if you might qualify or want more information, please con.tact Fran McJunkin at fmcjunkin@lyco.org.