Policy would link flood insurance requirement to federal levee system
Louisiana lawmakers are praising a decision last week by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to take another look at a policy that would have required people living in coastal communities without federal levees to buy flood insurance.
View full sizeGrand Isle levee construction was photographed in July 2009. Sens. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and David Vitter, R-La., along with Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman, and others argued that in many instances, local levees provide sufficient flood protection. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate ordered a more detailed analysis last week of flood risks before new flood maps, which could add the federal flood insurance mandate, take hold.
Alexander said the mapping process was "controversial, imprecise, and will potentially force countless Americans to unnecessarily purchase costly flood insurance."