UPDATE ON TOWN OF SCITUATE FEMA APPEAL ON PROPOSED FLOOD INSURANCE MAPS

UPDATE ON TOWN OF SCITUATE FEMA APPEAL ON PROPOSED FLOOD INSURANCE MAPS

On July 23 the Town of Scituate received information from Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Office that FEMA has accepted the Towns of Scituate and Marshfield’s joint appeal of proposed flood maps issued in 2013. The Towns jointly filed two appeals with FEMA on the maps. The first of those, by Ransom Engineering, was heard by a Scientific Resolution Panel (SRP) in April. The second, prepared by The Woods Hole Group, was filed at the same time but officials were advised that that appeal would not be addressed until after resolution of the Ransom appeal.  The SRP was not persuaded that the methodology in the Ransom appeal supported a change in the proposed maps and Marshfield and Scituate were notified of this decision two weeks ago. With that decision in hand, FEMA turned to the Woods Hole appeal. That appeal proposed a different scientific methodology from both Ransom and FEMA’s consultant,  STARR, and FEMA has accepted The Woods Hole Group methodology. What this means is that FEMA will be issuing revised preliminary flood maps, hopefully in the next month or two. Once the Town receives these revised preliminary maps we will follow the same review process undertaken by town staff when the maps were issued two years ago. This involved multi-department review and hundreds of inquiries about individual properties.  In December or January FEMA will issue a Letter of Final Determination and the Town will be required to accept the maps at a town meeting in 2016.

Acceptance of the Woods Hole appeal and new maps does not necessarily mean all property owners will see a change in their elevations or that the cost of their flood insurance will remain static. When the maps are received the Town will once again alert residents and provide assistance. We do not have any further information at this time.

In closing, the acceptance of the Woods Hole appeal is a victory for Scituate and Marshfield and a validation of our hard work and firm contention that the original maps had important flaws that would cause a multitude of adverse impacts. It is also our sincere hope the revised preliminary maps will provide some relief to the widest possible number of our residents. We are especially grateful to The Woods Hole Group and the work of so many staff, both our consultants, state and federal elected officials and organizations that supported the Town’s efforts and the Board of Selectmen for spearheading this from the beginning.