STONE HARBOR – The recent expiration of Community Rating System (CRS) points granted for a 10-year period following Superstorm Sandy left Stone Harbor with a point total below the level needed to maintain its level 5 score and the 25% discount for homeowners in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
The borough’s CRS score fell from a 5 to a 7, bringing the current discount available for flood insurance from 25% to 15%.
The CRS program awards points based on a series of actions taken by a participating municipality that address floodplain management practices that exceed those set as a minimum for participation in the NFIP.
The borough established a task force headed by borough engineer March DeBlasio to find flood mitigation activities that can earn back CRS points and restore the lost discount.
The task force has set a goal of reaching a level 4, which would bring the discount available to homeowners to 30% by 2024.
The task force members appeared confident that the borough can make the leap from a level 7 to a level 4 in an “intermediate modification event” with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that will be scheduled for some time in 2023.
The municipality’s required three-year cycle review with FEMA, set for September, will be rescheduled for 2024 to allow borough staff to concentrate on the intermediate event where the borough will present evidence that it has undertaken the steps and activities that warrant sufficient points for an elevated score.
The borough is hosting a Flood Insurance Seminar for interested property owners and members of the public March 14, at 6 p.m., in Borough Hall. The seminar will include a CRS program overview.
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