Shoreland property owners in Washington County are urged by municipal leaders to check in with their local code enforcement officers to review the status of their properties against new Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood maps. If there are changes to a property's status within the flood zone it could mean the need for flood insurance and the application of different building codes. FEMA requires a preliminary map review period that will allow for a 90‑day comment and appeal period that will be going into effect soon, and municipalities want property owners to be prepared if they need to be.
     The time frame of the 90‑day review is estimated to be from August or September to October or November, depending on when FEMA releases notification to the public and to officials of the 90‑day trigger date, says FEMA representative Kerry Bogdan. While Bogdan had thought the public notification process had already occurred, after reviewing her files, she notes, "I have found that the letters have not been mailed to the local officials yet as the publication in the Federal Register has not happened yet. Until that publication happens we do not know when the local newspaper publications can take place."
     Eastport Code Enforcement Officer Robert Scott explains the purpose of the maps that were done for the island city in 1987 and are now being updated. "We joined the flood insurance program. It helped lower insurance rates for those in the flood zone, and that's what we want to try to continue." He adds, "Those areas in a new flood zone category aren't necessarily no‑build zones, but they have to be built under new specs in order to get into the flood insurance program. Otherwise there would be a higher increase [to the insurance rate]."
     The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was enacted by Congress in 1968 to reduce the impact of flooding on private and public structures. The NFIP offers flood insurance to homeowners, renters and business owners if their community participates in the NFIP. Participating communities agree to adopt and enforce ordinances that meet or exceed FEMA requirements to reduce the risk of flooding. The NFIP site explains two levels of coverage. Homes and buildings in high‑risk flood areas with mortgages from federally regulated or insured lenders are required to have flood insurance. In high‑risk areas, there is at least a one in four chance of flooding during a 30‑year mortgage. Homes and businesses located in moderate‑ to low‑risk areas that have mortgages from federally regulated or insured lenders are typically not required to have flood insurance. A lender can require flood insurance, even if it is not federally required.
     ecause it is likely to take the full 90 days for municipalities to gather information for the comment and appeal process, Judy East, executive director of the Washington County Council of Governments, will be facilitating two meetings with guest speakers for municipal leaders and others involved in the process. Both meetings will have Nathan Dill from Ransom Consulting, which has worked with municipalities and landowners in other parts of Maine and New England in this process, and Jennifer Curtis and/or Sue Baker of the state's floodplain management program. The first meeting is set for Monday, September 26, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Eastport at the port authority building and the second is set for Monday, November 14, as part of the WCCOG annual general meeting from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. or 8 p.m., with the location likely to be Machias. The location will be confirmed closer to the date.
     Curtis explains that there are two categories for submission: comments such as if the name of a road is incorrect; appeals, which require science or engineering behind them that conform to FEMA requirements. She says, "It makes more sense for a community to gather comments or appeals and then submit [in aggregate] rather than one by one." East says, "Otherwise it's piece by piece and a much harder process."
     FEMA's Bogdan confirms, "The biggest thing to stress with property owners is that getting the information in during the 90‑day period is by far the easier way." She notes that a different protocol is followed outside of the 90‑day process, either the Letter of Map Revision or Letter of Map Amendment procedure. In both cases landowners would have to wait to submit until the new maps went into effect in July 2017.

Changes of note
     "The last time these maps were updated was in the 1980s," says Eastport City Manager Elaine Abbott. "As far as the city's standpoint, it's good to have them updated. Things have changed. So for example, parts of the South End of the island that were considered in the floodplain no longer are because of fill done a long time ago. That's why it's important for people to come in and check the maps to make sure they're [FEMA] accurately representing what's there."
     As an example of areas that have seen some changes to the flood zone, Scott points to Eastport sites: the east side of Carlow Island and the waterfront from Dog Island to Warren Street. "People on the edge of shore ought to come in even if it's just to say 'phew.'" Quoddy Village and the western side of the island, with the exception of parts of Prince's Cove and the Estes Head area, are relatively fine, he says, because of the prevailing winds. Toll Bridge Road is one of the few areas in Quoddy Village to see a major impact, he adds.
     In Calais, City Manager James Porter notes, "There is one area that has changed and is concerning. It is around the King Street and North Street intersect in Milltown. The city is checking to see if we may have data from projects that recently took place in that area."
     For Lubec, Code Enforcement Officer Jim Clark says that anyone who has been enrolled in the federal flood insurance program, has property within the 100‑year flood zone or who isn't sure about their property status should call his office. "It's in their best interest," he adds, noting the expense of insurance without enrollment in the federal program if a property falls within floodplain zones.
     Unorganized territory property owners should contact UT Supervisor Dean Preston at the county office in Machias.
     Much of southern and mid‑coast Maine has been through the process. Bogdan says that York and Cumberland counties are having additional analysis done and have lagged behind in the timeline. However, Hancock and Knox counties have sailed through with flying colors. "There were a couple of appeals from Hancock County and the Rockland area within the time frame. We made the changes because they had all the paperwork. Everyone was happy."