Mari Radford, CFM, FEMA Region 3 and Kevin Wagner, CFM, Maryland Department of Environment shared the details of the National Flood Insurance Program’s  “Community Rating System” in an educational session at MACo’s Summer Conference.

The passage of Biggert Waters 2012 and Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 revised federal flood insurance law, creating opportunities for cost-savings. The Community Rating System (CRS) is one of the actions a community can take, on behalf of their residents and business owners, to lower flood insurance costs.

During the session, Ms. Radford shared several examples of counties and municipalities in Maryland that had reduced their costs through participation in the Community Rating System.  She also described how to join the program, and how counties in the program receive credits for their activities.

Commissioner Fisher of Somerset County moderated this panel.  The Commissioner noted the relevance of this topic for Somerset County in his introduction, share that the most updated maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency show 61% of Somerset County in the floodplain.