Consumer Federation of America Insurance Director J. Robert Hunter said federal guidelines issued for the rebuilding of New Orleans this week could lead to the construction of unsafe homes.
Donald Powell, federal coordinator for Gulf Coast rebuilding, said that homes and businesses in high damage areas would need one-to-three feet of elevation to meet federal standards and reduce flood risk.
But Mr. Hunter, a federal insurance administrator during the 1970s when the National Flood Insurance Program was first in place, said the wisest course would be to wait until the Federal Emergency Management Agency's new flood plain maps are published before issuing any such guidelines.
“I don't think these guidelines comply with what the law requires for homes to meet the 100-year flood standard,” he said in an interview.
Mr. Hunter recalled that when the flood program was first initiated the essential compact with the taxpayers was that current homeowners in the flood zone would get subsidized coverage in return for new construction meeting federal guidelines.
Appearing on the PBS News Hour last night with proponents of the plan, Mr. Hunter struck some sparks when he asserted the three-foot rule was more of a political compromise and not based on any science.
Mr. Hunter said new FEMA maps in coastal Mississippi communities indicate that 10 feet would be needed in some instances for safe rebuilding.
In addition, he said that federal officials have been lax in enforcing the 50 percent rule. If a home is ruled less than half destroyed, its rebuilding does not have to meet the new standard. But some homes with more than 50 percent damage are sliding under the threshold, Mr. Hunter said.
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