FEMA slashes 25% flood insurance discount in Lee County, blames unpermitted construction

FEMA told Lee County and some of its municipalities Thursday that it would cut the county's and several municipalities' discounts that allow residents to save 25% on National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) premiums.

Lee County Public Information Officer Betsy Clayton described this in a Friday press release as "a blow to the community as it continues to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Ian."

Lee County was told it would be moved to Class 10, effectively cutting its discount to 0%, Clayton said. She declined to comment on why the change was made, and could not speak to the other municipalities that also lost their discounts.

FEMA defended its decision, saying that over the year and a half since Hurricane Ian, its representatives conducted site visits across Lee County looking at how locally-adopted floodplain management ordinances were being enforced, and found it lacking.

An email from FEMA's communications team stated that the lowered class ratings and subsequent discount loss were due to "the large amount of unpermitted work, lack of documentation, and failure to properly monitor activity in special flood hazard areas, including substantial damage compliance."

“We are committed to helping these communities take appropriate remediation actions to participate in the Community Rating System again and work towards future policy discounts,” said FEMA spokesperson Lea Crager.

But Lee leaders and local mayors disagreed, calling the decision punishing and deeply troubling.

“For the federal government to have made this decision without any prior discussions seems punitive,” said Lee Board of County Commission Chairman Mike Greenwell in the release. “Ian was the third costliest hurricane to hit the United States, and many of our residents are still reeling financially from its impacts.”

About 699,000 residents live in areas that will be impacted by the FEMA decision – the city of Bonita Springs, city of Cape Coral, Village of Estero, Town of Fort Myers Beach and unincorporated Lee County.

Only two municipalities, Sanibel and the city of Fort Myers, are not impacted by the decision. Sanibel maintained its Class 5 rating, per city councilmember Holly Smith, and its residents will continue to receive the 25% discount.

There are 51,103 NFIP policies in force in unincorporated Lee County, which has a population of about 388,000.

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The Lee County Attorney’s Office is looking into what – if any – legal remedies are immediately available, the release said.

According to the release, every three years the National Flood Insurance Program conducts a field visit to audit floodplain management activities and flood-mapping records. After each audit, the municipality governments receive a rating from the Class Rating System program.

The Class Rating System is a voluntary federal program that recognizes and encourages community floodplain management activities exceeding the minimum NFIP standards by providing incentive premium discounts. The discounts are given out in 5% increments using a 1-10 rating system, with Class 10 being low and Class 1 being high.

Activities that earn incentives include maintaining FEMA-established base flood elevations for new construction and providing community documentation, information and enforcement of FEMA’s Flood Insurance Rate Maps.

For 17 years, Lee County has had a National Flood Insurance Program rating of Class 5, which gives resident policyholders a 25% discount. Lee County provided a list of activities it completes in order to maintain its Class 5 rating, including flood protection assistance, open space preservation, higher regulatory standards, and more.

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In the release, Lee County Manager Dave Harner called for the federal agency to suspend its decision "so the county and its municipal partners have opportunities to address FEMA’s concerns.

“This is critical to mitigate the potential impact to our residents," Harner said. "There must be an appeal process.”

“Without warning or communication, a rash decision like this will significantly strain our residents struggling to recover from Hurricane Ian," said Town of Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers in the press release. "The Town of Fort Myers Beach has always gone above and beyond to maintain our CRS rating and request FEMA suspend their decision.”

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Lee County residents to lose National Flood Insurance Program discount