Supervisors Work To Enroll County In Flood Program

By David Howell
Editor

WATER VALLEY – With Yalobusha the sole county in Mississippi not participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), Yalobusha supervisors are fine-turning a flood ordinance and program to make the county eligible for enrollment.

    During a two-hour work session at the “first Monday” meeting, held in Water Valley June 7,  supervisors hashed out details of the proposed flood ordinance with hopes to adopt the ordinance by September.     This date will coincide with the implementation of a revised county Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) proposed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).

    The revised map updates a 1985 flood risk map that defines areas in the county considered at-risk for flooding.

    Enrollment in the program could come at a cost to taxpayers, as the county will have to implement a permitting process and check all new construction and some renovations to see if the structures are located in at-risk areas for flooding.

    Benefits identified with participation in the federal flood program include the availability of conventional mortgages for people who have property in the flood zone. Without enrollment in the program, fewer lending opportunities are available, Board Attorney John Crow had previously explained.

    Another driving force to forward and adopt the program are ramifications defined in a letter sent to the county last year. In this letter, Mississippi Flood Plain Coordinator Stacey Ricks stressed that no federal disaster assistance may be provided in the identified areas for permanent construction. This means that if a tornado or other disaster strikes, damaged homes located in the flood plain in the county would not be eligible for federal assistance.

    Additionally, Ricks reminded supervisors that flood insurance would continue to be unavailable in the county and buildings located in the flood risk area would not be eligible for federal grants or loans.

Details Of The Ordinance

    Using a generic flood ordinance provided by MEMA, Board Attorney John Crow presented the 30-page proposed ordinance to supervisors, with revisions recommended for Yalobusha County.

    Details discussed Mon-day ranged from imposing jail time and fines as penalties for violating the ordinance to setting a minimum height for the construction of structures located within a flood hazard area.

    In an April meeting, supervisors had tentatively set one foot as that minimum height, which would be above the flood elevation in a particular area. County Engineer Robert Willis had recommended one foot, telling supervisors this height would be the least intrusive, but safest height for the ordinance.

    At Monday’s meeting, defining the penalties proved to be much more contentious as supervisors struggled with how to give the ordinance “some teeth” while being as non-invasive as possible.

    “Here is my feeling on this whole thing. I understand we need a plan in order for people to be able to buy insurance. You start fining people on their own property for building something, politically you are fixing to get yourself in a bind,” District 3 Supervisor M.H. “Butch” Surrette said.

    “I don’t believe in meddling with somebody on their own property. I am not going to be for levying a fine or imprisoning somebody for doing something out there on their own property,” Surrette reiterated.    

    “This is just the law, it will be up to a justice court judge to do that,” Crow replied.

    “I understand,” Surrette said.

    “You got to put it in here he or she will be charged,” Crow added.

    “We got to adopt something because we got to look at the impact that it has for the federal part,” Board President Amos Sims said.

    “The federal government is saying we got to adopt a flood plan,” District 5 Supervisor Frank “Bubba” Tillman added.

    “I understand exactly what Butch is saying, that is probably the reason why we have never adopted one. We didn’t want to tell anyone what to do,” District 1 Supervisor Tommy Vaughn responded.

    “But it has gotten down to the point where we are the only county in State of Mississippi that doesn’t have a flood plain. People are having to pay high prices for insurance, we are not going to be able to receive any federal funds in case of an emergency. It has gotten down to the point where we are going to have to do something. To have a flood plan without any teeth, you might as well not even have one. We are not talking about putting somebody in jail,” Vaughn said.

    “It says right here,” Surrette countered, referring to the flood ordinance proposal.

    “It says you can put it in there, we haven’t put anything in there yet,” Vaughn said. “It has got to have some type of teeth to make it work. But if people want to build in a flood plain and opt out and pay a higher price for insurance, I don’t care,” Vaughn said.

    “That is the way I feel, but they can’t do it if you adopt this, without being fined or put in jail,” Surrette continued.

    “I don’t know whether we can have a plan without some kind of teeth. Can we, John, without some kind of stipulations as far as the penalties?” Vaughn asked.

    “You got to have, like you said, some teeth,” Crow answered. “The other teeth you have, you can seek injunctive relief,” Crow explained. This means someone who does not comply with the ordinance could be prosecuted according to the penalties imposed in the ordinance, or the county could go through the civil court, asking for an injunction for the construction to cease.

    “We could take out those numbers, I think, and say it is punishable as a misdemeanor as provided by law. There is a separate statute in Mississippi, that says if there is not prescribed penalty, than the penalty within that statute controls it. You are right back where you are, you are just taking the days (jail time) and numbers (fines) out,” Crow continued.

    “I would like to see that myself,” Vaughn said, referring to not defining the amount of a fine or jail time in the ordinance.

    “I don’t think you are going to have a lot of activity on this ordinance,” Crow also told supervisors.

    Supervisors ultimately continued reviewing the proposed ordinance, giving Crow time to research potential options concerning defining the penalties.

    “It is not going to change anything, now, as far as the penalty, you are going to have a penalty in there,” Crow said.

    “Well, you have got to have some penalty or it is just a piece of paper,” Vaughn agreed.

    Crow told supervisors that once supervisors accept the final version of the ordinance, Ricks recommended the ordinance be sent to his office in Jackson for review before it is adopted.

    Currently two municipalities in the county, Coffeeville and Water Valley, already participate in the NFIP.

    The ordinance will not affect structures located outside of flood risk areas and existing structures in areas designated at-risk to flooding will be grandfathered. However, substantial renovations to existing structures in at-risk areas will have to comply with the county’s flood ordinance.