Floodplain update nearing long-awaited end

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The five year process to digitize flood insurance maps and update flood ordinances is finally nearing its conclusion.
And Faribault is on track to update those items to meet the federal standards necessary to remain in the national flood insurance program.
“It will make it easier for everyone involved,” said Greg Kruschke, planning coordinator for Faribault. “Everything from banks to cities, it will all be digital.”
As long as Faribault meets the April 3 deadline, anyone in Faribault can buy flood insurance. But premiums depend on residents’ relation to traditionally identified flood plains — and those at the most risk of flooding are required to buy insurance.
The city’s existing floodplain maps were last updated in 1978, though the ordinances that come with it are updated more frequently. The original maps are found in a pamphlet that very clearly lacks the detail and usefulness of digitized maps.
But the process to get to those updated maps has been long and sometimes tenuous.
Faribault got preliminary approval from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Jan. 19, one of many steps in a process that first began in 2007 when the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced its intent to update floodplain maps nationwide.
New contour maps were assembled with Rice County. But preliminary maps created by FEMA in 2009 did not properly assess the Straight River area of downtown Faribault, and the city went through an appeal in conjunction with DNR.
During a city work session last week, Administrator Chuck Whiting simplified the thoughts of city officials that dealt with the half-decade long project fairly succinctly:
“It would have been much easier if FEMA had done the maps right in the first place,” he said.
FEMA’s project is run through the DNR, and the DNR channels efforts through state counties and cities, according to city documents.
Now, the city is awaiting the final maps — which include the updated portions of the Straight River in Faribault — so the process of notifying the public of changes to maps and ordinances can take place Feb. 6.
Notifications will go out to between 1,000-1,200 properties, Kruschke said.
“We want everyone who owns property in flood plain areas or close to it to know what’s going on,” he said. When the city held an open house for the preliminary maps in 2009, there was strong turnout.
And that was before the historic September 2010 flood event. Since that time, the word “flood” has taken on new meaning to the city.
“We’re preparing for a strong turnout,” Kruschke said.
Color-coded notifications will go out to property owners near or within new floodplain boundaries. Those within 350 feet of a floodplain will receive a light green letter, those in the traditional “500-year” range orange and the “100 year” blue.
A detailed explanation of the new floodplain and ordinance will be explored during an open house session at the city hall in February.

— Joseph Lindberg covers the city and county for the Daily News. He may be reached at 333-3135. Or at Twitter.com @JosephLindberg