U.S. Senator Sam Brownback at an Appropriations Committee meeting questioned Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano about the details for the nation-wide process for floodplain remapping.
ź??When you get down to it, there seems to be a lack of common sense used during the remapping process,ź?ť said Brownback. ź??I am especially concerned about the situation in Garden City, Kansas, where residents will be punished for responsible city-planning. I will continue to work with FEMA and urge them to reconsider the inclusion of these drainage ditches in the new floodplain map.ź?ť
More sections of Garden City have been included in the floodplain under FEMAź??s new guidelines. Garden City has avoided development in areas which have been historically located within the Special Flood Hazard Area. However, the remapping places two drainage ditches and their surrounding areas within the redefined 100-year floodplain, even though this area was not included in any of the Flood Insurance Rate Maps in the past thirty years.
