Lawmakers press agencies to pursue FEMA change if Comite diversion meets '50% complete' threshold
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Summary
Legislators asked Corps and DOTD to press FEMA to revise flood maps if the Comite River Diversion is functionally over 50% complete, a change that could reduce flood insurance burdens; agencies agreed to pursue the issue and report back.
Lawmakers pressed Corps and DOTD leaders to seek FEMA recognition that the Comite River Diversion has reached the level of completion needed to alter flood maps and lower insurance premiums for affected residents. Several members said constituents continue to struggle with high flood insurance and urged a clear metric and timetable for what FEMA requires.
"If we could make the argument to FEMA...we feel like it's it's justified that we take this next step," Colonel Scotty Oten said, offering to support a DOTD‑led engagement with FEMA to classify the project "writ large" as over 50% complete. DOTD staff told the task force they will take the lead coordinating with FEMA and the Corps and report findings to the committee.
ARBC and master‑plan consultants said modern LIDAR data and updated basin modeling could remove thousands of structures from FEMA floodplain designations — the presentation cited a basinwide potential of roughly 30,000 structures that may be reclassified when maps are modernized. Consultants and legislators noted that the FEMA map revision process and Community Rating System (CRS) adjustments can take time and urged agencies to provide a realistic timeline for any change in premiums.
Task force members asked the agencies to return with: a clear statement of what metric FEMA will apply to claim 50% completion (by contract award, percent complete per segment, or funds expended), and an estimate for how long FEMA remapping would take if the agencies submit a formal request. DOTD agreed to follow up before the next task force meeting.