Washington, D.C. –Congressman Rick Berg today offered an amendment to the Flood Insurance Reform Act that would protect flood insurance holders in the event of long-lasting flooding and unexpected water releases, as have been experienced in North Dakota and other Midwestern states this spring.

Berg’s amendment, introduced with Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.), would protect individuals who have purchased flood insurance less than 30 days before the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declares a “flood in progress” and have not sustained damage or loss to property within the 30-day waiting period required.

“FEMA’s current policy fails to account for a long-lasting flood event like the one we have seen along the Missouri River,” Berg stated on the House flood this afternoon. “The Terry-Berg amendment would protect these individuals who have played by the rules. We need responsible policies that help plan for the uncertainty of natural disasters and we also need to protect and help people.”

Under current law, flood insurance rules only pay claims to existing coverage once FEMA declares a “flood in progress.”  Individuals who have purchased flood insurance and have yet to sustain property damage, but are still within the 30-day waiting window at the time of FEMA’s declaration, would be unable to receive coverage even if actual property damage did not occur until after the 30-day waiting period.

Residents along the Missouri River were significantly affected by this rule this spring, after FEMA determined that flooding had started June 1 after the Army Corps of Engineers began “higher than normal releases.”  Because of existing rules, individuals who had not purchased policies by the beginning of May were unable to claim damages, even if property loss or damage had occurred 30 days after the policies had been purchase.

Berg’s full remarks from this afternoon’s floor statement may be found below:

This has been a very tough spring for North Dakota, as well as many other districts along these overflowing rivers.

Unprecedented flooding has devastated many communities, leaving property destroyed and thousands without homes, hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland flooded. Roads and bridges are severely damaged as well.

This year’s flooding is unusual both in the scope of its damage, as well as how long the flooding has lasted. Many North Dakotans purchased flood insurance to be prepared for the flood and to protect themselves and their families from the losses these floods cause.

Unfortunately, FEMA’s current policy fails to account for a long-lasting flood event like the one we have seen along the Missouri River.

I support the 30-day waiting period. If individuals purchase insurance 30 days before their property is damaged, they should be protected, regardless of when FEMA declares a “flood in progress.”  That declaration could be counties or even states away or is unexpectedly worsened by the Corps’ decision to increase the outflows from dams and flooded rivers upstream, and doing this with very little warning.

The Terry-Berg amendment would protect these individuals who have played by the rules. We need responsible policies that help plan for the uncertainty of natural disasters and we also need to protect and help people.

I urge my colleagues to support these victims by voting in favor of this amendment.

Additional Background:

On June 8, FEMA officials stated that Missouri River flooding was in progress as of June 1, when the Army Corps of Engineers unexpectedly began releasing record amounts of water from Garrison Dam.  Under existing rules, individuals who purchased flood insurance after May 2 will not have coverage for damage caused by flooding, regardless of when actual property damage took place:

“It's a unique situation. The flooding is the result of water being let out of a dam or reservoir. It's created a thing called a flood in progress,” said Norm Ashford, an insurance specialist for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region 8… “This flood started June 1. They would have had to buy it May 2 for the policy to be in effect,” he said. (Leann Eckroth, “FEMA explains flood coverage,” Bismarck Tribune, 06/08/2011)

The Associated Press also reported:

Barb Fitzpatrick, a senior flood plain specialist for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said June 1 is the official start of the flood because that's when the Garrison Dam in North Dakota began to release more water. Flood insurance underwritten by the federal government does not take effect until 30 days after it's purchased, so no policies bought after May 2 will cover damage from the high water expected to last for a month or two. That's the case even if the damage happens 30 or more days after the official start, she said.

Low-lying areas in Bismarck, N.D., and the South Dakota cities of Pierre, Fort Pierre and Dakota Dunes face rising water as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers increases flows through dams on the Missouri River to get rid of water from rains of up to 8 inches that fell last month in Wyoming, eastern Montana and western North Dakota and South Dakota.

(Chet Brokaw, “Damage from Missouri River waters won't be covered by last-minute flood insurance purchases,” Associated Press, 06/08/2011)

Congressman Berg, Senators Conrad and Hoeven, and Governor Dalrymple have pressed Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and FEMA officials to reevaluate the flood insurance grace period for individuals affected by this spring’s flooding.

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