March 19, 2004

Park Township in Ottawa County was recently recognized for its participation in the Community Rating System (CRS) of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which will lower residents’ flood insurance premiums. The Department of Environmental Quality floodplain management staff presented an achievement award to Park Township on behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The CRS was implemented by FEMA in 1990 to recognize and encourage exemplary community floodplain management activities. Each CRS community is awarded a class number rating according to the extent that the community’s floodplain management and flood hazard minimization program exceeds the minimum NFIP standards.

Park Township is the first community in Ottawa County to join the CRS. Through its efforts in floodplain management, it has earned a class rating of 9. This means that residents in the township now receive a 5 percent discount on flood insurance. The program’s range of class ratings is from 10 to 1. The lower the class rating, the greater the progress the community has made in minimizing flood hazards and reducing the flood risks for the community residents. Each reduction in the class rating results in a 5 percent reduction in flood insurance premiums for the community’s citizens. The premium reductions start at the class rating of 9 and increase to 45 percent, at a class rating of 1.

Across the nation, there are 994 CRS communities. Sixteen Michigan communities are currently participating in the CRS, with class ratings ranging from 6 to 9. The city of Midland has the state’s best rating to date, with a class 6 rating. The city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, recently became the first community in the nation to qualify for a class rating of 2.

Any community participating in the NFIP is eligible to join the CRS. To be accepted into the CRS, a community must demonstrate compliance with FEMA’s minimum NFIP standards during a Community Assistance Visit by DEQ floodplain management staff. They must then apply to FEMA for entry into the program. Communities that comply with Michigan’s current level of environmental protection and construction code regulations, and that participate in the NFIP, will initially qualify for enough program points to earn a class rating of 9. A community must implement additional floodplain management programs to qualify for a better class rating.

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

Revised March 19, 2004 by Pat Watson