The Department of Environmental Quality recently presented a plaque on behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the City of Midland, recognizing the city's participation in the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System (CRS) and an improvement of their floodplain management and flood hazard minimization.

The CRS is a voluntary point based system that recognizes exemplary floodplain management by offering discounted flood insurance within participating communities. Each community is given a rank from 1 (highest) to 10 (lowest) according to the extent of the community's floodplain management, with higher ranks allowing a decrease in flood insurance premiums in that community. The City of Midland's rank of 5 means that residents in the floodplain now receive a 25 percent discount on flood insurance, while residents outside the floodplain receive a 10 percent discount. The City of Midland is the highest ranked CRS community in the state and one of the highest in the nation.

All communities that participate in the National Flood Insurance Program and are in good standing are eligible to join the CRS, and more information about the program can be found at www.fema.gov.

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

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