Rules Eased In Cataldo Flood Zone State, Counties Compromise In Contract To Free $1 Million For Home Buyouts

State disaster officials admit they watered down restrictions on future building in flood-prone Cataldo in order to snare home buyout backing from Kootenai and Shoshone counties.

A contract that frees more than $1 million requires the counties to comply with existing flood insurance requirements - a far cry from the state’s earlier aggressive push for rules tough enough to discourage some people from building at all.

The money, $750,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and a little more than $250,000 from the Idaho Bureau of Disaster Services, will be awarded Monday in Cataldo.

Local disaster officials hope to stretch the $1,074,466 to pay for 14 flood-prone homes. The properties will revert to county hands, with future development banned.

But pressure to get the dollars flowing led the state to back off strict limits on new construction, a disaster service official said Thursday.

State and federal officials can’t require counties to do more than National Flood Insurance Program requires.

The state’s initial push for stricter building codes, however, echoes a nationwide effort to stop throwing money at flood-prone areas without trying to check riverfront development through elevation or relocation.

“Our role is to support the counties, not become the enemy of the counties,” said Jonathan Perry, Idaho’s hazard mitigation coordinator. “Yes, we are concerned that counties will not follow through as much as they could in terms of limiting development.”

A draft version of the buyout contract required that any future flood-prone building allow high water to flow beneath the structure.

Otherwise, new homes can worsen flooding problems along the Coeur d’Alene River by backing up water instead of letting it spread out.

But Shoshone County, wary of heavy-handed private property restrictions, balked. Kootenai County officials later joined in, in support of their neighbors.

The final contract requires future buildings to rise at least 1 foot above the level of the worst flooding in 100 years, and meet federal insurance program requirements.

Kootenai County currently requires a 1-foot elevation. Shoshone County requires buildings at or above the flood level.

Kootenai, however, is proposing tough new flood plain construction rules that would call for a 3-foot elevation.

Shoshone County has no specific changes in the works.

Shoshone County Commissioner Jim Vergobbi said he’s interested in adopting parts of Kootenai County’s pending ordinance to address properties that straddle the county line.

“We can’t worry about things away from there, but at least we can be consistent with houses in both counties,” Vergobbi said.

A Shoshone County planner said the cost of flood insurance - rather than regulations - will encourage future builders to elevate homes.

When people call county planners with questions about building in the flood plain, they recommend people shoot for at least 2 feet above flood level, said flood plain administrator Lori Jamieson.

“Sometimes, 2 feet above can be up to a 50 percent difference in flood insurance,” Jamieson said.

Someone who wants $100,000 of coverage for a new home at the base flood level pays a $376 annual premium, according to Pat Massey, FEMA’s Idaho flood insurance coordinator.

One foot above drops the premium to $271; 2 feet above drops it again, to $226.

Counties with stricter development controls bring additional insurance cuts to their residents. A community rating system gives credit to counties that do a good job managing flood plain development.

Right now, Kootenai County residents get a 10 percent insurance reduction and Shoshone County residents get a 5 percent reduction.

If Kootenai’s stricter proposed ordinance passes, that could give that county’s citizens a bigger discount, Massey said.

FEMA is trying to encourage smart development in flood plains, said the agency’s grants manager.

“We use your dollars to go out there and buy or repair or fix something,” said Bruce Knipe. “In some cases, I suppose the folks who pay their taxes sooner or later get a little tired of that, but there’s only so far we go.”

This sidebar appeared with the story: WATERED DOWN State disaster officials have modified building restrictions in flood zones in Shoshone and Kootenai counties: The final contract Future building must rise at least one foot above the level of the worst flooding in 100 years and meet federal insurance program requirements. The early version Future building must allow high water to flow beneath the structure.