WPCNR WEATHER SCOOP. By John F. Bailey. November 7, 2007: The Federal Emergency Management Agency would not have suspended White Plains from the National Flood Insurance Program had the city passed a local law accepting the Department of Environmental Conservation flood plain map that had been sent to the Mayor’s Office and the Department of Public Works early this year, a FEMA spokesperson  told WPCNR yesterday.

 Carey Gouldner, the White Plains resident who discovered his and all White Plains residents no longer have flood insurance because the city failed to act and pass a local law accepting the new flood plain demarcations, told WPCNR yesterday the city learned about the flood plain maps in a meeting with FEMA officials last spring.

Gouldner said “There was a compliance meeting in the early spring and FEMA spelled out to all the cities and jurisdictions what would be necessary to remain in the flood insurance program. Subsequently, there were four separate letters sent to White Plains by the DEC, warning of the deadline by which the community would be suspended from the program. The deadline passed and on September 28, White Plains was suspended.”

Gouldner said he got this information from Richard Einhorn, a FEMA official he was referred to by the New York FEMA Regional Office. “The Mayor’s office must know they were suspended. You know why they couldn’t do it last night (Monday evening Common Council meeting)? It’s a local law. It requires a public hearing and they had to schedule it. And, of course the next regularly scheduled meeting isn’t until December 3. ”

Gouldner theorized the city simply dragged its feet and ignored the issue due to the departments being overwhelmed, overworked, inundated with development issues."They didn't care about it," he said.

Citizen Correct, FEMA Confirms.

Barbara Lynch, Media Spokesperson for FEMA’s  Region Two, confirmed for WPCNR all of Mr. Gouldner’s report: “Actually it’s not a question of FEMA suspending White Plains,” she said, “White Plains essentially excluded itself. It failed to pass the new Flood Modernization Map. Because they failed to do that as required by the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program, they sort of excluded themselves as of September 28.”

WPCNR asked what White Plains had to do to get back into compliance. Lynch said, “All they have to do is to pass a law that replaces the  old flood insurance maps with the flood modernization map that went into effect countywide September 28.”

Nobody Home at City Hall.

I asked if FEMA had gotten an indication from the City when they planned to do that. Lynch replied, “It’s funny when I got word of your call, I called my counterpart at the NY Department of Environmental Conservation, and he tells me he was speaking to his counterpart (Jamie Eithier), one of the managers handling White Plains in mid-October, and they (Eithier) said White Plains was gearing up to do it then. Today, unhappily is Election Day, and when he (Eithier) called to get the status, there was nobody home.”

WPCNR has learned that Mr. Eithier works in Albany in the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Flood Plain Management Department.

Lynch said, “The new maps, part of this national project called Map Modernization in which we are redoing using new engineering, new hydraulics, we are developing digitized flood maps, much more user friendly and much more accurate than anything we have had in the past. For the County of Westchester, as a whole, those maps went into effect September 28. Each town has to adopt each town version of the map, even if they’re part of the larger county map panel, shall we say.”

White Plains Department Manager Fumbles Floodball

Lync h explained what she knew about the mystery of why  White Plains failing to adapt the maps by the deadline, said, “For one reason or another which is unclear to me, and it is also unclear, listening to my counterpart at the Department of Environmental Conservation, it seems it may be something as mundane as the new map was sent to a (White Plains) flood manager  who is no longer working for White Plains and his mail was just collecting. It may be as mundane as that.  It’s in everyone’s interest in being in the NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program).”

I asked how fast White Plains could be reinstated if the city would pass the local law, (which the council scheduled for a hearing Monday night):

It was easy, Lynch said: “Basically all they have to know is notify us that it has been passed. And it’s actually not us, it’s the state DEC (they have to notify).”

WPCNR asked if FEMA felt White Plains had fumbled the ball: “I don’t know if I would say that. The maps were addressed to someone who no longer works for the city. I do know a copy was also sent to the Mayor because that’s standard practice.”

Gouldner Told: Not as Simple.

Mr. Gouldner shared his conversation with Robert Einhorn the FEMA official who talked to him about the White Plains fumble sequence.

Gouldner said he was told by Einhorn the city has to pass the local law, send notification to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, who in turn has to send “the paperwork” to FEMA, which then sends the paperwork to the Washington FEMA headquarters

City Hall Mum on Special Meeting.

WPCNR contacted City Hall, which was open this morning and asked Melissa Lopez, spokesperson for the City of White Plains if the Mayor planned to call a Special Meeting and Public Hearing before December 3 to move the legislation, (an efficiency maneuver often used by the city to facilitate time-sensitive building projects), and WPCNR has not heard an answer from City Hall on this. City Hall also has not issued a statement on their side of “The Fumble.”

Councilman Dennis Power told WPCNR last night, the situation needed to be investigated as to how this could happen, and whether the setting of the hearing by the Council on Monday evening for December 3 on storm water issues was also related to reinstatement of the city’s flood insurance eligibility. He said if the legislation scheduled for the hearing December 3 did, the council was not told that by the administration.

Privately, WPCNR has learned  from sources that Mr. Power, who works in the County Department of Environmental Facilities is aware the city had let this flood insurance lapse, but he chose apparently not to share that  with WPCNR last night.

WPCNR asked City Hall for their side of the story of how White Plains let its flood insurance lapse and so far no statement has been issued.