From the 3/7/2008 Scranton Times-Tribune.

New law would aid flood victims

BY DAVID SINGLETON
STAFF WRITER

03/07/2008

After flash flooding ripped sections of Lackawanna County in November 2006, damaging 200 homes and dozens of bridges and roads, more than three months passed before President Bush issued a federal disaster declaration.
But even when it came, the declaration covered only damage to public infrastructure — not private homes.
“That had a lot of families concerned whether they were going to be put back into any semblance of what their lives were like before the flooding,” county emergency management director Robert Flanagan told state legislators Thursday during a hearing at City Hall.
Mr. Flanagan testified before the state House Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee in favor of House Bill 1989, legislation that wo uld create a fund to help pay for flood mitigation and to assist flood victims when federal aid is unavailable.

Under the bill, introduced by Rep. Jim Wansacz, D-Old Forge, money to fund the program would come from a $1 annual surcharge on homeowner and business owner property insurance policies.
Mr. Flanagan, whose agency has had to deal with five major floods since 2003, said helping victims in the absence of federal assistance “is one of the questions we have no answer for in the long run.” The legislation is overdue, he said.
“People in emergency management have been hoping for a solution like this for many years,” Mr. Flanagan said.
Mr. Wansacz told the subcommittee the legislation is not only necessary but also comes with a relatively painless funding mechanism. The $1 insurance policy surcharge would generate $4 million to $5 million annually.
“We’re always told if we come up with a good idea, find a way to pay for it,” Mr. Wansacz said. “This i s a way to pay for it.”
Cathy Myers, deputy secretary for water management with the state Department of Environmental Protection, testified that Gov. Ed Rendell’s proposed budget would increase line-item funding for flood-control projects from $2.8 million to $5.8 million. He would fund the hike with a surcharge of 7 cents for every $100 in property insurance premiums paid by homeowners.
The governor is also proposing $91 million in capital funds over three years to design and construct major flood-protection projects.
The problem, Ms. Myers said, is people “all across the state, in every part of the state,” want a piece of that pie.
“Sometimes we can’t move projects forward as quickly as some people would like,” Ms. Myers said.
Democratic Reps. Frank Andrews Shimkus of Scranton, Ken Smith of Dunmore and Eddie Day Pashinski of Wilkes-Barre — all original co-sponsors of the legislation — were among the lawmakers who participated in the hearing. Mr. Wansacz said 66 House members have now signed on as co-sponsors.
Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com

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