FEMA Recognizes Yardley For Floodplain Management Rating

YARDLEY, PA —The borough basked in the national spotlight recently while also receiving a 10 percent discount.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency recognized Yardley Borough for its efforts to avoid risk for residents in its floodplain. The organization even made a house call to a Borough Council meeting last month to show its appreciation.

FEMA representative Bob Cobelli, along with Audrey Kenny from Bucks County Emergency Services, presented a plaque to Wes Foraker, Yardley's code enforcement officer, and emergency management coordinator.

"We are one of a select few communities nationwide that have secured this level in FEMA's Community Rating System (CRS) program which equates to a 10 percent discount for our floodplain residents," Council President Caroline Thompson said. "Thank you to Wes for his tireless work and advocacy."

FEMA said residents now have lower flood insurance premiums because of the community’s initiatives to implement better floodplain management measures encouraged by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

The Federal Emergency Management Agency created the voluntary Community Rating System (CRS) program to recognize local efforts to reduce flood risk, and to reward communities, their residents, and businesses by saving them money on flood insurance premiums.

Yardley recently advanced its standing in the program to a Class 8 community.

“We recognize and celebrate the Borough for their ambition, hard work, and leadership in strengthening floodplain management,” said Cobelli, senior NFIP specialist for FEMA Region 3, after making the plaque presentation at the Nov. 15 council meeting. “Advancing within the CRS program is a tremendous accomplishment.”

Under CRS, three goals must be met:

1. Reduce flood losses.
2. Facilitate accurate insurance rating.
3. Promote the awareness of flood insurance.

Communities who apply to participate in CRS are required to provide information demonstrating their floodplain management program exceeds the minimum requirements of the NFIP. The program includes 10 different class rating levels based on the number and type of activities initiated by participating communities.

For each class advancement, NFIP policyholders receive an additional 5 percent reduction in their flood insurance premiums up to a 45 percent reduction for a Class 1 community.

Each NFIP policy written in the Borough of Yardley will have an approximate 10 percent CRS discount.

“Yardley should be applauded for taking this significant step to increase flood insurance awareness in their community, which provides the opportunity for residents to benefit from reduced flood insurance premiums thanks to the borough’s increased floodplain mitigation and flood control measures,” FEMA Director Randy Padfield said. “Communities near Yardley and across the state can learn from Yardley’s CRS participation in order to provide the same benefits to their residents.”

The Borough earned its CRS classification by conducting flood outreach projects, maintaining updated flood maps, improving flood regulations, and distributing information about flood preparedness to its residents.

In addition to these outreach initiatives, the community also worked to elevate 39 homes using various funding sources, like FEMA’s Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) funds, to permanently reduce risk to property.

The Borough also maintained construction certificates, stormwater management regulations, and preserved open space in the floodplain.

“CRS communities take pre-disaster mitigation steps to reduce overall flood vulnerability and build community resilience,” stated MaryAnn Tierney, FEMA Region 3 Regional Administrator. “We thank the Borough for their direct actions to safeguard their community and property from flood risk.”