The Federal Emergency Management Agency has decided not to expand the flood zone for downtown Washington and the Mall, sparing the need for stricter insurance requirements and tougher building codes for private and government buildings.
In a brief letter to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) on Monday, FEMA Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer Harvey E. Johnson Jr. said the agency had "rescinded" the new maps that were to take effect in September.
FEMA's letter announcing the decision came after the District filed a lawsuit against the agency Monday in federal court. In the filing, city lawyers called the new flood maps "arbitrary and capricious."
Interim D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles said the lawsuit will be withdrawn.
"It was a protective lawsuit because they had not gotten back to us," he said. "We filed it at 3 p.m., and it was resolved by 5 p.m. It had a good effect."
Sounds like an excellent way for a municipality to invest two hours of their legal department's time to me. Of course, in New Orleans we're much more concerned about forcing our citizens to make the socially acceptable "lifestyle choices" than we are in protecting them from the vicissitudes of "arbitrary and capricious" flood maps.
BTW, the flood map story is but one minor element of an excellent First Draft post which you should go read right now.
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