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Edwardsville takes issue with flood map

Changed map may affect who needs flood insurance or how much homeowners will pay.

IAN CAMPBELL Times Leader Correspondent

EDWARDSVILLE – Council Thursday held off on approving a bi-county flood mitigation plan for Lackawanna and Luzerne counties because details of the mapping appear inaccurate.

Although the changes in elevation – lowering the height that flooding reaches through the valley – are accurate, the problem arises when houses and streets are overlaid on the map, Councilman John Sedeski noted.

Many of the borough’s low-lying streets are not shown on the map, Sedeski said. In addition, several properties appear to be located as much as 100 yards from where they really are, he said.

The significance for residents is that a changed map could mean that they are no longer required to pay flood insurance, or could get insurance at a lower price because their risk is lower, or alternatively could be liable for insurance where insurance was previously not required, Sedeski said.

That could create an issue for property owners looking for future sales, he noted.

He told council he expected a new map should be available within a week, and residents who think they are likely to be affected should come to the borough building and review the information.

Council agreed to hold the approval of the mitigation plan until next month.

The plan had to be approved, according to a letter from county planning chief Adrian Merolli, if the borough is to receive future flood mitigation funding. County commissioners had already approved the bi-county plan.

However, the Merolli letter did not stipulate a time period by which the plan would have to be approved, officials said.

Council members also noted if residents were moved out of the flood area by the criteria established by a revised map, they might not have to pay the Susquehanna River county levee fee now on Wyoming Valley properties.

In other business, council announced a first reading of the 2010 budget for Dec. 7, with the remaining two readings to be carried out at about two-week intervals through the remainder of the month. A tax millage rate has not been set yet.