FEMA Suspension Notice Issued in Error

SAN BERNARDINO >> A federal agency has confirmed that it made a mistake last month when it notified the county and perhaps several cities in the county that they would be suspended from the National Flood Insurance Program. On July 19, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, issued a letter to the county stating the county would be suspended from NFIP if it does not adopt necessary floodplain management measures that meet or exceed the minimum NFIP requirements by Sept. 2. Several of the cities in the county may have received a similar notice. The county has since received confirmation from FEMA that the notice was issued in error and that the county along with all of the cities in the NFIP program are in full compliance with FEMA's minimum ordinance requirement and will not be suspended from the program. The error was not noticed in time to stop the publication of a suspension notice in this week's Federal Register. The Federal Register notice should be disregarded. FEMA's primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. Any questions can be directed to the County of San Bernardino Department of Public Works, Water Resources Division, at 909-387-8213.