ARIZONA DAILY STAR: Sat., Oct. 27, 2007
Giffords' target: Marana 'flood plain'
By Brian J. Pedersen
FEMA would have to change its mapping procedures if it failed to give Marana officials extra time to prove the town is not in a flood plain under legislation Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said Friday she will introduce.
"This is my top priority," Giffords told packed council chambers at the Marana Municipal Complex. "We're not going to let this rest until we come up with an adequate solution."
Giffords and other members of Arizona's congressional delegation will meet next week with officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ask that Marana be given up to 24 months to conduct hydrological studies to determine whether a 10-square-mile area on the north side of town is actually at risk of flooding, she said. As it stands now, the area in question would be moved into a high-risk flood zone category as of Sept. 30, 2008. Homeowners there would have to buy flood insurance.
Giffords called the new flood maps FEMA is about to issue "erroneous." Since FEMA requires municipalities to show proof they don't belong in a flood plain, Giffords is asking FEMA to give Marana two years to deliver that proof.
FULL STORY: http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/208486