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McIntyre coastal bill passes Senate
Story Date: 12/16/2014
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Source: US Rep. Mike McIntyre (NC-7), 12/16/14
The United States Senate has unanimously passed legislation authored and introduced by Congressman Mike McIntyre which will ensure that North Carolina houses which were mistakenly included in coastal protection zones are removed and can receive flood insurance. In addition, the bill ensures that environmentally vulnerable areas and wildlife on the state's coast are protected for future generations.
Known as the "McIntyre Bill", H.R. 3572 will now proceed to the White House to be signed into law.
The Coastal Barrier Resources Act of 1982, otherwise known as “CBRA” was designed to identify areas of undeveloped land on coastal barriers that were prone to damage by natural disasters and to prevent such land from harmful development.
CBRA was enacted to minimize the loss of human life, wasteful Federal expenditures, and the damage to natural resources associated with coastal barriers. In order to disincentivize development within these Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS) zones, financial expenditures and assistance are prohibited within the designated areas, meaning all homeowners within the zones are ineligible the National Flood Insurance Program.
However, when mapping the original portions of the CBRS zones in the 7th District, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made several errors designating the boundary lines of the zone, mistakenly including areas that were already under development at the time the mapping was conducted and now hold residences and structures. The maps outlining units “L07, L08, and L09” of the Coastal Barrier Resources System in North Carolina are corrected in H.R. 3572 in order to remove land from the CBRS zone which was incorrectly included during the original mapping process.
Congressman McIntyre worked closely with constituents, homeowners, business-owners, Congressional Colleagues, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Army Corps of Engineers to craft this bill in a manor that earned broad support for the legislation.
Representative McIntyre is founder and Co-Chairman of the Congressional Waterways Caucus.
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