The agreement provides King County with grant funding to support a technical re-evaluation of the FEMA study and floodplain maps. The County will investigate issues raised in letters of appeal and present the results of the re-evaluation at a public meeting held jointly with the cities of Snoqualmie and North Bend. The study area includes the South Fork Snoqualmie River from I-90 downstream and the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River from the Mt. Si Bridge to the confluence near Meadowbrook Bridge. Preliminary mapping results will be available in the spring of next year and made available through the North Bend Library. A public meeting also will be held in the spring.
King County is a recognized regional leader in conducting floodplain mapping studies.
Accurate rate maps are important to local governments in regulating new development in flood prone areas and for landowners in assessing the risk of flooding to their property and the need for flood insurance protection. King County's national standing with FEMA's Community Rating System provides flood insurance policy holders in unincorporated King County with a 20 percent discount in their annual insurance premiums. When a date is set for the planned public meeting, the date and time will be advertised in local newspapers. It will be held in the North Bend area. The meeting will be open to residents and landowners and public comment will be taken and considered in producing the final floodplain maps for the area.