LEONARD GRAY

HAHNVILLE – An effort to reduce flood insurance premiums in St. Charles Parish is having its first effects, as the parish’s Department of Planning and Zoning recently qualified its first flood plain manager. Earl Matherne Jr., the coastal zone program manager, is the first qualified flood plain manager for the department, having successfully passed a week-long course taught at Louisiana State University. The program is sponsored by the flood insurance division of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. “The course was really good and answered a lot of whys’,” Matherne commented. Planning Director Bob Lambert said Matherne is but the first of 12 staff members he plans to have certified, including eight inspectors and permit managers and four supervisors. As it stands, Matherne is one of only eight certified flood plain managers in Louisiana. Matherne, in essence, has already been doing the work of a flood plain manager for the past nine years, Lambert said. However, the value of formal training and certification is to earn points toward a lowering of flood insurance premiums for property owners. “The first flood plain manager is worth 50 points,” Lambert said. A flood plain manager helps to regulate property development to minimize the risks of flooding and especially repetitive-loss flooding. Ten years ago, Lambert explained, St. Charles Parish entered the community rating system for national flood insurance, the first parish in Louisiana and only the third county (parish) in the United States to do so. That initial acceptance into the program granted the parish a 9 rating, but the addition of a flood plain manager could boost the rating to an 8 – which would reduce flood insurance costs. “Every certified flood plain manager gives points for better ratings,” Lambert said. The training course Matherne undertook covered such topics as how and where new construction takes place, basic insurance coverage, community rating systems, mapping and permitting. Three other department employees also took the training along with Matherne, and expect to be certified later this year, Lambert said. “We can now do a better job of managing the risk of loss due to flooding,” Lambert said. Matherne added, “It was enlightening to be sure.”