FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Authority, recently issued a new preliminary set of flood plain maps for Cranberry – the first in 30 years. Those maps are used by mortgage companies in determining whether a property owner will be required to take out flood insurance. As a result of a 2012 Congressional Act, a property owner’s federal flood damage insurance premiums were to reflect the actual risk of flood damage, unlike the previous program which subsidized those rates. But dramatic rate spikes prompted Congress to back down, and on March 21, President Obama signed The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act, repealing and modifying certain provisions of the 2012 law – placing a cap on annual premiums, and allowing certain properties to continue paying the previous rates. At its April 1 meeting, Cranberry’s Board of Supervisors will be briefed on the FEMA map changes, which are also used by the Township in issuing development and building permits. For more information, contact Engineer Tim Schutzman at tim.schutzman@cranberrytownship.org.