Base Flood Elevations
by John Grego
FEMA uses the term Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) to refer to the water level of the 1% chance flood on the floodplain. A 1% chance flood is the new term for a 100-year flood, chosen to convey the possibility of risk from a major flood event year in and year out. The new terminology works well for a 100-year flood, a 50-year flood (2% chance flood), etc, but not so well for a 500-year flood (the .2% chance flood?). (more)
Cayce must be more thoughtful about annexations
ASK CAYCE; IT’LL annex anything — no questions asked. That’s the reputation Cayce is developing as its City Council makes rash decisions about annexations on the Richland County side of the river. (More from TheState.Com)
Army Corps says Condition of many levees a mystery
By JIM SALTER
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Across America, earthen flood levees protect big cities and small towns, wealthy suburbs and rich farmland. But the Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency that oversees levees, lacks an inventory of thousands of them and has no idea of their condition, the corps' chief levee expert told The Associated Press. (more from AP)
Cayce must be open about plans for Congaree land
IT’S GOOD THAT Cayce is asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency to extend a public comment period as well as come and explain complicated flood maps proposed for a 3,000-acre tract annexed into the city late last year. (more on TheState.Com)
Cayce development may have hit another snag
By CLIF LeBLANC
A panel of federal appeals court judges Tuesday added yet another ripple to the battle over flood maps for Cayce’s disputed and huge Vista Farms project.
Three judges on the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., ruled a November decision by an S.C. federal judge should not take effect yet.(more on TheState.Com)
Building in a flood plain is just a bad idea
By WARREN BOLTON - Associate Editor
NOW THAT CAYCE has annexed flood-prone land along the river in an effort to chart its own destiny, can it handle the responsibility that comes with it?
If Cayce decides to become a flood plain community, it will be making that decision for the entire Midlands, particularly property owners downstream. And it will be doing so at a time when many communities across the country are making the wiser choice of not putting new development - and people - in harm's way. (more on TheState.Com)
Levee may be needed for project
Structure for Cayce development would be first new one in decade in nation
By DAWN HINSHAW - dhinshaw@thestate.com
Construction of a levee allowing Columbia Venture to develop land in a flood plain would be the first new levee in the country in a decade, a Federal Emergency Management Agency official said.
Levees have fallen out of favor for a lot of reasons — cost, environmental laws and destruction from Hurricane Katrina, said Butch Kinerney, a spokesman for the agency in Washington.(more on TheState.Com)
Cayce owes citizens greater candor going forward
CAYCE CITY Council’s rushed annexation of flood-prone land along the river in anticipation of it being developed was irresponsible and deceptive.
While it’s understandable Cayce would entertain the possibility of new development and the jobs and tax revenue it would bring, the council went about it the wrong way. From what we know, the council didn’t do its homework to ensure it isn’t biting off more than the city can chew. What benefit would there be in annexing flood-prone land to allow development that could flood and cause damage for which the city could be liable? (more on TheState.Com)
City’s quick action a blow to fed plan to block developer
BUILDING OUR CITY/ CAYCE’S ANNEXATION
By JEFF WILKINSON
On the surface, Cayce’s annexation of more than 3,000 acres in Richland County looks like a land grab — a small town punching its big neighbor, Columbia, in the nose.
But that’s just the under card. (more on TheState.Com)
Questions about Cayce’s plans
By CHRIS KUENY - Guest columnist
Through the ongoing episodes of Green Diamond (now Vista Farms), my neighbors and I who live in the Riverland Park neighborhood of Cayce have learned a hard lesson about the difference between public rhetoric and private actions.
Time and again, developers, locally prominent lawyers and businessmen, respected Heathwood Hall School leadership, and even my own community’s elected officials have come before my neighbors and myself to proclaim “we will not harm you with our levees. Trust us.” (more on TheState.Com)
Annexation fuels push for changes in state laws
Critics say developers using loopholes to dodge counties’ controls
By SAMMY FRETWELL - sfretwell@thestate.com
Cayce’s rapid push to annex a Richland County flood plain for development is fueling efforts by conservation groups to change South Carolina law.
In recent years, developers in the Lowcountry have persuaded some cities and small towns to annex their property so they could escape stricter county development controls — a practice that allows poorly planned growth, critics say. (more on TheState.Com)
City will deny water for Columbia Venture project
Columbia will not help 3,000-acre, flood-prone site if annexed, developed
By ADAM BEAM - abeam@thestate.com
A year after scorning Columbia Venture’s advances, Columbia officials said Tuesday they would not provide water to its flood-prone property if it is annexed by Cayce and developed.
The news came as a surprise to Columbia Venture developers and could change plans for the 3,000-acre tract along the Congaree River that has raised questions about the potential risks and rewards of building on the property. (more on TheState.Com)
Building Our City | Green Diamond one step closer
After rezoning vote, annexation opponents look to Thursday meeting
By DAWN HINSHAW - dhinshaw@thestate.com
More than 100 people crammed into Cayce City Hall for a rezoning meeting Monday that set the stage for Cayce’s vote on annexation of floodprone land in neighboring Richland County. .
Many wore stickers reading, “Don’t annex Green Diamond! Keep Cayce out of the levee business.” (more on TheState.com>
Building Our City | Green Diamond project revived
Developers want city to annex Congaree River property
By CLIF LeBLANC and DAWN HINSHAW - cleblanc@thestate.com dhinshaw@thestate.com
Developers who for a decade have pushed to build a $1 billion community south of the capital city have launched a third attempt — this time by leapfrogging a river and trying to be annexed into the city of Cayce. (more from TheState.com)
Risks cloud plan’s future
Proposal for Cayce to annex land that would be developed raises questions about liability
By DAWN HINSHAW and CLIF LeBLANC - dhinshaw@thestate.com cleblanc@thestate.com
A 2001 legal analysis for Richland County concluded the county would be exposed to “substantial liability” and expensive legal costs if it had responsibility for maintaining levees along the Congaree River.
The 33-page report was what ultimately sank the Green Diamond project in Richland County, Councilman Greg Pearce said Friday. (more on TheState.com)
Development plan for Cayce stirs passions on both sides
Council likely to decide soon about proposal that would annex 3,000 flood-prone acres
By CLIF LeBLANC - cleblanc@thestate.com
A contingent of conservationists and Cayce residents wants City Hall to reject an annexation plan that Cayce leaders say is their city’s key to a brighter future.
The environmentalists have years of experience battling developers who have pushed for a huge, riverside “city within a city” for nearly a decade. (more on TheSate.com)