SIMI VALLEY : Federal Agency to Pay for Map Study

Simi Valley officials said Wednesday that the federal agency responsible for revising the city’s flood map has agreed to pay for a re-evaluation of the map, which city officials have maintained is flawed.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay the entire $46,000 cost of a new study focusing on areas at the east end of the city that it previously designated as flood-prone, said Assistant City Manager Mike Sedell. FEMA had earlier requested that the city pick up $16,000 of the tab.

But Sedell said city officials, while in Washington recently for the National League of Cities Conference, met with FEMA officials, who agreed to pay all costs of the new study.

FEMA officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Sedell said that work on the new map will probably begin within two months and should be completed by October.