Louisiana officials hope to hear soon from a federal judge on whether their petition to get FEMA to reveal how it came up with "Risk Rating 2.0" for the National Flood Insurance Program is granted. Without it, it is almost impossible to challenge the new rates.
For years, officials in coastal communities have been trying to get FEMA to reveal how they determined properties' flood risk. Doug Sunseri, host of All Things Legal on WWL, says that's the first step necessary in challenging rising rates that have angered homeowners.
"If their methodology is arbitrary or ambiguous or just sort of a blanket approach, they could definitely challenge it on behalf of the state," he said.
"Ultimately if they're successful, possibly the federal government would have to maybe rebate some of the premiums according to a methodology that would fairly asses the risk."
But FEMA so far has refused to reveal their methods, leading to a lawsuit in federal court.
If the judge rules in FEMA's favor, Sunseri said further challenges of the new rates would be very difficult if not impossible.