In the name of providing "a level of flood protection up to and potentially beyond a 100-year flood event - that last goal is a result of the threat flooding poses to investment in the downtown area which greatly limits the ability of mortgage financing and requiring expensive flood insurance to mitigate risk and the increased costs of construction to comply with floodplain management regulations", the City Government of Mount Vernon (Washington) requested the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to issue a Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) for its downtown floodwall. This CLOMR for the floodwall was recently rejected by FEMA ( bit.ly/14yNkc ) - mostly due to concerns of impacts to other jurisdictions.