LAUREL, MD – June 4, 2008 – Maryland-based engineering consulting firm Greenhorne & O'Mara (G&O) was recently re-awarded a 5-year Map Modernization IDIQ Contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  G&O is the managing partner with a Joint-Venture (JV) called GG-III, and is working directly with the FEMA Region III office and affected communities. Region III includes the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The JV includes the Pennsylvania-based firm Gannett Fleming.

Hurricanes and riverine floods make it crucial for communities to have accurate information concerning flood risks. Vince DiCamillo, CFM, G&O’s Regional Vice President of Water and Environment, explained the importance of flood map modernization, "Flood hazard maps promote awareness of flood risks and help counties and municipalities appropriately manage those risks. Map Modernization is in response to National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requirements and feedback from federal, state, and local program stakeholders.  Many NFIP maps may not reflect recent development and/or natural changes in the environment. The updated maps can take advantage of revised data and improved technologies for identifying flood hazards."

G&O has been in partnership with FEMA on floodplain mapping, disaster response, and hazard mitigation projects since the mid-1970s. G&O professionals have developed complex geospatial databases to support floodplain hazard identification and mapping, and have performed thousands of GIS/mapping projects in support of Flood Insurance Studies (FIS) and Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) production.

Greenhorne & O'Mara (G&O) is a full-service engineering consulting firm that provides solutions in the areas of general civil, transportation, environmental, water resources, and hazard mitigation and security services to clients in the public and private sectors. G&O's 17 offices support projects located throughout the United States and overseas. Founded in 1950, G&O is an employee-owned firm that is consistently ranked by Engineering News Record among the top 130 architectural/engineering design firms in the United States in its annual Top 500 Design Firms survey.