Stonington — A 12-member town highway department crew began excavating a portion of the yard of a River Road home in Pawcatuck on Wednesday as the last step in bringing the town into compliance with flood hazard regulations.

More than 1,300 homeowners lost the discount on their pricey flood insurance in the summer of 2015 because the town had not addressed deficiencies found in its flood planning by a FEMA audit. The audit found nine properties were not in compliance with requirements of the Community Rating Program.

A change in Town Hall personnel under former First Selectman Ed Haberek resulted in the oversight, as the flood plain manager position that oversaw the program was not filled.

Since then, the town has worked with homeowners to get them to bring their properties into compliance. First Selectman Rob Simmons pledged to solve the problem when he ran for office two years ago and has since spent time discussing the issue with FEMA and negotiating with homeowners.

Both the Masons Island and River Road homeowners had received certificates of occupancy for their homes, which indicates the town has signed off on their homes as being in compliance with all zoning, flood and building codes. That fact could have posed a problem for the town if it took legal action against the property owners in an effort to force compliance.

Simmons said the town and owners of the Masons Island home agreed to split the cost of the compliance upgrades, costing the town $10,000.

At the River Road home, the project involved installing flood vents and raising some utilities, which will be done by a licensed contractor. The highway crew is doing the excavation work to lower the cost to the town. The town has agreed to pay the $13,000 cost for the contractor.

Simmons said the problem did not happen under his administration but it was up to him and Selectman Mike Spellman and Selectwoman Kate Rotella to solve the problem.

“More than 1,000 homeowners are paying higher premiums because some of the homes fell out of compliance,” he said.

The average discount is about $80, according to the town. But because flood insurance can cost homeowners several thousand dollars, the loss of the discount meant an increase of as much as a few hundred dollars for some.

Town Engineer Scot Deledda, who spent many hours working with FEMA, the flood insurance program and the homeowners, said the town has reapplied to enter the discount program and expects to re-enter the program in October.

j.wojtas@theday.com