2 D I SAS T E R R E COV E RY T ODAY. COM D I S A S T E R R E C O V E R Y T O D A Y flooding through measures such as elevating structures. In this issue of Disaster Recovery Today, we will discuss floodplain management and also its impact on FEMA Public Assistance (PA) recoveries. Floodplain Management When a community agrees to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), officials sign a flood damage prevention ordinance. In this ordinance, a community agrees to regulate development in the SFHA in exchange for the availability of federal flood insurance, disaster assistance and federally backed community loans. Primarily, regulating development means to ensure that all new construction or substantial improvement (we will discuss substantial improvement in greater detail later in this issue) has its lowest floor, including basement, above the base flood elevation (BFE). Obviously, since it is impossible to elevate a basement, this would mean no basements in a SFHA. If a BFE has not been determined on your Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), then a community should require buildings to have their lowest floor two feet above the highest adjacent grade. To achieve and maintain compliance, communities assign a floodplain administrator who oversees the floodplain development permitting process. Permits are required when performing any of the following activities within a SFHA: • Building or enlarging a structure • Substantially improving a structure • Placing a manufactured home • Mining, dredging, filling, grading, excavating and landscaping • Building or repairing roads and bridges After review, the permit is either denied or approved and is attached to the building permit. To make this determination, the administrator will require an elevation certificate, which documents the BFE in comparison to the structure’s lowest floor. Elevation certificates must be prepared and certified by a land surveyor, engineer, or architect who is authorized by commonwealth, state, or local law to certify elevation information. Community officials who are authorized by local law or ordinance to provide floodplain management information may also sign the certificate. When developing floodplain management ordinances and procedures, it is important to remember that the regulatory requirements set forth by FEMA are the minimum measures acceptable for NFIP participation. More stringent requirements adopted 2 NFIP Standard Policy. 3 NFIP Statistics found at www.fema.gov. Since 2000, NFIP has paid in excess of 327,000 claims totaling more than $21 billion.3 FEMA defines a flood as: 1. A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area or of two or more properties (at least one of which is your property) from: a. Overflow of inland or tidal waters; b. Unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source; c. Mudflow. 2. Collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or similar body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels that result in a flood as defined in 1.a. above.2
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