Your Source for Floodplain Help
Midwest Stormwater Engineering can help you with all your floodplain needs. From completing local floodplain permits to filing Letters of Map Change with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Most people are unaware of floodplain requirements and the FEMA process for floodplains. The following information was put together to give a general understanding of floodplain mapping and the FEMA process for requesting changes to the floodplain.
Why are Floodplains Mapped?
Floodplains are mapped as a part of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) by FEMA and cooperating local agencies to identify areas at risk for flooding from a 1% annual chance event (also referred to as the 100 year flood). Floodplain maps allow communities to identify these at risk areas and also aid communities in keeping future development safe from flooding. To participate in the NFIP local communities must adopt and enforce minimum federal floodplain regulations. Floodplain regulations can vary from community to community but, at a minimum, the federal standards must be applied. Participation in the NFIP allows homeowners and businesses in a community to purchase flood insurance. Anyone in a community, which participates in the NFIP, can purchase flood insurance for a property whether the property is in a floodplain or not.
A majority of property owners who obtain flood insurance are required to purchase flood insurance by their mortgage lender. If a property as a mortgage through an agency with federal backing, such as FDIC, the mortgage lender will require flood insurance to be purchased for the property. In some cases, for new construction and for existing structures, a property owner may be able to remove the mandatory flood insurance requirement if they can prove that the structure is above the elevation of the 100 year floodplain. The following explains the FEMA processes for removing structures or property from the floodplain due to the property being elevated above the 100 year floodplain.
Letters of Map Change
Letters of Map Change are the official FEMA process for removing properties from the floodplain. Letters of Map Change can be used to remove properties from the floodplain where fill has been placed on the property, with a valid floodplain permit, to raise the elevation of the property above the 100 year floodplain elevation. This is referred to by FEMA as a Letter of Map Revision-Based on Fill. Letters of Map Change can also be used to remove properties from the floodplain due to natural high ground on a property but the floodplain map does not reflect the property being above the 100 year floodplain elevation. These types of Letters of Map Change are referred to by FEMA as Letters of Map Amendment.
Letter of Map Revision-Based on Fill
If a structure is being built on the property, raising the elevation of the property above the floodplain is a requirement in NFIP participating communities. However just obtaining a floodplain permit does not officially remove the property from the floodplain. In order to prove to a lender or a future buyer of the property that the property is out of the floodplain after elevating a site, a Letter of Map Revision-Based on Fill (LOMR-F) must be completed and submitted to the local floodplain administrator and to FEMA. Once a LOMR-F has been approved the property or a portion of a property is considered out of the floodplain. For a property with an approved LOMR-F the mandatory flood insurance requirement will be removed by a mortgage lender in most cases.
Letter of Map Amendment
Due to the mapping scale of floodplain maps and due to accuracy of elevation data used to produce floodplain maps, a property (home or business) mapped in the floodplain may be out of the floodplain if the elevation of natural ground of the property is above the 100 year floodplain elevation. For these cases a survey must be completed on the property to show that the property is above the floodplain elevation and a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) must be completed and submitted to FEMA. Once a LOMA has been approved the property or a portion of a property is considered out of the floodplain. For a home or business with an approved LOMA the mandatory flood insurance requirement will be removed by a mortgage lender in most cases
Letter of Map Revision
In some cases filling or grading in the floodplain my change the boundaries and/or elevation of a floodplain or more accurate survey information may be obtained which could change the boundaries and/or elevation of a floodplain. If a property owner wishes to make these changes an official part of a mapped floodplain a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) must be completed and submitted to the local floodplain administrator and to FEMA. Once a LOMR has been approved, the changes to the boundary of the floodplain and the associated revised floodplain elevations will be used for regulatory purposes and for enforcing the mandatory flood insurance requirement. Completing a LOMR requires the regulatory model of the floodplain to be updated with the new information and submitted to FEMA for approval. Given this the LOMR process is much more technically involved than the LOMR-F or the LOMA. Also in some cases a preliminary LOMR must be submitted and approved to FEMA before any physical changes to a property take place. This preliminary submittal is referred to as a Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR). Once the CLOMR has been approved the physical work on a site can be completed and then a LOMR must be submitted reflecting the actual changes to the site.
Midwest Stormwater Engineering is capable of completing all of the FEMA Letters of Map Change described above. If you are in need of a Letters of Map Change please contact us.
