44 C.F.R. § 60.3 Flood Plain Management Criteria For Flood-Prone Areas

• Library: Code of Federal Regulations
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through December 31, 2023
• Citation: 44 C.F.R. § 60.3
• Year: 2023

The Federal Insurance Administrator will provide the data upon which flood plain management regulations shall be based. If the Federal Insurance Administrator has not provided sufficient data to furnish a basis for these regulations in a particular community, the community shall obtain, review and reasonably utilize data available from other Federal, State or other sources pending receipt of data from the Federal Insurance Administrator. However, when special flood hazard area designations and water surface elevations have been furnished by the Federal Insurance Administrator, they shall apply. The symbols defining such special flood hazard designations are set forth in §64.3 of this subchapter. In all cases the minimum requirements governing the adequacy of the flood plain management regulations for flood-prone areas adopted by a particular community depend on the amount of technical data formally provided to the community by the Federal Insurance Administrator. Minimum standards for communities are as follows:

(a) When the Federal Insurance Administrator has not defined the special flood hazard areas within a community, has not provided water surface elevation data, and has not provided sufficient data to identify the floodway or coastal high hazard area, but the community has indicated the presence of such hazards by submitting an application to participate in the Program, the community shall:

(1) Require permits for all proposed construction or other development in the community, including the placement of manufactured homes, so that it may determine whether such construction or other development is proposed within flood-prone areas;

(2) Review proposed development to assure that all necessary permits have been received from those governmental agencies from which approval is required by Federal or State law, including section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, 33 U.S.C. 1334;

(3) Review all permit applications to determine whether proposed building sites will be reasonably safe from flooding. If a proposed building site is in a flood-prone area, all new construction and substantial improvements shall (i) be designed (or modified) and adequately anchored to prevent flotation, collapse, or lateral movement of the structure resulting from hydrodynamic and hydrostatic loads, including the effects of buoyancy, (ii) be constructed with materials resistant to flood damage, (iii) be constructed by methods and practices that minimize flood damages, and (iv) be constructed with electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing, and air conditioning equipment and other service facilities that are designed and/or located so as to prevent water from entering or accumulating within the components during conditions of flooding.

(4) Review subdivision proposals and other proposed new development, including manufactured home parks or subdivisions, to determine whether such proposals will be reasonably safe from flooding. If a subdivision proposal or other proposed new development is in a flood-prone area, any such proposals shall be reviewed to assure that (i) all such proposals are consistent with the need to minimize flood damage within the flood-prone area, (ii) all public utilities and facilities, such as sewer, gas, electrical, and water systems are located and constructed to minimize or eliminate flood damage, and (iii) adequate drainage is provided to reduce exposure to flood hazards;

(5) Require within flood-prone areas new and replacement water supply systems to be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the systems; and

(6) Require within flood-prone areas (i) new and replacement sanitary sewage systems to be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the systems and discharges from the systems into flood waters and (ii) onsite waste disposal systems to be located to avoid impairment to them or contamination from them during flooding.

(b) When the Federal Insurance Administrator has designated areas of special flood hazards (A zones) by the publication of a community's FHBM or FIRM, but has neither produced water surface elevation data nor identified a floodway or coastal high hazard area, the community shall:

(1) Require permits for all proposed construction and other developments including the placement of manufactured homes, within Zone A on the community's FHBM or FIRM;

(2) Require the application of the standards in paragraphs (a) (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) of this section to development within Zone A on the community's FHBM or FIRM;

(3) Require that all new subdivision proposals and other proposed developments (including proposals for manufactured home parks and subdivisions) greater than 50 lots or 5 acres, whichever is the lesser, include within such proposals base flood elevation data;

(4) Obtain, review and reasonably utilize any base flood elevation and floodway data available from a Federal, State, or other source, including data developed pursuant to paragraph (b)(3) of this section, as criteria for requiring that new construction, substantial improvements, or other development in Zone A on the community's FHBM or FIRM meet the standards in paragraphs (c)(2), (c)(3), (c)(5), (c)(6), (c)(12), (c)(14), (d)(2) and (d)(3) of this section;

(5) Where base flood elevation data are utilized, within Zone A on the community's FHBM or FIRM: (i) Obtain the elevation (in relation to mean sea level) of the lowest floor (including basement) of all new and substantially improved structures, and (ii) Obtain, if the structure has been floodproofed in accordance with paragraph (c)(3)(ii) of this section, the elevation (in relation to mean sea level) to which the structure was floodproofed, and...