DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Proposed Flood Hazard Determinations

AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA, Department of Homeland Security)

SUMMARY: Technical information or comments are solicited on the proposed flood hazard determinations shown on the preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), and where applicable, the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report, for your community. These flood hazard determinations may include additions or modifications of any Base Flood Elevation (BFE), Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) boundary or zone designation, or regulatory floodway shown on the FIRM, and if applicable, within the FIS report. SFHAs are areas subject to inundation by the base (1-percent-annual-chance) flood and include the following flood zones: A, AO, AH, A1-A30, AE, A99, AR, AR/A1-A30, AR/AE, AR/AO, AR/AH, AR/A, VO, V1-V30, VE, and V.Floodways are the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than a designated height. Comments on other aspects of the FIRM and FIS report will also be considered.

The FIRM and FIS report are the basis for the floodplain management measures that your community is required to either adopt or show evidence of having in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

DATES & SUBMISSION: The appeal period begins following the second publication of the notice of these proposed flood hazard determinations in a newspaper of local circulation in your community and ends 90 days thereafter. All comments and/or appeals must be submitted to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of your community as listed in the table below, and received no later than 90 days after the second publication of the notice in the local newspaper.

ADDRESSES: The FIRM and FIS report showing the proposed flood hazard determinations can be viewed at the map repository addresses or the online location listed in the table below.

Lessees and owners of real property are encouraged to review the FIRM, FIS report, and related materials.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick Sacbibit, Chief, Engineering Services Branch, Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, FEMA, 400 C Street SW., Washington, DC 20472, (202)646-7659, or (e-mail) patrick.sacbibit@fema.dhs.gov; or visit the FEMA Map Information eXchange (FMIX) online at https://www.floodmaps.fema.gov/fhm/fmx_main.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FEMA gives notice of the proposed flood hazard determinations in accordance with Section 110 of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, 42 U.S.C. 4104, and Part 67, Subpart 4(a) of Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

These flood hazard determinations may include additions or modifications of any BFE, SFHA boundary or zone designation, or regulatory floodway on the FIRM, and if applicable, within the FIS report.

These proposed flood hazard determinations, together with the floodplain management criteria required by 44 CFR 60.3, are minimum requirements. They should not be construed to mean that your community must change any existing ordinances that are more stringent in their floodplain management requirements. Your community may, at any time, enact stricter requirements of its own, or pursuant to policies established by other Federal, State, or regional entities.These flood hazard determinations are used to meet the floodplain management requirements of the NFIP.

Any submitted data or objections provided which demonstrate that proposed flood hazard determinations are scientifically or technically incorrect and that satisfy the data requirements defined in 44 CFR 67.6 are considered appeals. All other submitted data or objections are referred to as comments. All submitted information will be considered in finalizing the FIRM and FIS report.

Information must be sent directly to the community CEO listed in the table below. The issues raised (appeals and comments) may be reviewed in aggregate and not addressed individually. Individuals providing information who have been determined by FEMA to meet the criteria of "appellant" as articulated in 44 CFR 67.5 will be sent a copy of the resolution letter, which names them as appellants. Individuals who provide only comments may not be notified.

Use of a Scientific Resolution Panel (SRP) is available to each community in support of the resolution process when conflicting scientific or technical data is submitted during the appeal period. SRPs are independent panels of experts in hydrology, hydraulics, and other pertinent sciences established to review conflicting scientific and technical data and provide recommendations for resolution. An SRP is an option after FEMA and a local community have been engaged in a collaborative consultation process for at least 60 days without a mutually acceptable resolution. Additional information regarding the SRP process and eligibility requirements can be found in the SRP Fact Sheet, which is available at the following location: https://www.floodsrp.org/pdfs/srp_overview.pdf.

VIEW FLOOD HAZARD DETERMINATION INFORMATION

The new flood hazard determination information, as shown on the preliminary FIRM and FIS report for each community, may be viewed at the map repository address listed in the table below, or online at [https://msc.fema.gov]. Additionally, the current effective FIRM and FIS report for each community are accessible online through the FEMA Map Service Center at https://msc.fema.gov for comparison. Addresses for the CEO of each community are also provided below.