|
|
Ask About Permits for Building or Developing in the Floodplain Who needs a permit for floodplain development? Anyone – property owner, builder, developer – who plans to locate a house, manufactured home, or non-residential structure; or who plans to substantially improve an existing structure; or who plans to create a subdivision, build a road, modify a stream channel, or install a culvert or a dam, etc., in a special flood hazard area (SFHA); should obtain a permit from the White County Assessor’s Floodplain Management and GIS Office before doing any work in the SFHA. An on-line application form may be viewed and printed from here. What state or federal permits are needed by those desiring to develop or build in an SFHA? Permit from U. S. Army Corps of Engineers; possibly also from Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality; possibly also from Arkansas Department of Health If the project includes stream channel modification of any kind, including dams or culverts, a permit from the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers is required. OR, if the SFHA includes wetlands, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers should be contacted prior to any kind of development activity. USACE Little Rock District What is an elevation certificate, and who needs one? An elevation certificate is the document required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), when a change is floodplain status is requested for a particular parcel or structure. FEMA will not issue a letter of map amendment without a properly completed elevation certificate. Among other things, the elevation certificate certifies the lowest finished floor elevation of a structure in relation to elevation of the lowest adjacent grade (lowest point on ground surface in contact with the structure), and also in relation to the local base flood elevation (BFE). It can also be used to certify the land surface elevation of a land parcel in relation to the BFE. What is a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA), and who needs one? A LOMA is an official revision, by letter, to an effective Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). Who needs one? A property owner, builder, or developer – who is convinced that his or her property was incorrectly mapped in a special flood hazard area. An elevation certificate is required before FEMA will issue a letter of map amendment. What is a Letter of Map Revision, Based on Fill (LOMR-F), and who needs one? A Letter of Map Revision, Based on Fill (LOMR-F) is a letter from FEMA stating that an existing structure or parcel of land that has been elevated by fill would not be inundated by the base (1% chance) flood. Example: A prospective homeowner wants to build a house on land that is located in a special flood hazard area. One available option is to have a sufficient amount of fill brought in to elevate the planned home site above the local base flood elevation (BFE). Following construction, the homeowner has his or her engineer or surveyor to certify the fill elevation and lowest finished floor elevation for the new home. This information is sent to FEMA via an elevation certificate, together with a special application form that is designed specifically for this purpose. If the fill and structure specifications are approved, FEMA sends a LOMR-F, effectively removing the structure’s “special flood hazard” status. |
|
|