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<br />Revisions and Amendments to Flood Maps <br /> <br />A number of short- and long-term options need to be explored to simplifY and clarifY the map <br />amendment process, Currently, there is an assortment of amendments available with confusing <br />applicabilities and procedures, Changing and/or making more specific the name of exception granted <br />would help avoid sending the wrong message, i.e" that the property is no longer subject to regulation <br />or to flood risk. <br /> <br />Developers sometimes fill in the surface of a piece of land before constructing buildings upon it. <br />Because they have raised the elevation of the surface of the property, they can obtain approval for <br />removing the property from the official "floodplain" and hence from regulations. Once such approval <br />is obtained from the Federal Emergency Management Agency through a Letter of Map Revision, <br />buildings may legally be constructed on that land with their lowest floors below the base flood <br />elevation, <br /> <br />· Removing the designation of "floodplain" from a property on an accurate floodplain map should <br />be contingent on (1) waiving future flood disaster assistance for I % chance or smaller floods, and <br />(2) requiring waivers to be recorded on the property deed, <br /> <br />. Fill should be treated like any other engineered foundation, so Letters of Map Revision should <br />not be issued based solely on fill, When there is a need to waive flood insurance, the Federal <br />Emergency Management Agency should issue a letter of flood insurance waiver based on the <br />structure's being above the 1% chance flood elevation, but not remove the entire property from <br />the mapped floodplain, <br /> <br />· States or communities with approved capability should be allowed to review Letter of Map <br />Revision submissions and certify their reviews, <br /> <br />· Consideration should be given to requiring flood insurance in the 0.2% chance (SOD-year) <br />floodplain, thereby greatly reducing today's clamor for Letters of Map Revision, <br /> <br />Future Conditions <br /> <br />Flood discharges for a watershed typically are calculated based on current runoff conditions and past <br />floods, But urbanization tends to increase both the quantity of runoff and the speed at which it <br />reaches downstream areas, thus worsening flooding over time, Because of this, floodplains need be <br />managed, not to the conditions of the past, but according to the conditions that will exist when the <br />area is fully "built up," <br /> <br />· To reduce the cost of remapping, minimize future damage, and improve sustainabiIity, flood maps <br />should be based on future-conditions hydrology unless ordinances require that there be no <br />increase in the post-development runoff discharge compared to the pre-development discharge, <br /> <br />Areas Subject to Special Hazards <br /> <br />Several types of flood hazards are not adequately addressed on the Federal Emergency Management <br />Agency's flood maps. The mapping techniques used seldom reflect the true flood hazards in areas <br /> <br />Association of State Floodplain Managers <br /> <br />-25- <br /> <br />National Flood Programs in Review 2000 <br />