FLOOD00160

• County: La Plata
• Community: La Plata County
• Stream Name: Animas River
• Title: LOMR - Affected Panel 080097 0393 B - Case No. 00-08-128P
• Date: 5/19/2001
• Prepared For: La Plata County
• Prepared By: FEMA
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Historic FEMA Regulatory Floodplain Information

CHANGES ARE MADE IN DETERMINATIONS OF BASE FLOOD ELEVATIONS FOR THE
UNINCORPORATED AREAS OF LA PLATA COUNTY, COLORADO, UNDER THE NATIONAL
FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM

On December 15, 1981, the Federal Emergency Management Agency identified Special Flood Hazard
Areas (SFHAs) in the unincorporated areas of La Plata County, Colorado, through issuance of a Flood
Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). The Mitigation Directorate has determined that modification of the
elevations of the flood having a I-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (base
flood) for certain locations in this community is appropriate. The modified Base Flood Elevations (BFEs)
revise the FIRM for the community.

The changes are being made pursuant to Section 206 of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (Public
Law 93-234) and are in accordance with the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended
(Title XIII of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, Public Law 90-448), 42 U.S.C.
4001-4128, and 44 CFR Part 65.

On December 5, 1989, FEMA published a revised FIRM and Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report for the
City of Durango that included modeling of the new U.S. Highway 160 bridge, located just downstream of
the old U.S. Highway 160 bridge, over the Animas River. The information that is the basis of the
December 5 FIRM and FIS report for the City of Durango also affected the unincorporated areas of
La Plata County. This information was inadvertently not incorporated into the FIRM, Flood Boundary
and Floodway Map, and FIS report for the unincorporated areas of La Plata County. This modification
corrects mismatches in BFEs and floodway and floodplain boundary delineations between the two
communities and has resulted in a revised delineation of the regulatory floodway, increases and decreases
in SFHA width, and decreased BFEs for the Animas River. The table below indicates existing and
modified BFEs for selected locations along the affected lengths of the flooding source(s) cited above.

Location

Existing BFE
(feet)*

Modified BFE
(feet)*

Approximately 1,800 feet downstream of
new U.S. Highway 160 bridge
Approximately 1,300 feet downstream of
new U.S. Highway 160 bridge
Approximately 100 feet downstream of
new U.S. Highway 160 bridge

6,475

6,472

6,478

6,473

6,484

6,483

*National Geodetic Vertical Datum, rounded to nearest whole foot

Under the above-mentioned Acts of 1968 and 1973, the Mitigation Directorate must develop criteria for
floodplain management. To participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the community
must use the modified BFEs to administer the floodplain management measures of the NFIP. These
modified BFEs will also be used to calculate the appropriate flood insurance premium rates for new
buildings and their contents and for the second layer of insurance on existing buildings and contents.

Upon the second publication of notice of these changes in this newspaper, any person has 90 days in
which he or she can request, through the Chief Executive Officer of the community, that the Mitigation
Directorate reconsider the determination. Any request for reconsideration must be based on knowledge of
changed conditions or new scientific or technical data. All interested parties are on notice that until the
90-day period elapses, the Mitigation Directorate's determination to modifY the BFEs may itself be
changed.