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<br />. <br />. <br />. <br />I. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />,. <br />:. <br />. <br />. <br />I. <br />'. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br />. <br /> <br />FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT <br /> <br />Local Ordinance Requirements <br />Communities that manage their floodplains in Colorado do so most often through the local <br />regulatory process, This requires a community to adopt an ordinance or regulation, which sets <br />forth the performance standards by which development will occur in identified flood hazard <br />areas, Nationwide and in Colorado, regulations are enforced within the area of the 100-year <br />floodplain, <br /> <br />The basic requirement of these regulations is that new development and significant improvement <br />of existing development cannot occur in the 100-year floodplain without a floodplain <br />development permit being obtained, Obtaining such a permit requires compliance with <br />engineering standards, In communities like San Miguel County that have approximate floodplain <br />information, the engineering standards have been more general, Structures must be built with <br />materials and techniques that "minimize flood damages", For communities that have detailed <br />floodplain information, more specific regulations would apply. The use of engineering <br />techniques presented in this report can help the County to better regulate its approximate <br />floodplain areas, <br /> <br />Flood Insurance <br />Flood insurance is made available to owners and occupants of floodprone property through the <br />federal government's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), The federally backed flood <br />insurance is available to anyone in any community that participates in the NFIP, At the time of <br />this publication, San Miguel County and Telluride are currently participating in the NFIP, and <br />officially joined the regular program of the NFIP on September 29, 1978 and September 15, <br />1978, respectively, Sawpit is currently not in the NFIP, Communities become participants by <br />adopting floodplain regulations, adopting an NFIP map (if one exists) and agreeing to cooperate <br />with the federal government in the local implementation of the NFIP, Property owners and <br />occupants can then contact an insurance agent familiar with the NFIP (perhaps their own agent) <br />and purchase insurance through that agent, much like they would purchase homeowner's <br />insurance, Brochures and other information regarding the National Flood Insurance Program can <br />be obtained by calling the Regional Office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency <br />(FEMA) in Denver at (303) 235-4830. <br /> <br />Floodplain Manal!ement Alternatives <br />Besides floodplain regulations and flood insurance, there are many actions that can reduce the <br />risk of flood damage in a community, Generally these actions fall into two classes, structural <br />actions and non-structural actions, Structural actions involve the construction of facilities to <br />separate floodwaters from property that is at risk, They include construction of improved <br />channels, enlargement of crossing structures (bridges and culverts), levees and floodwalls, <br />reservoirs and ponds to detain floodwaters and diversion channels and pipes to direct waters <br />elsewhere, Non-structural actions usually involve removing people and/or structures from the <br />risk area without physically altering the floodplain, Actions include regulation of new <br />development, the adoption and enforcement of specific building code requirements, <br />floodproofing of existing buildings, relocation of structures to safer sites, acquisition of <br /> <br />9 <br />