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I I I I I I I I 1\ I I I I I I I I I I SECTION THREE Program Plan assumption, other counties will also be included in future annual needs priority listings until their needs are met. Clearly if only 50% of the H&H engineering needs are met, then there will inherently be unmet engineering update needs. Site Specific Needs Assessment - In addition to the effort to provide counties with digital flood maps, the CWCB is committed to the goal of ensuring Colorado residents that those maps will contain the most current and accurate flood hazard information possible. To achieve this goal, the CWCB will evaluate statewide flood hazard mapping needs and will also inventory and evaluate local engineering needs and resources on a case-by-case basis. Such a case-by-case evaluation for each county is consistent with the discussion above about including on the annual priority list any counties with unmet H&H engineering needs. It is important to determine the need for site-specific flood hazard data updates in addition to creating a countywide DFIRM mapping framework. The CWCB will rely heavily on local officials for the determination of and request for specific needs. The CWCB believes this secondary effort is necessary to account for conditions that may require the creation of updated flood hazard data, such as un-anticipated development, watershed changes, or a variety of other factors that may limit the ability of a countywide mapping effort to address all of a community's flood hazard mapping needs. Additionally, the CWCB wants to avoid the trap of viewing the mere creation of a countywide digital floodplain mapping foundation as sufficient to warrant moving on to other counties. Through the implementation of the countywide mapping and site-specific needs assessments, the CWCB will be able to more easily work toward achieving their goal of providing "accurate and comprehensive floodplain management tools and flood insurance information to Colorado residents". By documenting these procedures and results the CWCB will also assist FEMA in supporting the regulatory requirement to perform a needs assessment of flood hazard data on the FIRM on a 5-year basis, as indicated by Section 575 of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994, which mandates that FEMA must: "... once during each 5-year period... assess the need to revise and update all floodplain areas and flood risk zones identified, delineated, or established (under Section 1360 of the Act) based on an analysis of all natural hazards affecting flood risks. " Information on the processes and documentation procedures for the Countywide Mapping and Site Specific Needs Assessment, as well as templates for surveys submitted to communities and worksheets to assist communities with needs assessment activities, are included in Appendix A. 3.1.2 Initial Coordination Meetings Once a group of counties or sites has been identified for possible revision in a given fiscal year, Initial Coordination Meetings will be conducted to gather data, obtain the pulse of community readiness and willingness to participate in map update work, and re-evaluate needs that have been previously identified by the CWCB and communities in a preliminary manner. Additionally, many local officials are unaware of the significant effort involved in preparing a countywide DFIRM study. The earlier they are introduced to the potential work that lies ahead, the more they can be meaningfully involved in the preparation of their maps and in the ultimate ownership of the final products. Once the Initial Coordination Meetings have occurred, those counties can be weighed against one another to determine which counties have the greatest needs and most likelihood of success. It is also necessary to perform Initial Coordination Meetings to get an early idea of the geographic and technical scope of work to be performed within a county Colorado Business Case Plan - March 2004 3-4