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2 Please note also that once the FIRM and FIS report are printed and distributed, the digital files containing the flood hazard data for the entire county can be provided to your community for use in a computer mappi~g system. These files can be used in conjunction with other thematic data for floodplain management purposes, insurance purchase and rating requirements, and many other planning applications. Paper copies of the FIRM panels may be obtained by contacting our Map Service Contractor at 1-800-358-9616. Copies of the digital files may be obtained by contacting our Technical Evaluation Contractor at (703) 960-8800. In addition, your community may be eligible for additional credits under our Community Rating System if you implement your activities using digital mapping files. .. Because the FIRM and FrS report establishing or revising the BFEs for your community has been completed, certain additional requirements must be met under Section 1361 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended, within approximately 2 to 3 months from the date of this letter. Prior to March 17, 1997, your community is required, as a condition of continued eligibility in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFrP), to adopt or show evidence of adoption of floodplain management regulations that meet the standards of Section 60.3(d) of the enclosed NFIP regulations (44 CFR 59, etc.) by the effective date of the FIRM. These standards are the minimum requirements and do not supersede. any State or local requirements of a more stringent nature. It must be emphasized that all of the standards specified in Section 60.3(d) of the NFIP regulations must be enacted in a legally enforceable document. This includes adoption of the current effective FIS and FIRM to which the regulations apply and other modifications made by this map revision. Some of the standards should already have been enacted by your community in order to establish initial eligibility in the NFIP . Your community can meet any additional requirements by taking one of the following actions: 1. Amending existing regulations to incorporate any additional requirements of Section 60.3(d); 2. Adopting all of the standards of Section 60.3(d) into one new, comprehensive set of regulations; or 3. Showing evidence that regulations have previously been adopted that meet or exceed the minimum requirements of Section 60.3(d). Communities that fail to enact the necessary floodplain management regulations will be suspended from participation in the NFIP and subject to the prohibitions contained in Section 202(a) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act 'of 1973 (Public Law 93-234) as amended. In addition to your community using the FIRM and FIS report to manage development in the floodplain, FEMA will use the FIRM and FrS report to establish appropriate flood insurance rates. On the effective date of the revised FIRM, actuarial rates for flood insurance will be charged for all new structures and substantial improvements to existing structures located in the identified SFHAs. These rates may be higher if structures are not built in compliance ""ith the floodplain management standards of the NFIP. The actuarial flood insurance rates increase as the lowest elevations (including basement) of new structures decrease in relation to the BFEs established for your community. This is an important consideration for new construction because building at a higher elevation can greatly reduce the cost of flood insurance. To assist your community in maintaining the FIRM, we have enclosed a Summary of Map Actions to document previous Letters of Map Change (LOMCs) (I.e., Letters of Map Amendment, Letters of Map Revision) that will be superseded when the revised FIRM panels referenced above become effective.