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Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the Colorado 2013 Flood Event Following the recent flooding events for Front Range communities in Colorado, property owners, communities, and the National Flood Insurance Program are being presented with some new challenges in the areas of floodplain administration and potential flood insurance impacts. In many areas, the location and other characteristics of channels and streams have been altered significantly. As communities and property owners rebuild, they are presented with a unique opportunity to build structures that are better, stronger, and more resilient. With the devastating impacts of the recent floods fresh in our minds, we are poised to use the lessons we have learned to minimize the damages from future events that, as history has shown us, will take place. The answers to some of the following questions are separated into two major categories: a. What can be done in the short-term to get our communities operational? b. How can we rebuild with long-term impacts in mind, such as building requirements, flood maps, and insurance? Q1: How does a town regulate fill and construction in and adjacent to waterways? Are floodplain permits needed only for work in the mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs), and not near new channels and streams created by the flood? Ala (short-term or "emergency" recovery): FEMA defines emergency protective measures as "actions taken by the community ... before, during, and after a disaster to save lives, protect public health and safety, and prevent damage to improved public and private property." Many communities are currently working to ensure that their communities are safe and functional. FEMA considers such activities, including the "restoration of access" (i.e., the reconstruction of damaged roads), as emergency protective measures. For such work, floodplain permits are indeed required, but the community is not required to obtain an approved Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) before performing the work. The community should certainly be aware of and take into consideration the impacts, both upstream and downstream, of the emergency measures that they are proposing. A CLOMR is encouraged but is not required. A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Section 404 Clean Water Act permit is required for dredging or placing fill in waters of the United States, including rivers, lakes, streams, creeks, and wetlands (contact the USACE Denver Regulatory office at 303-979-4120). However, division engineers are authorized to approve special processing procedures in emergency situations. An emergency is defined a situation that would result in an unacceptable hazard to life, a significant loss of property, or an immediate, unforeseen, and significant economic hardship if corrective action requiring a permit is not undertaken within a time period less than the normal time needed to process the application under standard procedures. For any activities that are not emergency protective measures (i.e., permanent work or final reconstruction), all regular permitting and regulatory processes apply, as outlined below.