Community Assistance Visit

Preparing for a Community Assistance Visit from FEMA

Review Items

• Floodplain management ordinance
• Flood hazard map
• Permit files
  • Floodplain development permit application
  • Elevation certificates
  • No-rise analysis documentation
• Variances issued
• Written administrative procedures
• Biennial Report
• Repetitive Loss Data

Purpose of the CAV

• Comprehensive assessment of the community’s floodplain management program
• Assist the community in implementing effective flood loss reduction measures
• Resolving issues or problems identified
• Documentation of deficiencies form the basis for taking enforcement action on behalf of and against the community’s participation in the NFIP
• Floodplain Management Ordinance
  • Verify compliance with minimum NFIP requirements.
  • Does your ordinance meet your needs?
• Flood Hazard Map
  • Is it accurate?
  • Age of map does not indicate inaccurate
  • History of flooding compared to the map
• Permit files
  • Development means any man made change to improved or unimproved development including but not limited to….
  • All development in the SFHA shall have a floodplain development permit on file
  • Final elevation certificate shall be provided for all new construction and substantial improvements

 Variances Issued

• Documentation of variance and compliance with criteria and conditions for granting variance
• Documentation of letter to applicant notifying them of increased risk to hazard and increased cost of flood insurance

Written Administrative Procedures

• If the local floodplain administrator were gone tomorrow, how would the community handle issuing floodplain development permits?

Biennial Report

• Number of permits issued
• Number of variances granted
• Need for updated mapping
• Need for technical assistance
• Need for training

Repetitive Loss Data

• Two or more flood insurance claims totaling $1,000 or more in a consecutive 10-year period

General Documentation

• Number of building permits granted in the floodplain
• Number of variances granted
• Number of insurance policies (state can provide this information)
• Population growth
• Annexations and boundary changes
• Letters of Map Changes
• Submit-to-rate applications
• Number of repetitive loss properties (state can provide this information)

Probation

• Identification of violations
• One year to correct violations
• Increased risk to flooding in the community
• Potential for legal action against municipality by flooded property owners
• $50 surcharge on all flood insurance premiums

Suspension

• No flood insurance is available
• No federally backed loans in the SFHA
• No federal disaster assistance
• Other federal agency loans and grants may not be available
• Governing body may be held liable
  • Denies the ability for property owner to purchase flood insurance
  • Does not take positive steps to reduce risk to flooding given the knowledge of the flood hazard

Purpose of the CAV

• Provide technical assistance
• Identify potential violations
• Mitigate identified violations
• Identify weakness in community’s floodplain management program
• Strengthen the efforts of the community for flood reduction
• Provide guidance to assist community in educating elected officials and the community

From a presentation by Rhonda Montgomery, CFM NFIP, Coordinator, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources, 109 SW 9th St 2nd Floor, Topeka, KS 66612, 785-296-2513, rmontgomery@kda.state.ks.us