The identified floodplain area shall be those areas of the Borough
of Lehighton which are subject to the one-hundred-year flood, as identified
in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) dated August 15, 1990, and the
accompanying maps prepared for the Borough of Lehighton by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), or the most recent revision thereof.
The identified floodplain area shall consist of the following
specific areas:
A.
FW (Floodway Area). The areas identified as "floodway" in the AE
Zone in the Flood Insurance Study prepared by the FEMA. The term shall
also include floodway areas which have been identified in other available
studies or sources of information for those floodplain areas where
no floodway has been identified in the Flood Insurance Study.
B.
FF (Flood-Fringe Area). The remaining portions of the one-hundred-year
floodplain in those areas identified as an AE Zone in the Flood Insurance
Study, where a floodway has been delineated. The basis for the outermost
boundary of this area shall be the one-hundred-year-flood elevations
as shown in the flood profiles contained in the Flood Insurance Study.
C.
FA (General Floodplain Area).
(1)
The areas identified as Zone A in the FIS for which no one-hundred-year-flood
elevations have been provided. When available, information from other
federal, state and other acceptable sources shall be used to determine
the one-hundred-year elevation, as well as a floodway area, if possible.
When no other information is available, the one-hundred-year elevation
shall be determined by using a point on the boundary of the identified
floodplain area which is nearest the construction site in question.
(2)
In lieu of the above, the municipality may require the applicant
to determine the elevation with hydrologic and hydraulic engineering
techniques. Hydrologic and hydraulic analyses shall be undertaken
only by professional engineers or others of demonstrated qualifications,
who shall certify that the technical methods used correctly reflect
currently accepted technical concepts. Studies, analyses, computations,
etc., shall be submitted in sufficient detail to allow a thorough
technical review by the Borough of Lehighton.
The identified floodplain area may be revised or modified by
the Lehighton Council where studies or information provided by a qualified
agency or person documents the need for such revision. However, prior
to any such change, approval must be obtained from the Federal Insurance
Administration (FIA).
Should a dispute concerning any identified floodplain boundary
arise, an initial determination shall be made by the Borough of Lehighton
Planning Commission, and any party aggrieved by this decision may
appeal to the Lehighton Council. The burden of proof shall be on the
appellant.
