The Public Works Administrator is hereby appointed to administer
and implement these regulations and is referred to herein as the "Floodplain
Administrator." The Floodplain Administrator may:
A. Delegate duties and responsibilities set forth in these regulations
to qualified technical personnel, plan examiners, inspectors, and
other employees.
B. Recommend that the Town enter into a written agreement or written
contract with the county to administer specific provisions of these
regulations. Administration of any part of these regulations by another
entity shall not relieve the Town of its responsibilities pursuant
to the participation requirements of the National Flood Insurance
Program as set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations at 44 CFR
59.22.
The duties and responsibilities of the Floodplain Administrator
shall include but are not limited to:
A. Review applications for permits to determine whether proposed activities
will be located in flood hazard areas.
B. Interpret floodplain boundaries and provide available base flood
elevation and flood hazard information.
C. Review applications to determine whether proposed activities will
be reasonably safe from flooding and require new construction and
substantial improvements to meet the requirements of these regulations.
D. Review applications to determine whether all necessary permits have
been obtained from the federal, state or local agencies from which
prior or concurrent approval is required; in particular, permits from
MDE for any construction, reconstruction, repair, or alteration of
a dam, reservoir, or waterway obstruction (including bridges, culverts,
structures), any alteration of a watercourse, or any change of the
course, current, or cross section of a stream or body of water, including
any change to the one-hundred-year-frequency floodplain of free-flowing
nontidal waters of the state.
E. Verify that applicants proposing an alteration of a watercourse have
notified adjacent communities and MDE (NFIP state coordinator) and
have submitted copies of such notifications to FEMA.
F. Advise applicants for new construction or substantial improvement
of structures that are located within an area of the Coastal Barrier
Resources System established by the Coastal Barrier Resources Act
that federal flood insurance is not available on such structures;
areas subject to this limitation are shown on Flood Insurance Rate
Maps as "coastal barrier resource system areas (CBRS)" or "otherwise
protected areas (OPA)."
G. Approve applications and issue permits to develop in flood hazard
areas if the provisions of these regulations have been met, or disapprove
applications if the provisions of these regulations have not been
met.
H. Inspect, or cause to be inspected, buildings, structures, and other
development for which permits have been issued to determine compliance
with these regulations or to determine if noncompliance has occurred
or violations have been committed.
I. Review elevation certificates and require incomplete or deficient
certificates to be corrected.
J. Submit to FEMA, or require applicants to submit to FEMA, data and
information necessary to maintain FIRMs, including hydrologic and
hydraulic engineering analyses prepared by or for the Town of Chesapeake
Beach within six months after such data and information becomes available
if the analyses indicate changes in base flood elevations.
K. Maintain and permanently keep records that are necessary for the
administration of these regulations, including:
(1) Flood Insurance Studies, Flood Insurance Rate Maps (including historic
studies and maps and current effective studies and maps) and letters
of map change; and
(2) Documentation supporting issuance and denial of permits, elevation
certificates, documentation of the elevation (in relation to the datum
on the FIRM) to which structures have been floodproofed, other required
design certifications, variances, and records of enforcement actions
taken to correct violations of these regulations.
L. Enforce the provisions of these regulations, investigate violations,
issue notices of violations or stop-work orders, and require permit
holders to take corrective action.
M. Advise the Board of Appeals regarding the intent of these regulations
and, for each application for a variance, prepare a staff report and
recommendation.
N. Administer the requirements related to proposed work on existing
buildings and:
(1) Make determinations as to whether buildings and structures that are
located in flood hazard areas and that are damaged by any cause have
been substantially damaged.
(2) Make reasonable efforts to notify owners of substantially damaged
structures of the need to obtain a permit to repair, rehabilitate,
or reconstruct, and prohibit the noncompliant repair of substantially
damaged buildings except for temporary emergency protective measures
necessary to secure a property or stabilize a building or structure
to prevent additional damage.
O. Undertake, as determined appropriate by the Floodplain Administrator
due to the circumstances, other actions which may include but are
not limited to: recommending that the Town issue press releases, public
service announcements, and other public information materials related
to permit requests and repair of damaged structures; coordinating
with other federal, state, and local agencies to assist with substantial
damage determinations; providing owners of damaged structures information
related to the proper repair of damaged structures in special flood
hazard areas; and assisting property owners with documentation necessary
to file claims for increased cost of compliance (ICC) coverage under
NFIP flood insurance policies.
P. Notify the Federal Emergency Management Agency when the corporate
boundaries of the Town have been modified and:
(1) Provide a map that clearly delineates the new corporate boundaries
or the new area for which the authority to regulate pursuant to these
regulations has either been assumed or relinquished through annexation;
and
(2) If the FIRM for any annexed area includes special flood hazard areas
that have flood zones that have regulatory requirements that are not
set forth in these regulations, prepare amendments to these regulations
to adopt the FIRM and appropriate requirements, and submit the amendments
to the governing body for adoption; such adoption shall take place
within six months of the date of annexation, and a copy of the amended
regulations shall be provided to MDE (NFIP state coordinator) and
FEMA.
Q. Upon the request of FEMA, complete and submit a report concerning
participation in the NFIP which may request information regarding
the number of buildings in the SFHA, number of permits issued for
development in the SFHA, and number of variances issued for development
in the SFHA.
The Floodplain Administrator shall make interpretations, where
needed, as to the exact location of special flood hazard areas, floodplain
boundaries, and floodway boundaries.
A. The standards set forth in this section shall apply to the use and
interpretation of FIRMs and data where field-surveyed topography indicates
that ground elevations:
(1) Are below the base flood elevation, even in areas not delineated
as a special flood hazard area on a FIRM; the area shall be considered
as special flood hazard area and subject to the requirements of these
regulations;
(2) Are above the base flood elevation; the area shall be regulated as
special flood hazard area unless the applicant obtains a letter of
map change that removes the area from the special flood hazard area.
B. In FEMA-identified special flood hazard areas where base flood elevation
and floodway data have not been identified and in areas where FEMA
has not identified special flood hazard areas, any other flood hazard
data available from a federal, state, or other source shall be reviewed
and reasonably used.
C. Base flood elevations and designated floodway boundaries on FIRMs
and in the FISs shall take precedence over base flood elevations and
floodway boundaries by any other sources if such sources show reduced
floodway widths and/or lower base flood elevations.
D. Other sources of data shall be reasonably used if such sources show
increased base flood elevations and/or larger floodway areas than
are shown on FIRMs and in FISs.
E. If a Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map and/or a Preliminary Flood
Insurance Study has been provided by FEMA:
(1) Upon the issuance of a letter of final determination by FEMA, if
the preliminary flood hazard data is more restrictive than the effective
data, it shall be used and shall replace the flood hazard data previously
provided from FEMA for the purposes of administering these regulations.
(2) Prior to the issuance of a letter of final determination by FEMA, the use of preliminary flood hazard data shall be deemed the best available data pursuant to §
149-5C, and used where no base flood elevations and/or floodway areas are provided on the effective FIRM.
(3) Prior to issuance of a letter of final determination by FEMA, the
use of preliminary flood hazard data is permitted where the preliminary
base flood elevations, floodplain or floodway boundaries exceed the
base flood elevations and/or designated floodway widths in existing
flood hazard data provided by FEMA. Such preliminary data may be subject
to change and/or appeal to FEMA.
The Floodplain Administrator shall:
A. Review applications for development in special flood hazard areas
to determine the completeness of information submitted. The applicant
shall be notified of incompleteness or additional information that
is required to support the application.
B. Notify applicants that permits from MDE and the United States Army
Corps of Engineers, and other state and federal authorities, may be
required.
C. Review all permit applications to assure that all necessary permits
have been received from the federal, state or local governmental agencies
from which prior approval is required. The applicant shall be responsible
for obtaining such permits, including permits issued by:
(1) The United States Army Corps of Engineers under § 10 of
the Rivers and Harbors Act and § 404 of the Clean Water
Act;
(2) MDE pursuant to COMAR 26.23 (Nontidal Wetlands) and § 401
of the Clean Water Act;
(3) MDE for construction on nontidal waters of the state pursuant to
COMAR 26.17.04; and
(4) MDE pursuant to COMAR 26.24 (Tidal Wetlands).
D. Review applications for compliance with these regulations after all information required in §
149-15 of this chapter or identified and required by the Floodplain Administrator has been received.
The Floodplain Administrator shall make periodic inspections
of development permitted in special flood hazard areas, at appropriate
times throughout the period of construction, in order to monitor compliance.
Such inspections may include:
A. Stake-out inspection, to determine location on the site relative
to the flood hazard area and designated floodway.
B. Foundation inspection, upon placement of the lowest floor and prior
to further vertical construction, to collect information or certification
of the elevation of the lowest floor.
C. Inspection of enclosures below the lowest floor, including crawl/underfloor
spaces, to determine compliance with applicable provisions.
D. Utility inspection, upon installation of specified equipment and
appliances, to determine appropriate location with respect to the
base flood elevation.
E. Final inspection prior to issuance of the certificate of occupancy.
Pursuant to the agreement to submit an elevation certificate submitted with the application as required in §
149-15B(8), the permittee shall have an elevation certificate prepared and submitted prior to final inspection and issuance of a certificate of occupancy for elevated structures and manufactured homes, including new structures and manufactured homes, substantially improved structures and manufactured homes, and additions to structures and manufactured homes.