The identified floodplain area shall consist of the following
specific areas:
A. Floodway Area/District.
(1) The Floodway Area/District identified as Floodway in the FIS, which
represents the channel of a watercourse and the adjacent land areas
that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without
cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation by more than one
foot at any point. This term shall also include floodway areas which
have been identified in other available studies or sources of information
for those special floodplain areas where no floodway has been identified
in the FIS.
(2) Within any floodway area, no encroachments, including fill, new construction,
substantial improvements, or other development shall be permitted
unless it has been demonstrated through hydrologic and hydraulic analysis
performed in accordance with standard engineering practice that the
proposed encroachment would not result in any increase in flood levels
within the community during the occurrence of the base flood discharge.
(3) No new construction or development shall be allowed, unless a permit
is obtained from the Department of Environmental Protection's
regional office.
B. AE Area/District.
(1) The AE Area/District without floodway shall be those areas identified
as an AE Zone on the FIRM included in the FIS prepared by FEMA and
for which base flood elevations have been provided in the FIS but
no floodway has been delineated.
(2) In the AE Area/District without floodway, no new development shall
be permitted unless it can be demonstrated that the cumulative effect
of all past and projected development will not increase the BFE by
more than one foot.
C. A Area/District.
(1) The A Area/District shall be those areas identified as an A Zone
on the FIRM included in the FIS prepared by FEMA and for which no
one-percent-annual-chance flood elevations have been provided. For
these areas, elevation and floodway information from other federal,
state, or other acceptable sources shall be used when available. Where
other acceptable information is not available, the elevation shall
be determined by using the elevation of a point on the boundary of
the identified floodplain area which is nearest the construction site.
(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 municipality.
D. The Shallow Flooding Area/District shall be those areas identified
as Zones AO and AH on the FIRM and in the FIS. These areas are subject
to inundation by one-percent-annual-chance shallow flooding where
average depths are between one and three feet. In Zones AO and AH,
drainage paths shall be established to guide floodwaters around and
away from structures on slopes.
E. Community identified flood hazard areas shall be those areas where
Exeter Township has identified local flood hazard or ponding areas,
as delineated and adopted on a Local Flood Hazard Map using best available
topographic data and locally derived information such as flood of
record, historic high-water marks, soils or approximate study methodologies.
F. No permit shall be granted for any construction, development, use,
or activity within any floodway area that would cause any increase
in the BFE.
G. No permit shall be granted for any construction, development, use,
or activity within any AE Area/District without floodway unless it
is demonstrated that the cumulative effect of the proposed development
would not, together with all other existing and anticipated development,
increase the BFE more than one foot at any point.
The identified floodplain area may be revised or modified by
the Exeter Township Board of Supervisors 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 FEMA. Additionally, as soon as practicable, but not later than
six months after the date such information becomes available, a community
shall notify FEMA of the changes by submitting technical or scientific
data.
Should a dispute concerning any identified floodplain boundary
arise, an initial determination shall be made by the Exeter Township
floodplain administrator, and any party aggrieved by this decision
or determination may appeal to the Exeter Township Board of Supervisors.
The burden of proof shall be on the appellant.
Prior to development occurring in areas where annexation or
other corporate boundary changes are proposed or have occurred, the
community shall review flood hazard data affecting the lands subject
to boundary changes. The community shall adopt and enforce floodplain
regulations in areas subject to annexation or corporate boundary changes
which meet or exceed those in 44 CFR 60.3.