A.
The identified floodplain area shall be any areas of the Borough
of Indiana classified as special flood hazard areas (SFHAs) in the
Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and the accompanying Flood Insurance Rate
Maps (FIRMs) dated April 3, 2012, and issued by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) or the most recent revision thereof, including
all digital data developed as part of the Flood Insurance Study.
B.
The above-referenced FIS and FIRMs, and any subsequent revisions
and amendments, are hereby adopted by the Borough of Indiana and declared
to be a part of this chapter.
The identified floodplain area shall consist of the following
specific areas:
A.
The Floodway Area/District shall be those areas identified as floodway
on the FIRM as well as those 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. The floodway
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.
(1)
Within any floodway area, no encroachments, including fill, new construction,
substantial improvements, or other development, shall not 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.
(2)
No new construction or development shall be allowed unless a permit
is obtained from the Department of Environmental Protection Regional
Office.
B.
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.
(1)
In 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 base flood
elevation by more than one foot.
(2)
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 base flood elevation more than one foot at any point.
C.
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 source 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.
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.
The identified floodplain area may be revised or modified by
the Borough 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 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 Indiana Borough
Planning Commission, and any party aggrieved by this decision or determination
may appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board. The burden of proof shall
be on the appellant.
