The Zoning Administrator is hereby appointed to administer and
implement these regulations and is referred to herein as the "Floodplain
Administrator." The Floodplain Administrator may:
A.
Do the work himself. In the absence of a designated Floodplain Administrator,
the duties are conducted by the County's chief executive officer.
B.
Delegate duties and responsibilities set forth in these regulations
to qualified technical personnel, plan examiners, inspectors, and
other employees.
C.
Enter into a written agreement or written contract with another community
or private-sector entity to administer specific provisions of these
regulations. Administration of any part of these regulations by another
entity shall not relieve the community 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 the special flood hazard area (SFHA).
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
state agencies 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, the Department of Conservation and
Recreation (Division of Dam Safety and Floodplain Management), and
other appropriate agencies (VADEQ, USACE) 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 Nothumberland County
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 Zoning 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:
(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 issuing 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 coverage under NFIP flood
insurance policies.
P.
Notify the Federal Emergency Management Agency when the corporate
boundaries of Northumberland County 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
at the same time as or prior to the date of annexation, and a copy
of the amended regulations shall be provided to Department of Conservation
and Recreation (Division of Dam Safety and Floodplain Management)
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.
R.
It is the duty of the Community Floodplain Administrator to take
into account flood, mudslide and flood-related erosion hazards, to
the extent that they are known, in all official actions relating to
land management and use throughout the entire jurisdictional area
of the community, whether or not those hazards have been specifically
delineated geographically (e.g., via mapping or surveying).
The Floodplain Administrator shall make interpretations, where
needed, as to the exact location of special flood hazard areas, floodplain
boundaries, and floodway boundaries. The following shall apply to
the use and interpretation of FIRMs and data:
A.
Where field-surveyed topography indicates that adjacent 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 SFHA.
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 SFHAs, 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 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, the
preliminary flood hazard data shall be used and shall replace the
flood hazard data previously provided from FEMA for the purposes of
administering these regulations.
(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 or floodway areas 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.
A.
The County floodplain ordinance in effect on the date of annexation
shall remain in effect and shall be enforced by the municipality for
all annexed areas until the municipality adopts and enforces an ordinance
which meets the requirements for participation in the National Flood
Insurance Program. Municipalities with existing floodplain ordinances
shall pass a resolution acknowledging and accepting responsibility
for enforcing floodplain ordinance standards prior to annexation of
any area containing identified flood hazards. 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 at the
same time as or prior to the date of annexation, and a copy of the
amended regulations shall be provided to the Department of Conservation
and Recreation (Division of Dam Safety and Floodplain Management)
and FEMA.
B.
In accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 44, Subpart
(B), Section 59.22(a)(9)(v), all NFIP participating communities must
notify the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and optionally the
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Department of Dam
Safety and Floodplain Management, in writing whenever the boundaries
of the community have been modified by annexation or the community
has otherwise assumed or no longer has authority to adopt and enforce
floodplain management regulations for a particular area.
C.
In order that all Flood Insurance Rate Maps accurately represent
the community's boundaries, a copy of a map of the community suitable
for reproduction, clearly delineating the new corporate limits or
new area for which the community has assumed or relinquished floodplain
management regulatory authority, must be included with the notification.
When development in the floodplain will cause or causes a change
in the base flood elevation, the applicant, including state agencies,
must notify FEMA by applying for a conditional letter of map revision
and then a letter of map revision.
A.
Example cases:
(1)
Any development that causes a rise in the base flood elevations within
the floodway.
(2)
Any development occurring in Zones A1-30 and AE without a designated
floodway, which will cause a rise of more than one foot in the base
flood elevation.
(3)
Alteration or relocation of a stream (including but not limited to
installing culverts and bridges) 44 Code of Federal Regulations § 65.3
and § 65.6(a)(12).
A.
All subdivision proposals shall be consistent with the need to minimize
flood damage;
B.
All subdivision proposals shall have public utilities and facilities
such as sewer, gas, electrical and water systems located and constructed
to minimize flood damage;
C.
All subdivision proposals shall have adequate drainage provided to
reduce exposure to flood hazards; and
D.
Base flood elevation data shall be obtained from other sources or
developed using detailed methodologies and hydraulic and hydrologic
analyses comparable to those contained in a Flood Insurance Study
for subdivision proposals and other proposed development proposals
(including manufactured home parks and subdivisions) that exceed 50
lots or five acres, whichever is the lesser.
[Amended 11-10-2021]
Adopted this 10th day of November 2021; effective December 30,
2021.
