The identified floodplain area shall be any areas of Washington Township classified as Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and the accompanying Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) dated February 19, 2014, 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. The referenced FIS and FIRMs, and any subsequent revisions and amendments, are hereby adopted by Washington Township and declared to be a part of this chapter.
In Washington Township, Special Flood Hazard Areas are designated on the FIS or FIRMs as either Zone A or Zone AE. The requirements for each of these zones are as follows:
A.
Zone A.
(1)
Description: Areas designated as Zone A in the FIS or FIRMs correspond to the one-percent-annual chance floodplains that are determined in the FIS by approximate methods. FEMA has not performed detailed hydraulic analyses and has not determined the base flood elevation (BFE) within this zone.
(3)
Special requirements:
(a)
No new construction or development shall be located within the area measured 50 feet landward from the top-of-bank of any watercourse, unless a permit is obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
(b)
When available, information from other federal, state, and other acceptable sources shall be used to determine the BFE, as well as a floodway area, if possible. When no other information is available, the BFE shall be determined by using a point on the boundary of the identified floodplain area which is nearest the construction site in question.
[1]
In lieu of the above, the municipality may require the applicant to determine the BFE with hydrologic and hydraulic engineering techniques. Hydrologic and hydraulic analyses shall be undertaken only by licensed professional engineers, 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 Washington Township.
B.
Zone AE.
(1)
Description: Areas designated as Zone AE on the FIS or FIRMs correspond to the one-percent-annual chance floodplains that are determined in the FIS by detailed methods. FEMA has performed detailed hydraulic analyses and has determined the base flood elevation (BFE) within this zone.
(3)
Special requirements:
(a)
In Zone AE where a floodway has not been designated, no new construction or development shall be located within the area measured 50 feet landward from the top-of-bank of any watercourse, unless a permit is obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
(b)
In Zone AE where a floodway has not been designated, no permit shall be granted for any construction, development, use, or activity 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.
A.
The term "floodway area" shall include those areas within Zone AE designated as floodway in the FIS or FIRMs, 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. The term "floodway area" shall also include floodway areas which have been identified in other available studies or sources of information for those Special Flood Hazard Areas where no floodway has been identified in the FIS.
B.
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.
C.
Within any floodway area, no new construction or development shall be allowed, unless the appropriate permit is obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
The identified floodplain area may be revised or modified by the Council where studies or information provided by a qualified agency or person documents the need for such revision. However, prior to any such change to the Special Flood Hazard Area, 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 to the Special Flood Hazard Area by submitting technical or scientific data. See § 69-5.01B for situations where FEMA notification is required.
Should a dispute concerning any identified floodplain boundary arise, an initial determination shall be made by the Floodplain Administrator and any party aggrieved by this decision or determination may appeal in accordance with § 69-3.10. 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.