The Building Official of the Town Of Wolcott is hereby designated to administer and implement the provisions of this chapter. The Building Official shall have the responsibility and authority to grant or deny permit applications for development in special flood hazard areas in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The Mayor may appoint deputies to assist and act for the Building Official.
A. 
Development, including new construction, substantial improvement and the placement of prefabricated buildings, may be made within special flood hazard areas only after a flood hazard area permit therefor has been obtained. Application for a flood hazard permit shall be made to the Building Official on forms furnished for that purpose by such official and shall include at least:
(1) 
Plans in duplicate drawn to scale showing the nature, location, dimensions and elevations of the area in question;
(2) 
Existing or proposed structures, fill, storage, of materials and drainage facilities; and
(3) 
The location of the foregoing.
B. 
The following is required in connection with applications:
(1) 
Elevation, in relation to mean sea level, of the lowest floor (including basement) of all structures;
(2) 
Elevation, in relation to mean sea level, to which any structure has been or will be floodproofed;
(3) 
Certification by a registered professional engineer or architect that the floodproofing methods for any nonresidential structure meet the floodproofing criteria in § 245-12B;
(4) 
Description of the extent to which any watercourse will be altered or relocated as a result of proposed development; and
(5) 
Plans for any walls to be used to enclose space below the base flood elevation.
Duties and responsibilities of the Building Official in the administration of this chapter shall include but not be limited to the following:
A. 
Permit application review. The Building Official shall:
(1) 
Review all flood hazard area permit applications to determine that the requirements of this chapter have been satisfied; and that the proposed development and building site will be reasonably safe from flooding.
(2) 
Review all such permit applications to determine that all other necessary permits have been received from those federal, state or Town government agencies from which prior approval is required.
B. 
Other base flood data. When base flood elevation data is not provided on the Flood Insurance Rate Map, the Building Official shall obtain, review and reasonably utilize any base flood elevation data available from a federal, state or other source in order to administer the standards of this chapter.
(1) 
The Building Official may request floodway data of an applicant for watercourses without FEMA-published floodways. When such data is provided by an applicant or whenever such data is available from any other source (in response to the municipality's request or not), the community shall adopt a regulatory floodway based on the principle that the floodway must be able to convey the waters of the base flood without increasing the water surface elevation more than one foot at any point within the community.
(2) 
When BFEs have been determined within Zones A and AE on the community's FIRM but a regulatory floodway has not been designated, the Building Official must require that no new construction, substantial improvements, repair to structures which have sustained substantial damage or other development, including fill, shall be permitted which will increase the water surface elevation of the base flood more than one foot at any point within the community when all existing and anticipated development is considered cumulatively with the proposed development.
C. 
Information to be obtained and maintained. The Building Official shall:
(1) 
Obtain and record the actual elevation (in relation to mean sea level) of the lowest floor (including basement) of all new or substantially improved structures;
(2) 
For all new and substantially improved floodproofed structures:
(a) 
Verify and record the actual elevation (in relation to mean sea level) to which the structure was floodproofed; and
(b) 
Maintain the floodproofing certification required in Subsection B;
(3) 
Maintain for public inspection all records pertaining to the provisions of this chapter; and
(4) 
Submit an annual report to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
D. 
Alteration of watercourses. The Building Official shall:
(1) 
Notify adjacent towns and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Water Resources Unit, prior to any alteration or relocation of a watercourse, and submit evidence of such notification to the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and
(2) 
Require that the flood-carrying capacity within the altered or relocated portion of any watercourse be maintained.
E. 
Interpretation of boundaries. The Building Official shall make interpretations, where needed, as to the exact location of the boundaries of special flood hazard areas, such as where there appears to be a conflict between a mapped boundary and the actual field conditions. The person contesting the location of the boundary shall be given a reasonable opportunity to appeal the interpretation as provided in § 245-17A.
F. 
Compensatory storage. The water-holding capacity of the floodplain, except those areas which are tidally influenced, shall not be reduced. Any reduction caused by filling, new construction or substantial improvements involving an increase in footprint to the structure shall be compensated for by deepening and/or widening of the floodplain. Storage shall be provided on-site, unless easements have been gained from adjacent property owners; it shall be provided within the same hydraulic reach and a volume not previously used for flood storage; it shall be hydraulically comparable and incrementally equal to the theoretical volume of floodwater at each elevation, up to and including the one-hundred-year flood elevation, which would be displaced by the proposed project. Such compensatory volume shall have an unrestricted hydraulic connection to the same waterway or water body. Compensatory storage can be provided off-site if approved by the municipality.
G. 
Equal conveyance. Within the floodplain, except those areas which are tidally influenced, as designated on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for the community, encroachments resulting from filling, new construction or substantial improvements involving an increase in footprint of the structure are prohibited unless the applicant provides certification by a registered professional engineer demonstrating, with supporting hydrologic and hydraulic analyses performed in accordance with standard engineering practice, that such encroachments shall not result in any (zero feet) increase in flood levels (base flood elevation). Work within the floodplain and the land adjacent to the floodplain, including work to provide compensatory storage, shall not be constructed in such a way as to cause an increase in flood stage or flood velocity.
H. 
Aboveground storage tanks. Aboveground storage tanks (oil, propane, etc.) which are located outside or inside of the structure must either be elevated above the base flood elevation (BFE) on a concrete pad, or be securely anchored with tie-down straps to prevent flotation or lateral movement, have the top of the fill pipe extended above the BFE, and have a screw fill cap that does not allow for the infiltration of floodwater.
I. 
No structures entirely or partially over water. New construction, substantial improvements and repair to structures that have sustained substantial damage cannot be constructed or located entirely or partially over water unless it is a functionally dependent use or facility.
J. 
Portion of structure in flood zone. If any portion of a structure lies within the special flood hazard area (SFHA), the entire structure is considered to be in the SFHA. The entire structure must meet the construction requirements of the flood zone. The structure includes any attached additions, garages, decks, sunrooms, or any other structure attached to the main structure. Decks or porches that extend into a more restrictive flood zone will require the entire structure to meet the standards of the more restrictive zone.
K. 
Structures in two flood zones. If a structure lies within two or more flood zones, the construction standards of the most restrictive zone apply to the entire structure (i.e., V Zone is more restrictive than A Zone; structure must be built to the highest BFE). The structure includes any attached additions, garages, decks, sunrooms, or any other structure attached to the main structure. (Decks or porches that extend into a more restrictive zone will require the entire structure to meet the requirements of the more restrictive zone.)