A.
The Floodplain Conservation District shall be any areas of Upper
Pottsgrove Township classified as special flood hazard areas (SFHAs)
in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and the accompanying Flood Insurance
Rate Maps (FIRMs) dated 3-2-2016 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 Floodplain Conservation District shall also include areas with soils listed in § 186-3A(2), along with any community-identified flood hazard areas.
C.
The above-referenced FIS and FIRMs, and any subsequent revisions
and amendments, are hereby adopted by Upper Pottsgrove Township and
declared to be a part of this chapter.
The Floodplain Conservation District shall consist of the following
specific areas/districts:
A.
The Floodway Area/District shall be those areas identified as floodway
on the FIRM as well as those 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.
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 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 shall be those areas identified as an AE Zone
on the FIRM included in the FIS prepared by FEMA for which base flood
elevations have been provided.
(1)
The AE Area adjacent to the floodway shall be those areas identified
as an AE Zone on the FIRM included in the FIS prepared by FEMA for
which base flood elevations have been provided and a floodway has
been delineated.
C.
The A Area/District shall be the areas identified as an A Zone on
the FIRM included in the FIS prepared by FEMA and for which no one-percent-annual-chance
of flood elevations has 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 Floodplain Conservation District
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.
D.
Community-identified flood hazard areas shall be those areas where
Upper Pottsgrove 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.
The Floodplain Conservation District may be revised or modified
by the Board of Commissioners of Upper Pottsgrove Township 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 Upper Pottsgrove
Planning Commission, and any party aggrieved by this decision or determination
may appeal to the Board of Commissioners of Upper Pottsgrove Township.
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.
