A. 
The Floodplain Conservation District shall be any areas of the Borough 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 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 § 248-23, 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 the Borough and declared to be a part of this chapter.
The identified floodplain area shall consist of the following specific areas:
A. 
Floodway Area/District.
(1) 
The Floodway Area/District identified as floodway in the FIS 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. This term 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.
(a) 
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.
(b) 
No new construction or development shall be allowed, unless a permit is obtained from the Department of Environmental Protection Regional Office.
(2) 
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.
B. 
AE Area/District.
(1) 
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.
(2) 
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. 
A Area/District.
(1) 
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 base flood elevations have been provided. For these areas, elevation and floodway information from other federal, state, or other acceptable sources shall be used when available. Where other acceptable information is not available, the base flood 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.
(2) 
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.
Soils with a frequency of flooding of 1% or greater per year, as delineated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture Web-Based Soil Survey, including the following soils:
A. 
Bowmansville (Bo).
B. 
Knauers (Bo).
C. 
Gilbraltar (Gc).
D. 
Hatboro (Ha).
E. 
Rowland (Rt).
F. 
Rowland (RwA).
G. 
Rowland (RwB).
H. 
Urban Land Occasionally Flooded (UlA).
A. 
The areas considered to be floodplain may be revised or modified by the Council where studies or information provided by a qualified agency or person documents the need or possibility for such revision.
B. 
No modification or revision of any floodplain area identified in the Flood Insurance Study shall be made without prior approval from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
C. 
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 floodplain area by submitting technical or scientific data.
Should a dispute arise concerning the identification of any floodplain area, an initial determination shall be made by the Planning Commission, and any party aggrieved by such decision may appeal to the Council. 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.