So I've got another client that has built a pond extending over the Zone A boundary (according to the FEMA shapefile of the boundary). The local Floodplain Administrator wants the property owner to restore the ground to its previous conditions (which haven't been surveyed) and construct the pond out of Zone A.
What would be your advice to the client? Are there any grounds to keep his pond where it is? Or is the Floodplain Admin most likely going to have the final say?
I don't see why they have a problem with building a pond in zone A. Doesn't that increase flood storage, which is something they should want? Usually its filling in the flood zone they want to manage because it reduces flood storage and raises everybody's BFE.
Bow Tie Surveyor, post: 427091, member: 6939 wrote: I don't see why they have a problem with building a pond in zone A. Doesn't that increase flood storage, which is something they should want? Usually its filling in the flood zone they want to manage because it reduces flood storage and raises everybody's BFE.
I suppose the profile of a dike, if there is one, could be an issue
Licensed Land Surveyor
Finger Lakes Region, Upstate New York
arctan(x), post: 427080, member: 6795 wrote: So I've got another client that has built a pond extending over the Zone A boundary (according to the FEMA shapefile of the boundary). The local Floodplain Administrator wants the property owner to restore the ground to its previous conditions (which haven't been surveyed) and construct the pond out of Zone A.
What would be your advice to the client? Are there any grounds to keep his pond where it is? Or is the Floodplain Admin most likely going to have the final say?
Those more exerienced than I will likely have better advice, but here is what I got.
In short, no, the blue line on the map is not the final determination of the flood zone, elevations are. And in those areas where no elevation has been established, you may request to have a study done to determine the base flood evelation (BFE). I think your client may need to hire an engineer for this, I can't remember. I am pretty sure FEMA won't do this for you, but you can ask the administrator.
Next you would file for a Letter of Determination Review (LODR), or a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA).
If you just have a conversation with the administrator, he should be able to help.
The problem probably centers around the lack of a No-Rise Certificate prior to construction.
https://www.fema.gov/no-rise-certification-floodways
Believe it or not, I have had to do a couple of these under my engineering license, for projects that would remove river gravel from the main channel of the river. The removal of material in Zone A would seem to be a no-brainer in the no-rise category. However, related actions to the river removal could have possibly created an opportunity for a minute rise through the construction of ramps to get the large dump trucks into and out of the loading area.
I did another for a small addition, maybe 20 feet by 20 feet, of an office building that was in the flood plain by about two-tenths of a foot of elevation. When flood waters would reach that elevation they would be about three miles wide. Nevertheless, the paperwork and back up data had to be turned in.
Bow Tie Surveyor, post: 427091, member: 6939 wrote: I don't see why they have a problem with building a pond in zone A. Doesn't that increase flood storage, which is something they should want? Usually its filling in the flood zone they want to manage because it reduces flood storage and raises everybody's BFE.
You would think... But sometimes common sense does not prevail
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I think the issue is the pond is taking up about 4000 sq feet of the zone a boundary. The dam is going to be about 15 feet higher than the previous ground elevation. It would be cheaper for the client to move the pond than pay for the flood study.
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