Zone AE

If it’s inside the line on the firm map delineating the flood zone it’s in the flood zone regardless of elevation. If it’s above the bfe, then a loma is possible to remove it from the flood zone, but until that happens it’s considered in the zone. 

This is why "I'm from the gubmit an' I'm here to hep ya is a joke."  There is the purely bureaucratic lines slapped on paper, and, then, there is what happens in the real world.  The acceptable anwers are yes and no.  Anything else is BS.

Zone A is a SWAG, scientific wild ass guess, based on faulty methods.  Zone AE has a much better scientific method applied.  But, even that can be terribly faulty if the human judge of the data provided doesn't have as clear a picture of the real world as what they think they have.

One time the county employee for that location was explaining a lidar map to me and swearing it was gospel information.  I pointed out that an area of many acres in size was clearly wrong.  When that was taken, the area was blanketed in four-foot weeds, hiding the actual location of the flood waters by as much as four feet.

County gis overlay is no more than a broad indicator that something may be in the area...if your in the shaded area of the FEMA panel, your in...if the intervening grade is below BFE, your in

For your project file a LOMA or LOMC or whatever flavor of LOM fits for the proposed structure or project site and include letter requesting a BFE specific to your site.

FWIW

Heard this one today regarding the more recent FEMA mapping

If a homeowner's structure is graphically shown to be outside of the high-risk flood zone (Special Flood Hazard Area or SFHA) on a FEMA map, but they are still being required to pay for flood insurance, they can obtain an "Out-As-Shown" (OAS) determination. This process clarifies that the property is already correctly mapped outside the high-risk area, often without requiring a full elevation survey.

No one ever adds on to their house or changes grade after FEMA uploads an image of the flood panel....people also think a LOMA is good forever....nope....the EC it was based on was a snapshot in time.... just like wetland delimitation...can always change

In this case, the difference is significant.

@stacy-carroll Prep the LOMC app and send it to FEMA. If the ground is above the BFE, you'll get your LOMC then the locals must accept that determination if their ordinance is based off the FEMA data. I always try to get the owner to let me do enough work for a "raw land" LOMC, instead of just a "proposed structure" app: less headaches with the locals and no re-do necessary when they want to build an addition. Of course, it may be a fleeting thing if the next Study raises the BFE, as others have mentioned. But around here that only happens every 25-40 years. The last one in the Town our office is in (2013) didn't update the hydrology from the prior study in 1984. Just new/better base mapping resulting in lower BFE's (foot or so) through the village. All existing LOMA's were re-certified under the new study.

@stacy-carroll Why is there so much difference?  Is this one of those "locally determined" BFEs or whatever?

@bstrand 

It looks like they used quad maps for the flood study. That's the only reason I could see for the difference.

Just curious; what is the effective date of the FIRM panel in question?

I have never had a problem with local officials wanting to hold the FEMA mapped flood line over the measured flood line based on topographic survey and the F.I.S. Flood Profile elevation. I had one project a couple years ago where the client (C.E. company) asked me to show the proposed mapped flood line (pending final approval) with the existing. I also showed these flood lines based on my topo elevations. For the third or fourth map revision they asked me to take off the FEMA mapped lines and just show the measured.

@learner 

2006

You guys may already know about this site, but you can see FEMAs proposed changes to flood maps.  Panels from 2006 may be revised soon (maybe not the ones in question).  This may mean less flooding or more, but at least you can see it coming....  

https://hazards-fema.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=5852ea902db44e55bfce395799315f9c

Posted by: @learner

↑

You guys may already know about this site, but you can see FEMAs proposed changes to flood maps.  Panels from 2006 may be revised soon (maybe not the ones in question).  This may mean less flooding or more, but at least you can see it coming....  

https://hazards-fema.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=5852ea902db44e55bfce395799315f9c

I hope you realize that the flood maps do not influence in any way the degree of flooding in the real world...

Not attacking or defending FEMAs maps.  Just noting their very real existence and regulatory authority.  Thought that if the maps are being updated in the vicinity of the OP, it may be pertinent to the discussion.  

I hope you realize that the flood maps do not influence in any way the degree of flooding in the real world...

I was thinking about that very thing earlier this evening at our school board meeting.  Between 15 and 20 years ago our district was considering building an all new high school facility.  One site under serious consideration was absolutely horrible for several reasons.  I worked on the school superintendent and a few of those who were board members at the time trying them to not consider that site.  Then the flood of 2007 happened.  Every inch of where they intended to build was underwater and you could barely see the top of the existing corner post for the fence next to the highway.  Magically, that site was deemed to be unsuitable with no further comment from me.

I'm guessing the controversy here is because you can't have septic lines in Zone AE?  They allow that in my area.  If was confronted with this situation, I'd use the data the county wanted for the septic permit, but I'd make sure the house was staked over the BFE.   Your mileage may vary.

One of the best stories I have involving the flood plain turned out to be a case of error by a loan officer.  So, I didn't make a dime.

The potential client called to find out what all was needed for his so-called flood problem.  He owned a tiny aliquot of the southwest quarter of his section.  You know.  The east half of the east half of the east half of the west half of the east half of................................  Something like that.  The loan officer switched a east half for a west half somewhere along the line.  The faulty description put his house in the valley with the small stream instead of on top of the hill where his house actually was located.  All I did was pull out the flood map and compare it to his CORRECT legal versus the wrong one.  He chewed on his lender until she realized what she had done.