[Federal Register: May 16, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 96)]
[Notices]
[Page 28491-28492]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16my08-95]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Use of Digital Flood Data
AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: Section 107 of the Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer Flood Insurance
Reform Act of 2004 requires that geospatial digital flood hazard data
distributed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), or its
designee, or the printed products derived from that data, be
interchangeable and legally equivalent for the determination of the
location of 1-in-100-year and 1-in-500-year floodplains, provided that
all other geospatial data shown on the printed product meets or exceeds
any accuracy standard promulgated by FEMA. This is required for the
purposes of flood insurance and floodplain management activities
conducted pursuant to the National Flood Insurance Program under the
National Flood Insurance Act of 1968. The FEMA Mitigation Directorate
has developed a policy to implement this requirement. The policy
states: To which FEMA products it applies; that ``printed products''
refers to both printed paper products produced by FEMA and by others;
and that the horizontal location of the special flood hazard area on
new products is defined by geographic coordinates.
DATES: This notice is effective as of November 29, 2007.
[[Page 28492]]
ADDRESSES: The policy is available online at http://www.fema.gov/
library/viewRecord.do?id=3235. You may also view a hard copy of the
policy at the Office of Chief Counsel, Federal Emergency Management
Agency, Room 835, 500 C Street, SW., Washington, DC 20472.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Rooney, Data and Dissemination
Branch, Mitigation Directorate, Federal Emergency Management Agency,
500 C Street, SW., Washington, DC 20472, e-mail: paul.rooney@dhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) publishes new Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) in the form of
paper maps, digital map images (the full-size FIRM Scans and letter-
size FIRMettes) and digital geospatial flood hazard data (the Digital
Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) Database product). The previously
published maps are available only as paper maps or FIRM Scans/
FIRMettes.
As required by 42 U.S.C. 4101 note, FIRM Scans/FIRMettes, published
paper FIRMs, DFIRM Database products and printed versions produced from
the official digital products are all equivalent to each other and
represent official FEMA designations of the areas of special flood
hazard, base flood elevations, insurance risk zones and other
regulatory information, provided that all other geospatial data shown
on the printed product meets or exceeds any accuracy standard
promulgated by FEMA.
Beginning in 2001, most new FIRMs began showing a coordinate grid
on the printed effective FIRM and are available as a DFIRM Database
product. When a coordinate grid is shown on the printed FIRM or when
the DFIRM Database version is available, the horizontal location of the
flood hazard information is defined with respect to the primary
coordinate system shown on the printed FIRM or stored in the DFIRM
Database product. The horizontal location of the flood hazard
information is not defined by its relationship to the base map features
such as streets. If there are conflicting interpretations of the
precise horizontal location of the areas of special flood hazard, the
conflict shall be resolved using the grid coordinates shown on the
printed FIRM or stored in the DFIRM Database product rather than the
base map features.
Base map is defined as the set of physical and cultural features
shown on a flood map to provide a geographic and visual context to the
flood hazard information. Features depicted by the base map include
roads, railroads, buildings, lakes, streams, shorelines, jurisdiction
boundaries, public land survey system information, land parcel, and
orthoimagery.
The policy is available online located at http://www.fema.gov/
library/viewRecord.do?id=3235. You may also view a hard copy of the
policy at the Office of Chief Counsel, Federal Emergency Management
Agency, Room 835, 500 C Street, SW., Washington, DC 20472.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4101 note.
Dated: May 7, 2008.
David I. Maurstad,
Federal Insurance Administrator of the National Flood Insurance
Program, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland
Security.
[FR Doc. E8-10932 Filed 5-15-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-12-P