[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 44, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 44CFR9.7]

[Page 89-90]
 
              TITLE 44--EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND ASSISTANCE
 
 CHAPTER I--FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 
                                SECURITY
 
PART 9--FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION OF WETLANDS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 9.7  Determination of proposed action's location.

    (a) The purpose of this section is to establish Agency procedures 
for determining whether any action as proposed is located in or affects 
(1) the base floodplain (the Agency shall substitute the 500-year 
floodplain for the base floodplain where the action being proposed 
involves a critical action), or (2) a wetland.
    (b) Information needed. The Agency shall obtain enough information 
so that it can fulfill the requirements of the Orders to (1) avoid 
floodplain and wetland locations unless they are the only practicable 
alternatives; and (2) minimize harm to and within floodplains and 
wetlands. In all cases, FEMA shall determine whether the proposed action 
is located in a floodplain or wetland. In the absence of a finding to 
the contrary, FEMA may assume that a proposed action involving a 
facility or structure that has been flooded is in the floodplain. 
Information about the 100-year and 500-year floods and location of 
floodways and coastal high hazard areas may also be needed to comply 
with these regulations, especially Sec. 9.11. The following additional 
flooding characteristics shall be identified by the Regional Director as 
appropriate:
    (i) Velocity of floodwater;
    (ii) Rate of rise of floodwater;
    (iii) Duration of flooding;
    (iv) Available warning and evacuation time and routes;
    (v) Special problems:
    (A) Levees;
    (B) Erosion;
    (C) Subsidence;
    (D) Sink holes;
    (E) Ice jams;
    (F) Debris load;
    (G) Pollutants;
    (H) Wave heights;
    (I) Groundwater flooding;
    (J) Mudflow.
    (c) Floodplain determination. (1) In the search for flood hazard 
information, FEMA shall follow the sequence below:
    (i) The Regional Director shall consult the FEMA Flood Insurance 
Rate Map (FIRM) the Flood Boundary Floodway Map (FBFM) and the Flood 
Insurance Study (FIS).
    (ii) If a detailed map (FIRM or FBFM) is not available, the Regional 
Director shall consult an FEMA Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM) . If 
data on flood elevations, floodways, or coastal high hazard areas are 
needed, or if the map does not delineate the flood hazard boundaries in 
the vicinity of the proposed site, the Regional Director shall seek the 
necessary detailed information and assistance from the sources listed 
below.

[[Page 90]]

                Sources of Maps and Technical Information

Department of Agriculture: Soil Conservation Service
Department of the Army: Corps of Engineers
Department of Commerce: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Federal Insurance Administration
FEMA Regional Offices/Natural and Technological Hazards Division
Department of the Interior:
    Geological Survey
    Bureau of Land Management
    Bureau of Reclamation
Tennessee Valley Authority
Delaware River Basin Commission
Susquehanna River Basin Commission
States

    (iii) If the sources listed do not have or know of the information 
necessary to comply with the Orders' requirements, the Regional Director 
shall seek the services of a Federal or other engineer experienced in 
this type of work.
    (2) If a decision involves an area or location within extensive 
Federal or state holdings or a headwater area, and an FIS, FIRM, FBFM, 
or FHBM is not available, the Regional Director shall seek information 
from the land administering agency before information and/or assistance 
is sought from the sources listed in this section. If none of these 
sources has information or can provide assistance, the services of an 
experienced Federal or other engineer shall be sought as described 
above.
    (d) Wetland determination. The following sequence shall be followed 
by the Agency in making the wetland determination.
    (1) The Agency shall consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(FWS) for information concerning the location, scale and type of 
wetlands within the area which could be affected by the proposed action.
    (2) If the FWS does not have adequate information upon which to base 
the determination, the Agency shall consult wetland inventories 
maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection 
Agency, various states, communities and others.
    (3) If state or other sources do not have adequate information upon 
which to base the determination, the Agency shall carry out an on-site 
analysis performed by a representative of the FWS or other qualified 
individual for wetlands characteristics based on the performance 
definition of what constitutes a wetland.
    (4) If an action is in a wetland but not in a floodplain, and the 
action is new construction, the provisions of this regulation shall 
apply. Even if the action is not in a wetland, the Regional Director 
shall determine if the action has the potential to result in indirect 
impacts on wetlands. If so, all adverse impacts shall be minimized. For 
actions which are in a wetland and the floodplain, completion of the 
decision-making process is required. (See Sec. 9.6.) In such a case the 
wetland will be considered as one of the natural and beneficial values 
of floodplain.

[45 FR 59526, Sept. 9, 1980, as amended at 47 FR 13149, Mar. 29, 1982; 
49 FR 33879, Aug. 27, 1984; 50 FR 40006, Oct. 1, 1985; 51 FR 34605, 
Sept. 30, 1986]