Federal Register: August 3, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 150)
DOCID: FR Doc 00-19707
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
Federal Emergency Management Agency
NOTICE: NOTICES
ACTION: Flood insurance program:
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice of Cooperating Technical Communities flood hazard mapping initiative.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Cooperating Technical Communities
DATES: Pilot projects are ongoing.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
We (FEMA) give notice of the Cooperating Technical Communities initiative that will recognize and encourage participation by states, regional agencies, and communities in the flood hazard mapping process.
SUMMARY:
Flood hazard mapping; Cooperating Technical Communities initiative,
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
(a) Background. Throughout this notice, the terms ``we,'' ``our,'' and ``us,'' refers to FEMA. We administer the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and under Sec. 1360 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4101), we establish and update floodrisk zone data in floodplain areas. In the identification of floodprone areas, we may consult with, receive information from, and enter into agreements or other arrangements with the head of any State, regional, or local agency in order to identify these floodplain areas.
We are implementing the Cooperating Technical Communities (CTC) concept as part of our Flood Map Modernization plan (http:// www.fema.gov/library/mapmod.pdf). The CTC initiative will formally recognize and encourage the ongoing contributions that our mapping partnersStates, regional agencies, and communitiesmake in assisting us in providing timely and accurate flood hazard information. The participating entity will enter into a partnership agreement with us to develop or maintain all or a component of its flood hazard maps.
CTC partnerships will maximize the effectiveness of the limited local and Federal funding available for flood mapping, while maintaining consistent national standards. Through these partnerships, the integration of locallyfunded or developed flood and mapping data in the flood mapping process will enable contributing partners to expand the scope of our flood mapping efforts. We expect that this will result in enhanced responsibility for the maps by the partners and, in turn, heightened local awareness of flood risks, more effective floodplain management, and more accurate maps. The Cooperating Technical Communities initiative includes both locallyfunded and FEMA funded activities.
Under the initiative, we and the partner will enter a general overall agreement (CTC Agreement) that recognizes the fundamental importance of flood hazard identification, as well as flood insurance and floodplain management. Then, as the CTC partner and we identify specific flood mapping activities to undertake, we and the CTC partner will develop and enter into Mapping Activity Agreements under the umbrella of the overall CTC Agreement.
We envision that most Mapping Activity Agreements will be collaborative efforts where both the CTC partner and FEMA contribute data and units of work to maximize the extent, accuracy, and utility of flood studies to best meet local and Federal needs, while minimizing costs for all parties. Federal funding will be limited even if we can allocate supplemental map modernization funding. In any event, we will allocate funding within the context of our flood study prioritization process.
We will consider Fiscal Year 2000 as a pilot year for this initiative. Initial Guidance is available at http://www.fema.gov/mit/ tsd/CTC_main.htm.
(b) Availability of Fiscal Year 2000 Funds.
We have set aside $3,500,000 to be available for FEMAfunded CTC activities in Fiscal Year 2000. We have identified partners as potential recipients of funding through CTC agreements for this pilot year. We based the selection on floodplain mapping needs and on the partners' interest, contributions, and their capability to perform the types of activities that we identified for the pilot effort. (c) Activities.
All of the activities listed below contain the following benefits for both the CTC partner and for FEMA:
Mapping Activity Agreements will support the development of flood
hazard mapping or a component of the production and maintenance of
flood hazard mapping. The CTC partner and we will collaborate on these
mapping activities. We may provide technical assistance, support, and
data to the CTC partner. In some cases, funding may also be available.
The following mapping activities may receive funding in Fiscal Year 2000 through a cooperative agreement with us:
Activity Partner Description
Refinement of Approximate Zone A Community/Regional/State The CTC partner works with FEMA to
Boundaries. Agency. perform analyses to refine Zone A
boundaries. Emphasis placed on
automation techniques.
Hydrologic & Hydraulic (H&H) Modeling Community/Regional/State The CTC partner develops digital
and Floodplain Mapping. Agency. engineering data and floodplain mapping
using GISbased or traditiional H&H
modeling. [[Page 47732]]
DFIRM Preparation..................... Community/Regional/State The CTC partner digitizes the effective
Agency. FIRM into a DFIRM.
Redelineation of Detailed Flood Hazard Community/Regional/State The CTC partner redelineates the
Information Using Updated Topographic Agency. effective flood hazard information
Data. using more uptodate topographic data.
GIS is used, where available.
Where no funding will be provided to CTC partners for the following
mapping activities, we may provide techical assistance, support, and data to the CTC partner:
Activity Partner Description
Base Map Inventory...................... Regional or State Agency... The CTC partner performs an investigation
and provides an inventory of base maps
meeting FEMA's specifications for NFIP
communities in the state.
Digital Base Map Data Sharing........... Community/Regional/State The CTC partner supplies a base map for
Agency. DFIRM production. The base map will
comply with FEMP's minimum accuracy
requirements and be distributable by
FEMA to the public (hardcopy and
electronic formats).
DFIRM Maintenance....................... Community/Regional/State The CTC partner assumes responsibility
Agency. for longterm, periodic maintenance of
the DFIRM. This can include base map and/
or flood information.
Hydrologic and Hydraulic Review Community/Regional/State The CTC partner evaluates H&H studies
Agreement \1\. Agency. prepared for flood data updates and/or
44 CFR Part 65 map revisions. The review
will focus on compliance with the
technical and regulatory requirements
contained in FEMA's varous flood mapping
guidelines and specifications, the
pertinent NFIP flood mapping
regulations, as well as standard
accepted engineering practices.
Analysis of Community Mapping Needs (to Regional/State Agency...... The CTC partner performs a detailed
support FEMNA's Mapping Needs Update communitybycommunity investigation and
Support System (MNUSS)). assessment of every NFIP community's
mapping needs, including flood data
updates, map maintenance, and includes
unmapped communities. (This activity was
eligible for funding in FY 1999, but is
no longer eligible for funding).
Technical Standards Agreement........... Community/Regional/State Adoption of specific technical standards
Agency. or processes appropriate for local
conditions for NFIP flood mapping
purposes.
\1\ This activity is currently being considered as a pilot activity. (d) Eligibility Criteria.
We intend the cooperative agreements (CAs) awarded in this effort
to supplement and not supplant ongoing mapping efforts by the
community, regional agency, or State. The FEMA funds would be in
addition to the partner's current effort. This is the second year of
this initiative and our Regional Offices have selected pilot communities based on the following criteria:
(1) The CTC partner must have existing processes or systems in
place that support mapping or data collection activities that
contribute to flood hazard identification. These ongoing processes or systems must be supported by nonfederal funding.
(2) The CTC partner must have demonstrated the capability to perform the mapping activities for which it is applying.
(3) The CTC partner must be a community participating in the NFIP,
and be in good standing in the program as determined by our Regional
Office, or be a State or regional agency that serves communities that participate in the NFIP.
We will evaluate these criteria, which have been used in this pilot year, and we will further enhance them in subsequent years. In addition to the selection criteria above, communities that receive a CA must be able to perform the financial management activities required as part of the cooperative agreement (i.e., account for federal funds, prepare financial reports). Our regional offices will assist the communities with these financial management activities.
(e) Cooperating Technical Community Contacts.
Region 1: (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont), Dean Savramis, 442 J.W. McCormack POCH, Boston, MA 02109, Telephone: (617) 2239564, (e:mail) dean.savramis@fema.gov.
Region 2: (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands), Paul Weberg, 26 Federal Plaza, Room 1337, New York, NY 10278, (212) 225 7229, (e:mail) paul.weberg@fema.gov.
Region 3: (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West
Virginia, District of Columbia), Erik Rourke, 615 Chestnut Street, 6th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106, (215) 9315665, (e:mail)
erik.rourke@fema.gov.
Region 4: (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee), Laura Algeo, 3003 Chamblee Tucker Rd., Atlanta, GA 30341, Telephone: (770) 2205436, (e:mail) laura.algeo@fema.gov.
Region 5: (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin), Ken Hinterlong, 536 S. Clark Street, 6th Floor, Chicago, IL 60605, Telephone: (312) 4085529, (e:mail) ken.hinterlong@fema.gov.
Region 6: (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas), Jack Quarles, FRC 800 North Loop 288, Denton, TX 76210, Telephone: (817) 8985156, (e:mail) jack.quarles@fema.gov.
Region 7: (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska), Bob Franke, 2323 Grand Avenue, Suite 900, Kansas City, MO 64108, Telephone: (816) 283 7073, (e:mail) bob.franke@fema.gov.
Region 8: (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah,
Wyoming), John Liou, Denver Federal Center, Bldg. 710, Box 25267, Denver, CO 80225, Telephone: (303) 2354836, (e:mail)
john.liou@fema.gov.
Region 9: (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa,
Guam), Les Sakumoto, Bldg. 105, Presidio of San Francisco, San [[Page 47733]]
Francisco, CA 94129, Telephone: (415) 9237183, (e:mail)
leslie.sakumoto@fema.gov.
Region 10: (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington), Larry Basich, Federal Regional Center, 130228th Street, Bothell, WA 98021, Telephone: (425) 4874703, (e:mail) lawrence.basich@fema.gov.
Dated: July 19, 2000.
Michael J. Armstrong,
Associate Director for Mitigation.
[FR Doc. 0019707 Filed 8200; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 671804P
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Your FEMA Regional Cooperating Technical Communities Coordinator. We list contact names for the coordinators under Section (e) of this document.