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FEMA Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map and StudyMasterpiece on the Mississippi Dubuque bierd All-America City 1 2007 TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager SUBJECT: Preliminary Copies of Flood Insurance Rate Map and Flood Insurance Study for Dubuque County, Iowa DATE: May 24, 2012 The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has provided five new preliminary panels of the Flood Insurance Rate Maps and Flood Insurance Study for review by the City of Dubuque. The revised flood maps change the designation of the City's flood wall from a provisionally- accredited levee to an accredited levee. In addition, the maps have been revised to reflect new 100 -year flood elevations for the City's four detention ponds located along the flood wall. The basins detain storm water from upland areas and pump it over the floodwall at such times when the normal gravity flow storm sewers have to be closed due to flooding on the Mississippi River. Within 30 days of receiving the new panels, the City of Dubuque can transmit nontechnical corrections that would include corporate limits, road names and stream names on the FIRM or in the FIS report. Staff's review of the preliminary map panels has found that the State boundary between Illinois and Wisconsin is not shown, and within the FIS Report, Maus Lake is misspelled. Planning and Engineering staff are still reviewing the preliminary panels and FIS Report at the writing of this memo, and will transmit any non - technical errors that are found by the June 4, 2012 deadline. Planning Services Manager Laura Carstens recommends City Council approval for the City of Dubuque to proceed through the review and appeal procedures as outlined in the letter received from FEMA dated May 4, 2012. I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council approval. Michael C. Van Milligen MCVM:jh Attachment cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager Laura Carstens, Planning Services Manager 2 Masterpiece on the Mississippi TO: Michael Van Mil!igen, City Manager -r� FROM: Laura Carstens, Planning Services Manager SUBJECT: Preliminary Copies of Flood Insurance Rate Map and Flood Insurance Study for Dubuque County, Iowa DATE: May 23, 2012 Dubuque AII•AmericaCily 2007 INTRODUCTION The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has provided five new preliminary panels of the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) and Flood Insurance Study (FIS) for review by the City of Dubuque. The FIRMs and FIS were revised to change the status of Dubuque's Local Flood Protection Project Levee from provisionally- accredited to accredited, and to revise the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) to map interior drainage ponding from the accredited levee. In layman's terms, FEMA is providing revised flood maps to the City of Dubuque that change the designation of the City's flood wall from a provisionally- accredited levee to an accredited levee. In addition, the maps have been revised to reflect new 100 -year flood elevations for the City's four detention ponds located along the flood wall. The basins detain storm water from upland areas and pump it over the floodwall at such times when the normal gravity flow storm sewers have to be closed due to flooding on the Mississippi River. DISCUSSION FEMA has revised five panels of the City's FIRMs to reflect the fact that the City's levee has been accredited and to reflect the interior drainage ponding that is associated with the operation of the levee. FEMA has also provided a Summary of Map Actions that documents previous Letters of Map Changes. This would include the Letters of Map Amendment — Out As Shown (LOMA -OAS) that Planning staff has been assisting citizens with since adoption of the new flood maps on October 18, 2011. The process for reviewing these maps is similar to that which was followed as part of the review of the new flood maps that were submitted to the City in July 2009 and approved and adopted on October 18, 2011. Preliminary FIRMS and FIS for Dubuque County Page 2 Within 30 days of receiving the new panels, the City of Dubuque can transmit non- technical corrections that would include corporate limits, road names and stream names on the FIRM or in the FIS report. Staffs review of the preliminary map panels has found that the State boundary between Illinois and Wisconsin is not shown, and within the FIS Report, Maus Lake is misspelled. Planning and Engineering staff are still reviewing the preliminary panels and FIS Report at the writing of this memo, and will transmit any non - technical errors that are found by the June 4, 2012 deadline. After the 30 -day review and appeal processes have been completed, final preparation of the FIRM and FIS report will take place. FEMA will be setting up a community coordination meeting and may initiate a statutory 90 -day appeal period if FEMA has added or modified a base flood elevation, base flood depth, or flood zone designations within a community as shown on the preliminary FIRM. FEMA has estimated that the new maps would become effective 7 -10 months after completion of the 90 -day appeal procedure. The City of Dubuque will need to adopt a revised flood plain ordinance to reflect the new FIRMs and FIS report. RECOMMENDATION I recommend that the City of Dubuque proceed through the review and appeal procedures as outlined in the letter received from FEMA dated May 4, 2012 and signed by Richard Leonard, Chief Risk Analysis Branch. Thank you. Prepared by Kyle L. Kritz, Associate Planner Enclosures cc: Gus Psihoyos, City Engineer Don Vogt, Public Works Director John Klostermann, Streets & Sewers Supervisor Steve Brown, Project Manager Bob Schiesl, Assistant City Engineer Deron Muehring, Civil Engineer Todd Shoemaker, Environmental Engineer Federal Emergency Management Agency Region VII 9221 Ward Parkway, Suite 300 Kansas City, Missouri 64114-3372 The Honorable Roy D. Buol Mayor, City of Dubuque 50 West 13th Street Dubuque, Iowa 52001 Dear Mayor Buol: May 4, 2012 PRELIM TRANS -CEO Community Name: Community No.: City of Dubuque, Dubuque County, Iowa 195180 We are pleased to present your community with Preliminary copies of the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report for Dubuque County, Iowa and Incorporated Areas for your review and comment. The FIRMS and the FIS were revised to change the status of the Dubuque Local Flood Protection Project Levee from provisionally accredited to accredited and to revise the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) to map interior drainage ponding from the accredited levee. We have revised only those FIRM panels with updated flood hazard information. We are sending the Preliminary copies at this time to give your community an opportunity to review them. Additionally, in an effort to assist you in circulating the information, FEMA has posted digital copies of the revised FIRM and FIS report materials to the following Website: http://www.starr - team.com/starr/Regional Workspaces /RegionVll/DubuqueCountylowa /Preliminary %20MapsfForms /AIIIt ems.aspx. We will contact you shortly to schedule a formal community coordination meeting (a "Consultation Coordination Officer [CCO]" Meeting) to discuss the revised flood hazard information, ordinance adoption, and other frequently asked questions and concerns. In the meantime, we encourage you to circulate the enclosed copies as widely as possible among elected officials, staff, and other individuals or organizations in the community that would have an interest in the FIRM and FIS report so that they will have the opportunity to review them thoroughly before the formal community coordination meeting. The review period provides community officials and citizens in the affected communities with an opportunity to identify changes or corrections to non - technical information, such as corporate limits, road names, and stream names on the FIRM or in the FIS report. Comments may be sent to Emily Whitehead, STARR, 11687 Lebanon Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45241 -2012. Please submit comments (digital format such as shape files preferred) no later than 30 days from the date of this letter. All comments and changes received during this review period will be incorporated, as appropriate, before the FIRM and FIS report become effective. To assist your community in maintaining the FIRM, we have enclosed a Summary of Map Actions (SOMA) to document previous Letters of Map Change (LOMCs) (i.e., Letters of Map Amendment [LOMAs], Letters of Map Revision [ LOMRs]) that will be superseded when the FIRM becomes effective. Information on LOMCs is presented in the following four categories: (1) LOMCs for which results have been included on the FIRM; (2) LOMCs for which results could not be shown on the FIRM because of www.fema.gov 2 scale limitations or because the LOMC issued had determined that the lots or structures involved were outside the SFHA as shown on the FIRM; (3) LOMCs for which results have not been included on the FIRM because the flood hazard information on which the original determinations were based is being superseded by new flood hazard information; and (4) LOMCs issued for multiple lots or structures where the determination for one or more of the lots or structures cannot be revalidated through an administrative process like the LOMCs in Category 2 above. LOMCs in Category 2 will be revalidated through a single letter that reaffirms the validity of a previously issued LOMC; the letter will be sent to your community shortly before the effective date of the FIRM and will become effective one day after the FIRM becomes effective. For the LOMCs listed in Category 4, we will review the data previously submitted for the LOMA or LOMR request and issue a new determination for the affected properties after the FIRM becomes effective upon request. Your community should be aware that recently approved LOMCs, specifically LOMRs, may have been issued for your community. The LOMR process is dynamic and FEMA is reviewing LOMR applications regularly. To complete production of the Preliminary FIRMs which includes incorporating the effects of "mappable" LOMRs issued since the last snap effective date, a specific cutoff was established. FEMA will address any approved LOMRs issued after the cutoff date when the final SOMA is distributed. If your community has concerns regarding a specific case, please submit the LOMR case number, as well as any appropriate documentation, to our FEMA Regional Office at 9221 Ward Parkway, Suite 300, Kansas City, Missouri 64114 -3372 before the end of the comment or appeal periods discussed below to assist us in keeping the map up to date. After the CCO Meeting, we will initiate a statutory 90 -day appeal period for certain communities within Dubuque County. A statutory 90 -day appeal period is required when FEMA adds or modifies Base (1- percent- annual- chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs), base flood depths, SFHAs, flood zone designations, or regulatory floodways within a community, as shown on the Preliminary FIRM. If your community is identified as requiring an appeal period, we will send you a letter approximately 2 weeks before the start of the 90 -day appeal period to detail the appeal process. The letter will forward information regarding notifications to be published in the FEDERAL REGISTER and local newspaper(s) and will provide the first and second publication dates. The appeal period will start on the second publication date Additional information concerning the 90 -day appeal period will be provided during the CCO Meeting. After the 30 -day review and appeal periods have ended and we have addressed all comments /appeals, we will initiate final preparation of the FIRM and FIS report. The new FIRM and FIS report for your community will become effective approximately 7 to 10 months later. Before the effective date, you will be notified in writing of the official FIRM and FIS report effective date and asked to adopt floodplain ordinances or modify existing ordinances as necessary that correspond with the new FIRM or FIS report. If you or other community officials have any questions regarding floodplain ordinances, you may raise them with our FEMA Regional Office or you may discuss those issues with your State NEW Coordinator. Several months before the effective date, we will mail one set of printed copies of the finalized FIRM and FIS report and digital copies of the map and report products. Your community's comments on the Preliminary FIRM panels and FIS report are an important part of our review process, and we will consider them carefully before we publish the FIRM and FIS report in www fema.gov 3 their final form. If you have any questions regarding the Preliminary copies of the FIRM and FIS report, please contact Emily Whitehead, STARR, at (513) 842 -8200. If you have general questions about mapping issues, please call our FEMA Map Information eXchange (FMIX), toll free, at (877) 336 -2627 (877 -FEMA MAP) or e -mail our FMIX staff at ItMAMapSpecialist @riskmapcds.com. Sincerely, Richard Leonard, Chief Risk Analysis Branch Enclosures: Preliminary FIRMS Preliminary FIS report Preliminary SOMA cc: Bill Cappuccio, State NFIP Coordinator Laura Carstens, Planning Services Manager, City of Dubuque ■ww.Ccma gov SOMA -1 PRELIMINARY SUMMARY OF MAP ACTIONS Community: DUBUQUE, CITY OF Community No: 195180 To assist your community in maintaining the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), we have summarized below the previously issued Letter of Map Change (LOMC) actions (i.e., Letters of Map Revision (LOMRs) and Letters of Map Amendment (LOMAs)) that will be affected by the preparation of the enclosed revised FIRM panel(s). 1. LOMCs Incorporated The modifications effected by the LOMCs listed below have been reflected on the Preliminary copies of the revised FIRM panels. In addition, these LOMCs will remain in effect until the revised FIRM becomes effective. LOMC Case No. Date Issued Project Identifier Old Panel New Panel LOMA 11- 07 -3089A 10/20/2011 NO CASES RECORDED 1906100243E 19061 CO243F 2. LOMCs Not Incorporated The modifications effected by the LOMCs listed below have not been reflected on the Preliminary copies of the revised FIRM panels because of scale limitations or because the LOMC issued had determined that the lot(s) or structure(s) involved were outside the Special Flood Hazard Area, as shown on the FIRM. These LOMCs will be revalidated free of charge 1 day after the revised FIRM becomes effective through a single revalidation letter that reaffirms the validity of the previous LOMCs. LOMC Case No Date Issued Project Identifier Old Panel New Panel LOMA 11- 07 -3089A 10/20/2011 L. H LANGS WORTHY'S ADDITION, LOTS 2-3-168 s 2 -4- 168 - 808 KAUFMANN AVENUE 1906100243E 19061 CO243F LOMA 11- 07 -3131A 10/25/2011 ARSH'S ADDITION, LOT 1 -38 - -- 2155 ORTH MAIN STREET 1906100243E 1906100243E LOMA 11- 07 -3183A 10/25/2011 _ANGWORTHYS ADDITION, LOT 1 -1 -2 -166 L 4 -- 715 KAUFMANN AVENUE 19061 CO243E 19061 CO243F LOMA 11- 07 -3202A 10/25/2011 H. LANGWORTHYS ADDITION, LOT -1-153A -- 530 -532 KAUFMAN AVENUE 19061CO243E 19061CO243F LOMA 11- 07 -3371A 10/27/2011 OT 47 - -- 2556 AND 25561/2 WASHINGTON TREET 1906100243E 1906100243E LOMA 11- 07 -3385A 11/01/2011 H LANGWORTHV'S ADDITION, LOT 6- 95 KAUFMANN AVENUE 1906100243E 19061CO243F LOMA 11- 07 -3420A 11/01/2011 _H LANGS ADDITION, LOT 154 -600 KAUFMANN AVENUE 1906100243E 19061CO243F LOMA 11- 07 -3309A 11/08/2011 APLE LEAF ADDITIONS 2 8, 3, LOTS 1, 40 8, 1- 659L0UELLA LANE 19061CO243E 19061CO243F 5/3/2012 Page 1 of 3 PRELIMINARY SUMMARY OF MAP ACTIONS Community: DUBUQUE, CITY OF 4. LOMCs To Be Redetermined SOMA -1 Community No: 195180 The LOMCs in Category 2 above will be revalidated through a single revalidation letter that reaffirms the validity of the determination in the previously issued LOMC. For LOMCs issued for multiple lots or structures where the determination for one or more of the lots or structures has changed, the LOMC cannot be revalidated through this administrative process. Therefore, we will review the data previously submitted for the LOMC requests listed below and issue a new determination for the affec ed properties after the effective date of the revised FIRM. LOMC Case No. Date Issued Project Identifier Old panel New Panel NO CASES RECORDED 5/3/2012 Page 3 of 3