Board of Commissioners
Preliminary Flood Maps for Lancaster County
The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has produced the FIRM and FIS report in Countywide Format, showing the flood hazard information for the entire geographic area of the county, including both incorporated and unincorporated areas. Your community has 30 days from the receipt of this letter to review and comment. The review period provides your community with an opportunity to identify changes or corrections to non-technical information presented on the FIRM or in the FIS report, such as corporate limits, road names (within or adjacent to the SFHAs), bridges, and stream labels. Comments or changes received during this 30-day review period will be assessed and incorporated, as appropriate, before the FIRM and FIS report become effective. Comments should be sent to commish@lancaster.ne.gov.
In preparing the countywide FIRM and FIS report, Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) were created or modified. Following the 30-day review period, FEMA will initiate a statutory 90-day appeal period for the new or modified BFEs. Lancaster County will receive a letter approximately two (2) weeks before the start of the 90-day appeal period detailing the appeal process. The letter will include a list of the BFEs to be published in your local newspaper in a "Notice of Proposed Flood Elevation Determinations" and will provide the first and second publication dates. The 90-day appeal period will start on the second publication date. During the appeal period, community officials and/or other interested parties may submit technical information that would serve to refute the new or modified BFEs.
FEMA will contact you shortly to discuss the maps and schedule a county/community coordination meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to present the results of the study, discuss the information presented on the FIRM and FIS report, discuss the impact of the FIRM and FIS report on your community's participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and give your community a chance to comment or ask questions regarding the FIRM and FIS report and the NFIP in general. We encourage you to circulate the enclosed copies among elected officials, staff, and other individuals or organizations in your community who have an interest in the FIRM and FIS report.
After the appeal period has ended and all appeals have been addressed, final preparation of the FIRM and FIS report will be initiated. The new Countywide FIRM and FIS report for your community will become effective approximately six (6) months later. Prior to the effective date, FEMA will contact Lancaster County regarding the adoption of new floodplain ordinances or modification of existing ordinances as necessary to reflect any changes in the FIRM or FIS report. If you have any questions regarding floodplain ordinances for your community, you may discuss those issues with your State NFIP Coordinator, Bill Jones, or you may raise them at the county/community coordination meeting.
Your community's comments on the Preliminary FIRM panels and FIS report are an important part of the review process, and will be considered carefully before final publication of the FIRM and FIS report. If you have additional questions or comments regarding the enclosed documents, please contact Georgia Wright, the Consultation Coordination Officer designated for your community at (816) 283-7539.
Sincerely,
Richard Leonard, Chief
Risk Analysis Branch
Supporting Documents
