Local Ownership of Floodplain Maps Through LOMC Pilot Program

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Local Ownership of Floodplain Maps Through Letters of Map Change Pilot Program

Local communities have a vested interest in maintaining up-to-date floodplain maps and flood information. Through a pilot program, Storm Water Services reviews and processes Letters Of Map Change (LOMCs.) The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has historically processed these revisions to approved floodplain maps.

However, on July 1, 2006, FEMA delegated to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services the authority to review and process Conditional Letters of Map Revision (CLOMRs) and Final Letters of Map Revision (LOMRs.) The pilot program applies to LOMCs for unincorporated Mecklenburg County, the City of Charlotte, and Towns of Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill, and Pineville.

In 1999, Storm Water Services contributed $2,000,000 to develop an updated Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and revised Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) which were formally adopted by FEMA in 2004. Those FIRMs are updated by the issuances of LOMCs.

Content2 The delegation of authority to review and process LOMCs enables Storm Water Services to become more active in managing the changes to the FIS and FIRMs. Advantages: Local staff can meet with applicants before and during the LOMC process Local staff has knowledge of local floodplains Local staff can make site visits when necessary	Content3
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See a flow chart of the Storm Water Services LOMC Process.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services' Flood Mitigation Program is responsible for all aspects of floodplain management in Mecklenburg County. The Floodplain Administrator for all of the County's National Flood Insurance Programs (NFIP) communities is a member of the Storm Water Services' Flood Mitigation Program staff. This creates a unique situation because the Floodplain Administrator must sign the Community Acknowledgement on the FEMA MT-2 form to begin the formalized process for requesting a LOMC.

Flood Mitigation Program staff is required to review and process the LOMC in the same manner as FEMA. This includes using the FEMA Mapping Information Platform to track and store data associated with the request.

This Pilot Program with FEMA has provided challenges to the Storm Water Services' staff as well as advantages for the citizens of Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

For questions or additional information about the LOMC Review and Processing Pilot Program, please contact Project Manager David Love at 704-432-0006.

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