[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 96 (Friday, May 16, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28491-28492]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-10932]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Federal Emergency Management Agency


Use of Digital Flood Data

AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: Section 107 of the Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer Flood Insurance 
Reform Act of 2004 requires that geospatial digital flood hazard data 
distributed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), or its 
designee, or the printed products derived from that data, be 
interchangeable and legally equivalent for the determination of the 
location of 1-in-100-year and 1-in-500-year floodplains, provided that 
all other geospatial data shown on the printed product meets or exceeds 
any accuracy standard promulgated by FEMA. This is required for the 
purposes of flood insurance and floodplain management activities 
conducted pursuant to the National Flood Insurance Program under the 
National Flood Insurance Act of 1968. The FEMA Mitigation Directorate 
has developed a policy to implement this requirement. The policy 
states: To which FEMA products it applies; that ``printed products'' 
refers to both printed paper products produced by FEMA and by others; 
and that the horizontal location of the special flood hazard area on 
new products is defined by geographic coordinates.

DATES: This notice is effective as of November 29, 2007.

[[Page 28492]]


ADDRESSES: The policy is available online at http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=3235. You may also view a hard copy of the 
policy at the Office of Chief Counsel, Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, Room 835, 500 C Street, SW., Washington, DC 20472.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Rooney, Data and Dissemination 
Branch, Mitigation Directorate, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 
500 C Street, SW., Washington, DC 20472, e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Federal Emergency Management Agency 
(FEMA) publishes new Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) in the form of 
paper maps, digital map images (the full-size FIRM Scans and letter-
size FIRMettes) and digital geospatial flood hazard data (the Digital 
Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) Database product). The previously 
published maps are available only as paper maps or FIRM Scans/
FIRMettes.
    As required by 42 U.S.C. 4101 note, FIRM Scans/FIRMettes, published 
paper FIRMs, DFIRM Database products and printed versions produced from 
the official digital products are all equivalent to each other and 
represent official FEMA designations of the areas of special flood 
hazard, base flood elevations, insurance risk zones and other 
regulatory information, provided that all other geospatial data shown 
on the printed product meets or exceeds any accuracy standard 
promulgated by FEMA.
    Beginning in 2001, most new FIRMs began showing a coordinate grid 
on the printed effective FIRM and are available as a DFIRM Database 
product. When a coordinate grid is shown on the printed FIRM or when 
the DFIRM Database version is available, the horizontal location of the 
flood hazard information is defined with respect to the primary 
coordinate system shown on the printed FIRM or stored in the DFIRM 
Database product. The horizontal location of the flood hazard 
information is not defined by its relationship to the base map features 
such as streets. If there are conflicting interpretations of the 
precise horizontal location of the areas of special flood hazard, the 
conflict shall be resolved using the grid coordinates shown on the 
printed FIRM or stored in the DFIRM Database product rather than the 
base map features.
    Base map is defined as the set of physical and cultural features 
shown on a flood map to provide a geographic and visual context to the 
flood hazard information. Features depicted by the base map include 
roads, railroads, buildings, lakes, streams, shorelines, jurisdiction 
boundaries, public land survey system information, land parcel, and 
orthoimagery.
    The policy is available online located at http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=3235. You may also view a hard copy of the 
policy at the Office of Chief Counsel, Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, Room 835, 500 C Street, SW., Washington, DC 20472.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4101 note.

    Dated: May 7, 2008.
David I. Maurstad,
Federal Insurance Administrator of the National Flood Insurance 
Program, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland 
Security.
[FR Doc. E8-10932 Filed 5-15-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-12-P