The Construction Official is designated the Floodplain Administrator.
The Floodplain Administrator shall have the authority to delegate
performance of certain duties to other employees.
The Floodplain Administrator is authorized and directed to administer the provisions of these regulations. The Floodplain Administrator shall have the authority to render interpretations of these regulations consistent with the intent and purpose of these regulations and to establish policies and procedures in order to clarify the application of its provisions. Such interpretations, policies and procedures shall be consistent with the intent and purpose of these regulations and the flood provisions of the building code and shall not have the effect of waiving specific requirements without the granting of a variance pursuant to Article VII of these regulations.
The Floodplain Administrator shall coordinate with the Construction
Official to administer and enforce the flood provisions of the Uniform
Construction Code.[1]
The duties of the Floodplain Administrator shall include but
are not limited to:
A.
Review all permit applications to determine whether proposed development is located in flood hazard areas established in Article II of these regulations.
B.
Require development in flood hazard areas to be reasonably safe from
flooding and to be designed and constructed with methods, practices
and materials that minimize flood damage.
C.
Interpret flood hazard area boundaries and provide available flood
elevation and flood hazard information.
D.
Determine whether additional flood hazard data shall be obtained
or developed.
E.
Review required certifications and documentation specified by these
regulations and the building code to determine that such certifications
and documentations are complete.
F.
Establish, in coordination with the Construction Official, written procedures for administering and documenting determinations of substantial improvement and substantial damage made pursuant to § 146-3.14 of these regulations.
G.
Coordinate with the Construction Official and others to identify
and investigate damaged buildings located in flood hazard areas and
inform owners of the requirement to obtain permits for repairs.
H.
Review requests submitted to the Construction Official seeking approval
to modify the strict application of the flood load and flood-resistant
construction requirements of the Uniform Construction Code[1] to determine whether such requests require consideration as a variance pursuant to Article VII of these regulations.
I.
Require applicants who submit hydrologic and hydraulic engineering
analyses to support permit applications to submit to FEMA the data
and information necessary to maintain the Flood Insurance Rate Maps
when the analyses propose to change base flood elevations, flood hazard
area boundaries, or floodway designations; such submissions shall
be made within six months of such data becoming available.
J.
Require applicants who propose alteration of a watercourse to notify
adjacent jurisdictions and the NJDEP Bureau of Flood Engineering,
and to submit copies of such notifications to the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA).
K.
Inspect development in accordance with Article VI of these regulations and inspect flood hazard areas to determine if development is undertaken without issuance of permits.
L.
Prepare comments and recommendations for consideration when applicants seek variances in accordance with Article VII of these regulations.
N.
Notify the Federal Emergency Management Agency when the corporate
boundaries of the City of Somers Point have been modified.
The Floodplain Administrator and the applicant shall not use
changed flood hazard area boundaries or base flood elevations for
proposed buildings or developments unless the Floodplain Administrator
or applicant has applied for a Conditional Letter of Map Revision
(CLOMR) to the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) revision and has received
the approval of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A revision
of the effective FIRM does not remove the related feature(s) on a
flood hazard area delineation that has been promulgated by the NJDEP.
A separate application must be made to the state pursuant to N.J.A.C.
7:13 for revision of a flood hazard design flood elevation, flood
hazard area limit, floodway limit, and/or other related features.
It shall be the responsibility of the Floodplain Administrator
to assure that approval of a proposed development shall not be given
until proof that necessary permits have been granted by federal or
state agencies having jurisdiction over such development, including
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.[1] In the event of conflicting permit requirements, the Floodplain
Administrator must ensure that the most restrictive floodplain management
standards are reflected in permit approvals.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 33 U.S.C. § 1344.
A.
If design flood elevations are not specified, the Floodplain Administrator
is authorized to require the applicant to:
(1)
Obtain, review, and reasonably utilize data available from a
federal, state, or other source; or
(2)
Determine the design flood elevation in accordance with accepted
hydrologic and hydraulic engineering techniques. Such analyses shall
be performed and sealed by a licensed professional engineer. Studies,
analyses, and computations shall be submitted in sufficient detail
to allow review and approval by the Floodplain Administrator. The
accuracy of data submitted for such determination shall be the responsibility
of the applicant.
B.
It shall be the responsibility of the Floodplain Administrator to verify that the applicant's proposed best available flood hazard data area and the local design flood elevation in any development permit accurately applies the best available flood hazard data and methodologies for determining flood hazard areas and design elevations described in §§ 146-2.2 and 146-2.3, respectively. This information shall be provided to the Construction Official and documented according to § 146-3.15.
Base flood elevations may increase or decrease resulting from
natural changes (e.g., erosion, accretion, channel migration, subsidence,
uplift) or man-made physical changes (e.g., dredging, filling, excavation)
affecting flooding conditions. As soon as practicable, but not later
than six months after the date of a man-made change or when information
about a natural change becomes available, the Floodplain Administrator
shall notify the Federal Insurance Administrator of the changes by
submitting technical or scientific data in accordance with Title 44,
Code of Federal Regulations, Section 65.3. Such a submission is necessary
so that upon confirmation of those physical changes affecting flooding
conditions, risk premium rates and floodplain management requirements
will be based upon current data.
In riverine flood hazard areas where design flood elevations
are specified but floodways have not been designated, the Floodplain
Administrator shall not permit any new construction, substantial improvement
or other development, including the placement of fill, unless the
applicant submits an engineering analysis prepared by a licensed professional
engineer that demonstrates that the cumulative effect of the proposed
development, when combined with all other existing and anticipated
flood hazard area encroachment, will not increase the design flood
elevation more than 0.2 foot at any point within the community.
Prior to issuing a permit for any floodway encroachment, including
fill, new construction, substantial improvements and other development
or land- disturbing-activity, the Floodplain Administrator shall require
submission of a certification prepared by a licensed professional
engineer, along with supporting technical data, that demonstrates
that such development will not cause any increase in the base flood
level.
A floodway encroachment that increases the level of the base
flood is authorized if the applicant has applied for a Conditional
Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) to the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)
and has received the approval of FEMA.
Prior to issuing a permit for any alteration or relocation of
any watercourse, the Floodplain Administrator shall require the applicant
to provide notification of the proposal to the appropriate authorities
of all adjacent government jurisdictions, as well as the NJDEP Bureau
of Flood Engineering and the Division of Land Resource Protection.
A copy of the notification shall be maintained in the permit records
and submitted to FEMA.
The Floodplain Administrator shall require submission of an
engineering analysis prepared by a licensed professional engineer,
demonstrating that the flood-carrying capacity of the altered or relocated
portion of the watercourse will be maintained, neither increased nor
decreased. Such watercourses shall be maintained in a manner that
preserves the channel's flood-carrying capacity.
The excavation or alteration of sand dunes is governed by the
New Jersey Coastal Zone Management (CZM) rules, N.J.A.C. 7:7. Prior
to issuing a flood damage prevention permit for any alteration of
sand dunes in coastal high-hazard areas and Coastal A Zones, the Floodplain
Administrator shall require that a New Jersey CZM permit be obtained
and included in the flood damage prevention permit application. The
applicant shall also provide documentation of any engineering analysis,
prepared by a licensed professional engineer, that demonstrates that
the proposed alteration will not increase the potential for flood
damage.
All development in riparian zones as described in N.J.A.C. 7:13
is prohibited by this chapter unless the applicant has received an
individual or general permit or has complied with the requirements
of a permit by rule or permit by certification from NJDEP Division
of Land Resource Protection prior to application for a floodplain
development permit and the project is compliant with all other floodplain
development provisions of this chapter. The width of the riparian
zone can range between 50 feet and 300 feet and is determined by the
attributes of the water body and designated in the New Jersey Surface
Water Quality Standards N.J.A.C. 7:9B. The portion of the riparian
zone located outside of a regulated water is measured landward from
the top of bank. Applicants can request a verification of the riparian
zone limits or a permit applicability determination to determine state
permit requirements under N.J.A.C. 7:13 from the NJDEP Division of
Land Resource Protection.
When buildings and structures are damaged due to any cause,
including but not limited to man-made, structural, electrical, mechanical,
or natural hazard events, or are determined to be unsafe as described
in N.J.A.C. 5:23; and for applications for building permits to improve
buildings and structures, including alterations, movement, repair,
additions, rehabilitations, renovations, ordinary maintenance and
minor work, substantial improvements, repairs of substantial damage,
and any other improvement of or work on such buildings and structures,
the Floodplain Administrator, in coordination with the Construction
Official, shall:
A.
Estimate the market value or require the applicant to obtain a professional
appraisal prepared by a qualified independent appraiser, of the market
value of the building or structure before the start of construction
of the proposed work; in the case of repair, the market value of the
building or structure shall be the market value before the damage
occurred and before any repairs are made.
B.
Determine and include the costs of all ordinary maintenance and minor work, as discussed in § 146-1.5, performed in the floodplain regulated by this chapter in addition to the costs of those improvements regulated by the Construction Official in substantial damage and substantial improvement calculations.
C.
Compare the cost to perform the improvement, the cost to repair the
damaged building to its pre-damaged condition, or the combined costs
of improvements and repairs, where applicable, to the market value
of the building or structure.
D.
Determine and document whether the proposed work constitutes substantial
improvement of repair of substantial damage. This determination requires
the evaluation of previous permits issued for improvements and repairs
over a period of one year prior to the permit application or substantial
damage determination as specified in the definition of substantial
improvement.
E.
Notify the applicant in writing when it is determined that the work
constitutes substantial improvement or repair of substantial damage
and that compliance with the flood-resistant construction requirements
of the building code is required and notify the applicant when it
is determined that work does not constitute substantial improvement
or repair of substantial damage. The Floodplain Administrator shall
also provide all letters documenting substantial damage and compliance
with flood-resistant construction requirements of the building code
to the NJDEP Bureau of Flood Engineering.
In addition to the requirements of the building code and these
regulations, and regardless of any limitation on the period required
for retention of public records, the Floodplain Administrator shall
maintain and permanently keep and make available for public inspection
all records that are necessary for the administration of these regulations
and the flood provisions of the Uniform Construction Code, including
Flood Insurance Studies, Flood Insurance Rate Maps; documents from
FEMA that amend or revise FIRMs; NJDEP delineations, records of issuance
of permits and denial of permits; records of ordinary maintenance
and minor work, determinations of whether proposed work constitutes
substantial improvement or repair of substantial damage; required
certifications and documentation specified by the Uniform Construction
Code and these regulations, including as-built elevation certificates;
notifications to adjacent communities, FEMA, and the state related
to alterations of watercourses; assurance that the flood-carrying
capacity of altered waterways will be maintained; documentation related
to variances, including justification for issuance or denial; and
records of enforcement actions taken pursuant to these regulations
and the flood-resistant provisions of the Uniform Construction Code.[1] The Floodplain Administrator shall also record the required
elevation, determination method, and base flood elevation source used
to determine the local design flood elevation in the floodplain development
permit.
The Floodplain Administrator and any employee charged with the
enforcement of these regulations, while acting for the jurisdiction
in good faith and without malice in the discharge of the duties required
by these regulations or other pertinent law or ordinance, shall not
thereby be rendered liable personally and is hereby relieved from
personal liability for any damage accruing to persons or property
as a result of any act or by reason of an act or omission in the discharge
of official duties. Any suit instituted against an officer or employee
because of an act performed by that officer or employee in the lawful
discharge of duties and under the provisions of these regulations
shall be defended by legal representative of the jurisdiction until
the final termination of the proceedings. The Floodplain Administrator
and any subordinate shall not be liable for cost in any action, suit
or proceeding that is instituted in pursuance of the provisions of
these regulations.
