New Elevation Certificates

1. New Elevation Certificates Kansas Department of Agriculture Division of Water Resources Rhonda Montgomery, CFM NFIP Coordinator Kansas Department of Agriculture Division of Water Resources 109 SW 9th St 2nd Floor Topeka, KS 66612 785-296-4622 rmontgomery@kda.state.ks.us

2. Common Terms • FIRM – Flood Insurance Rate Map – Depicts flood zones and BFEs as determined by FEMA. • FIS – Flood Insurance Study – A document containing the technical information that is used to create the FIRM, including the flood profiles associated with all streams studied with detailed methods. • BFE – Base Flood Elevation – The water surface elevation corresponding to a flood having a one percent probability of being equaled or exceeded in a given year

3. Common Terms, cont. • Zone A – No Base Flood Elevations determined. • Zone AE – Base Flood Elevations determined. • Zone A1-30 – Same as Zone AE, except older description. • Zone AH – Flood depths of 1 to 3 feet (usually areas of ponding); Base Flood Elevations determined. • Zone AO – Flood depths of 1 to 3 feet (usually areas of sheet flow on sloping terrain); average depths determined. For areas of alluvial fan flooding, velocities are also determined. • Zones B, C, and X - Outside the 100-year floodplains, areas of 100-year sheet flow flooding where average depths are less than 1 foot, areas of 100-year stream flooding where the contributing drainage area is less than 1 square mile, or areas protected from the 100-year flood by levees. No BFEs or depths are shown within this zone.

4. Uses of the Elevation Certificate • Support a LOMC application • Document that the structure or parcel is above BFE • Insurance Rating Purposes • Rates for insurance are based on lowest floor elevation in relation to BFE, and if elevation is below BFE, indicates to FEMA that a potential violation has occurred. • Local Floodplain Development Permit Requirements • Kansas requires all residential structures be elevated to 1 ft above BFE. Elevation documentation is required to confirm compliance and satisfy a local community’s ordinance.

5. Changes to the Elevation Certificate • Section A • Longitude/Latitude REQUIRED • “Source of Horizontal Datum” Removed • Attach at least 2 Photographs if EC is used for flood insurance • Crawl Space Area, Number and Area of Openings (Vents) • Attached Garage Area, Number and Area of Openings (Vents) • Building Diagram Number Moved from Section C to Section A • Section B • No Changes • Section C - Building Diagram Number and Vent Info. Moved to Section A -Term “Bench Mark” Used Instead of “Elevation Reference Mark” -”Elevation Reference Mark Appear on FIRM” REMOVED • Section D • Check box if comments on back of form • Sections E and F • Added measurement of LOWEST ADJACENT GRADE distance to floor level. • Sections G • No Changes

6. Changes to the Elevation Certificate, Section A • Item A5 - Latitude/Longitude required, this information was previously optional • Item A6 - Minimum of two photographs of the building required, if the Elevation Certificate is being used to obtain flood insurance. If the building has split-level or multi-level areas, provide at least two additional photographs.

8. Changes to the EC, Section A, cont. • Location of crawl space or enclosure information changed from Section C to Section A. • Square footage and number of permanent flood openings for attached garage must now be included.

10. Changes to the EC Section C • Information previously included in Section C that was not associated with survey data has been moved to other sections, leaving this section solely for documenting the elevation information on the building. (See Section A.)

12. Changes to the EC Section D • The certification information and seal has been improved in that both pieces of information reside in the same section.

14. Changes to the ECSection E • Building Elevation Information (Survey Not Required) for Zone AO • Line E3 was added in reference to buildings with an attached garage where the top of slab is required.

16. Significant Changes • Photographs of structures for Elevation Certificates used for flood insurance rating purposes. • Allows insurance underwriters to better understand the building when determining insurance rates. • Documents that at the time of the completion of the Elevation Certificate, the building was compliant with NFIP requirements. • Aids in determining correct structure during subsequent visits to location. • Many uses even if not required, such as in a LOMC application.

17. Significant Changes, cont. • Lat/Long information now required instead of optional. • FEMA is modernizing the flood hazard data across the US, with the new information available in a GIS format. • Providing geographic coordinates for elevation certificates aids in many facets of floodplain management, including: • Identification of floodplain areas under development pressure. • Structures that may be affected if after a restudy, BFEs change. • FEMA database of information of georeferenced locations of insured buildings.

18. Online Training Tutorial • FEMA provides an online training at the following address: http://training.nfipstat.com/ecsurveyor/ Questions?