Flood hazard management in Vermont is a collaborative effort that includes federal, state and town governments, regional planning commissions (RPC’s), non-profit watershed organizations, and individual landowners.  The River Management Program (RMP) provides technical support and coordination for the implementation of flood hazard management programs throughout the State. 

The Floodplain Management section of the RMP works with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to oversee the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in Vermont. The NFIP is a voluntary program administered at the community level.  Participating communities agree to manage floodplain development using building and land-use regulations. In return, residents have the ability to purchase flood insurance, apply for federally insured loans (such as mortgages), and receive flood disaster assistance. Most Vermont municipalities participate in the NFIP; to find out if your community participates visit FEMA's Community Status Book Report .  While NFIP designated floodplains provide a useful management tool, they do not necessarily show the full extent of flood risk along Vermont streams and rivers.  We encourage towns to be proactive in managing floodplains, and to adopt regulations that go beyond the minimum NFIP requirements. 

Fluvial Erosion Hazard (FEH) mitigation is another flood hazard management tool used by the River Management Program.  Fluvial erosion can range from gradual bank erosion to catastrophic changes in channel location and dimension during flood events.  Fluvial erosion is the cause of a vast amount of flood damage in Vermont, but is not taken into account by NFIP maps.  The FEH program works to map the extent of the floodplain susceptible to fluvial erosion and works with municipalities on limiting development in these sensitive areas.  Adoption of FEH maps provides another tool for Vermont communities to determine flood risk, minimize flood losses, and protect our water resources.  The River Management Program encourages Vermont communities to manage their floodplains based on both inundation and fluvial erosion hazards.

Floodplain Management through the NFIP

The NFIP floodplain maps represent an estimate of the risk of flooding due to inundation of rising water from a river or lake.  These maps specifically show the extent of the floodplain affected by the base flood.  This is the severity of flood that has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year, and the base floodplain is called the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA).  The SFHA is often divided into two areas, the floodway and the flood fringe.  The floodway is the area near the stream channel where water moves the fastest during a flood event and poses the greatest danger.  The floodway must be kept free of development to prevent a rise in floodwater throughout the community.  The flood fringe represents the rest of the area between the floodway and the SFHA boundary.  Development in the flood fringe is regulated by the local government; you can check your community's flood hazard ordinance to see these restrictions.  You can view the effective NFIP maps for your community at your town office, or online at the FEMA Map Service Center.

All areas in a community are susceptible to flooding, although to varying degrees.  If your home is located in the SFHA, it has a 26% chance of being damaged by a flood over the course of a 30-year mortgage.  Homes outside the SFHA may also have a substantial risk of flood damage.  In fact, 25% of all flood claims occur in the low-to-moderate risk areas.  Flood insurance is available to any property owner or renter in a community participating in the NFIP. 

Here are a number of resources available from the RMP and FEMA to help understand the NFIP and development regulations in the SFHA:

• Homeowners and Property Owner FAQs  (pdf, 57kb)
• Municipalities and Floodplain Managers FAQs (pdf, 66kb)
• NFIP minimum regulations (pdf, 67kb) - Flood inundation and erosion hazard regulations from 44 CFR §60.3 and §60.5.
• NFIP definitions (pdf, 85kb)
• FEMA Publications
  • Floodplain Management Publications (pdf, 61kb) - Answers to questions about the NFIP, protecting utilities, understanding floodplain maps, retrofitting homes, administering NFIP regulations, etc
  • Technical Bulletins (pdf, 51kb) - Resources designed to aid in buidling design and construction in flood prone areas
  • Forms (pdf, 50kb) - Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) forms, Flood proofing and Elevation Certificates, Application for Community Enrollment in the NFIP
  • Brochures (under construction) - Short informational resources that can be distributed to community member

Floodplain Map Modernization - Many of Vermont’s National Flood Insurance Program floodplain maps date back to the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.  In 2004, FEMA initiated program to modernize floodplain maps nationwide. This program supplies communities countywide with new floodplain maps using modern mapping technologies and a new map format called a Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM).  The River Management Program coordinates map modernization activities throughout Vermont.  Our office works with regional planning commission’s and municipalities to inform residents of map changes, and to ensure that each community updates their flood hazard regulations to adopt the new maps.  New maps for Windham and Windsor counties became effective on September 28, 2007.  Drafts of new maps for Washington and Rutland counties are currently available for review at local town offices, and should become effective in 2008. For more information please see our mad modernization information and schedule sheet (pdf, 36kb), or contact Ned Swanberg (802-241-4596, Ned.Swanberg@state.vt.us).

Regulating Development in Vermont floodplains

The Rvier Management Program recognizes that the best way to maintain healthy rivers and floodplains, as well as protect the protect public safety, infrastructure and property, is to discourage development in NFIP floodplains and FEH corridors.  The RMP helps to reduce flood risk by providing technical assistance to communities regulating floodplain development.  Our office can provide general assistance and education about flood hazards and floodplain regulations, including the NFIP and Fluvial Erosion Hazards.  Two of the primary ways we help communities regulate floodplain development are by reviewing municipal floodplain development permits and by assisting towns in developing community floodplain regulations.

Flood Hazard Ordinance Reviews - As a condition of participation in the NFIP, your community agrees to adopt and enforce federal regulations for development in FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas.  Even communities that do not have other zoning bylaws must enforce these regulations.  For communities wishing to join the NFIP, or for communities that wish to update or enhance their current floodplain regualtions, the River Management Program can work with you to develop a compliant ordinance.  We also provide communities with Fluvial Erosion Hazard maps and assist in drafting and adopting regulations for Fluvial Erosion Hazard corridors.  We encourage community's to increase public safety and promote healthy rivers by adopting FEH corridors and additional regulatory measures that go beyond the minimum NFIP requirements.  We have produced several model ordinances (in the table below) that can be used by your community to adopt floodplain regulations.  These ordinances represent several levels of flooplain protection, we will work with your community to develop the ordinance that most suits your Town's needs.

• Overview of Model Ordinances (under construction) - A brief summary of flood hazards in Vermont, and the differences and advantages of each of the above documents
• Community Rating System (CRS) (under construction) - CRS is a FEMA program that gives an insurance discount to community residents when the community provides outreach and adopts additional floodplain management measures.  This document provides detailed information on the CRS program.

Development Reviews - The NFIP defines development as the placement of fill, construction, dredging, drilling, grading, excavating, mining, and the storage of materials.  NFIP regulations (44 CFR §60.3) require that a municipal permit be obtained for any development in a FEMA mapped floodplain.  Vermont law (24 VSA §4424) requires that all municipal permit applications for floodplain development be sent to the River Management Program for a review and comment.  The NFIP regulations can be complex, and this statute allows the RMP to ensure that floodplain development is compliant with the NFIP and FEH regulations in the community's ordinance.  Our office can work with zoning officials and developers to suggest development alternatives to mitigate flood risk.  Permit applications for floodplain development can be sent to the email or address below.  Please call the office if you have any questions about this procedure.

• Floodplain Permitting Flow Chart (under construction) - A detailed chart explaining different circumstances involved in floodplain development and the information needed from the applicant to ensure a timely development review.
• Development Review Submission Checklist (pdf, 101kb) - A full list of the materials necessary for the RIver Management Program to review municipal permit applications . 

Additional Resources

We have compiled several resources, documents and organizations that can help provide further information on floodplain management:

• ANR - Water Quality Division and River Management Program resources:
  • CONTACT SHEET (under construction)- Information on State, regional and federal partners that can be downloaded and posted in your Town offices.
  • Obtaining a LOMA in Zone A (78kb) - explains all of the surveying and application requirements for obtaining a Letter of Map Amendment in an approximate "A Zone"
  • River Corridor Protection and Management factsheet (pdf, 205kb) - An overview of river dynamics, flooding, and floodplain protection in Vermont
  • Defining River Corridors factsheet (pdf, 176 KB)
  • Options for State Flood Control Policies and a Flood Control Program, Act 137 (pdf, 1mb)
  • What Your Town Needs To Know About the National Flood Insurance Program - PowerPoint presentation providing an overview of floodplain management principles and the NFIP

• Act 250 Floodway Guidance (Criterion 1D):
• Procedure on ANR Floodway Determinations in Act 250 Proceedings (pdf, 161kb)
• VT ANR Technical Guidance for Determining Floodway Limits Pursuant to Act 250 Criterion 1(D) 2/21/03 (pdf, 135kb)

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• FEMA floodway regulations and technical guidance:
  • No Rise Certification (pdf, 28kb) - Guidance and sample form for use by engineers to provide certification that engineering analyses show no rise in community flood waters as a result of floodway development.
  • Numerical Models - Link to information on acceptable models used by FEMA in floodway analyses.

• Association of State Floodplain Managers - an organization involved in floodplain management, flood hazard mitigation, and flood preparedness, warning and recovery.  ASFPM recommends a “no adverse impact” approach floodplain management to help control spiraling flood and erosion losses, new development which increases flood risks, and then additional flood losses. With such an approach, future land and water uses are not permitted which will flood new areas, increase flood heights, increase erosion or otherwise increase flood and erosion damages to public and private property. The "no adverse impact" approach has been suggested as a general guide for landowner and community actions in the watersheds and the floodplains which may adversely impact other properties or communities.
  • Government Liability and No Adverse Impact Floodplain Management (pdf, 115kb)
  • No Adverse Impact and the Courts: Protecting the Property Rights of All (pdf, 2.5mb)
  • Professional Liability for Construction in Flood Hazard Areas (pdf, 237kb)
  • Property Rights and Community Liability (pdf, 156kb) - No Adverse Impact fact sheet on the legal framework for managing watershed development

• Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission devotes a section of their web site to water quality, including floodplain management, erosional hazards, and river corridor planning.  They have developed the following educational fact sheets on floodplain management (in cooperation with the River Management Program and the Vermont Law School):
  • 1 - Floodplain Basics (pdf, 459kb)
  • 2 - Protecting Property Rights to Reduce Liability (pdf, 570kb)
  • 3 - Living with Inadequate Maps (pdf, 1.6mb)
  • 4 - Using Freeboard and Setbacks to Reduce Damage (pdf, 1.8mb)
  • 5 - No Adverse Impact Floodplain Management (pdf, 451kb)
  • 6 - Protecting Lives and Property Through the NFIP Community Rating System (pdf, 404kb)

Additional Information

If you have general questions regarding mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements or obtaining Letters of Map Change from FEMA please visit the FEMA Map Assistance Center, or contact a FEMA Map Specialist at:

FEMAMapSpecialist@mapmodteam.com or 1-877-FEMA-MAP (1-877-336-2627).

For questions regarding Vermont floodplain management, including regulatory requirements for projects in the floodplain, please contact:

ANR.Floodplains@state.vt.us or 1-802-241-3759.

Municipal permit applications for flood hazard area development can be sent to:

Rob Evans, VT State Floodplain Coordinator, DEC Water Quality Division, 103 South Main Street Building 10N, Waterbury, VT 05671

To learn more about the Fluvial Erosion Hazard Program, please contact Kari Dolan, FEH Coordinator, at:

Kari.Dolan@state.vt.us or 1-802-241-1262.

 

Updated: March 19, 2008