(A) The identified floodplain area shall be any areas in the borough, classified as special flood hazard areas (SFHAs) in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and the accompanying Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) dated March 2, 2012, and issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the most recent revision thereof, including all digital data developed as part of the Flood Insurance Study. The above referenced FIS and FIRMs, and any subsequent revisions and amendments are hereby adopted by the Borough Council and declared to be a part of this chapter.
(B) The identified floodplain area shall consist of the following specific area/district.
(1) The AE Area/District shall be those areas identified as an AE Zone on the FIRM included in the FIS prepared by FEMA and for which 100-year flood elevations have been provided in the FIS.
(2) The Floodway Area, within the AE Area, is the area identified as Floodway in the FIS, which represents the channel of a watercourse, and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation by more than one foot at any point. This term shall also include floodway areas that have been identified in other available studies or sources of information for those special floodplain areas where no floodway has been identified in the FIS. Special requirements for Floodway Areas to include:
(a) Any encroachment that would cause any increase in flood heights shall be prohibited; and
(b) No new construction or development shall be allowed, unless a permit is obtained from the Department of Environmental Protection Regional Office.
(3) The AE Area/District without floodway shall be those areas identified as an AE Zone on the FIRM included in the FIS prepared by FEMA and for which base flood elevations have been provided in the FIS but no floodway has been delineated.
(a) In AE Area/District without floodway, no new development shall be permitted unless it can be demonstrated that the cumulative effect of all past and projected development will not increase the BFE by more than one foot.
(b) No permit shall be granted for any construction, development, use, or activity within any AE Area/District without floodway unless it is demonstrated that the cumulative effect of the proposed development would not, together with all other existing and anticipated development, increase the BFE than one foot at any point.
(4) (a) The A Area/District shall be those areas identified as an A Zone on the FIRM included in the FIS prepared by FEMA and for which no 1% annual chance flood elevations have been provided. For these areas, elevation and floodway information from other federal, state, or other acceptable source shall be used when available. Where other acceptable information is not available, the elevation shall be determined by using the elevation of a point on the boundary of the identified floodplain area which is nearest the construction site.
(b) In lieu of the above, the municipality may require the applicant to determine the elevation with hydrologic and hydraulic engineering techniques. Hydrologic and hydraulic analyses shall be undertaken only by professional engineers or others of demonstrated qualifications, who shall certify that the technical methods used correctly reflect currently accepted technical concepts. Studies, analyses, computations, and the like, shall be submitted in sufficient detail to allow a thorough technical review by the municipality.
(Ord. 2012-02, passed 4-2-2012)