Located within SFHAs, established in § 152.006 of this chapter, are areas designated as floodways. The floodway is an extremely hazardous area due to the velocity of floodwaters, which carry debris and potential projectiles and has erosion potential. Under the provisions of the Flood Control Act (I.C. 14-28-1), a permit for construction in a floodway from the State Department of Natural Resources is required prior to the issuance of a local building permit for any excavation, deposit, construction or obstruction activity located in the floodway. This includes land preparation activities such as filling, grading, clearing and paving undertaken before the actual start of construction of the structure. General licenses and exemptions to the requirements of the Flood Control Act (I.C. 14-28-1 and 312 I.A.C. 10) may apply to qualified additions/improvements to existing lawful residential structures, rural bridges, logjam removals, wetland restoration, utility line crossings, outfall projects, creek rock removal and prospecting.
(A) If the site is in a regulatory floodway as established in § 152.006 of this chapter, the Floodplain Administrator shall require the applicant to forward the application, along with all pertinent plans and specifications, to the State Department of Natural Resources and apply for approval for construction in a floodway, provided the activity does not qualify for a general license or exemption (I.C. 14-28-1 or 312 I.A.C. 10).
(B) No action shall be taken by the Floodplain Administrator until approval has been granted by the State Department of Natural Resources for construction in the floodway or evidence provided by an applicant that the development meets specified criteria to qualify for a general license or exemption to the requirement of the Flood Control Act. The floodplain development permit shall meet the provisions contained in this subchapter and §§ 156.045, 156.075 through 156.082 and 152.095 of this chapter.
(C) The floodplain development permit cannot be less restrictive than an approval issued for construction in a floodway issued by the State Department of Natural Resources or the specified criteria used to qualify for a general license or exemption to the Flood Control Act for a specific site/project. However, a community’s more restrictive regulations (if any) shall take precedence.
(D) In floodway areas identified on the FIRM, development shall cause no increase in flood levels during the occurrence of the base flood discharge without first obtaining a conditional letter of map revision and meeting the requirements of § 152.029(A) of this chapter. A conditional letter of map revision cannot be issued for development that would cause an increase in flood levels affecting a structure, and such development should not be permitted.
(E) In floodway areas identified by the State Department of Natural Resources through detailed or approximate studies but not yet identified on the effective FIRM as floodway areas, the total cumulative effect of the proposed development, when combined with all other existing and anticipated development, shall not adversely affect the efficiency of, or unduly restrict the capacity of, the floodway. This adverse effect is defined as an increase in the elevation of the regulatory flood of at least fifteen-hundredths (0.15) of a foot as determined by comparing the regulatory flood elevation under the project condition to that under the natural or pre-floodway condition as proven with hydraulic analyses.
(F) For all projects involving channel modifications or fill (including levees), the town shall submit the data and request that the Federal Emergency Management Agency revise the regulatory flood data per mapping standard regulations found at 44 C.F.R. § 65.12.
(Ord. 2022-1, passed 3-8-2022)