§ 143-215.56. Delineation of flood hazard areas and 100-year floodplains; powers of Department; powers of local governments and of the Department.
§ 143‑215.56. Delineation of flood hazard areasand 100‑year floodplains; powers of Department; powers of localgovernments and of the Department.
(a) For the purpose of delineating a flood hazard area andevaluating the possibility of flood damages, a local government may:
(1) Request technical assistance from the competent State andfederal agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers, the Natural ResourcesConservation Service, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency, the North Carolina Department of Crime Control and PublicSafety, the North Carolina Geodetic Survey, the North Carolina GeologicalSurvey, and the U.S. Geological Survey, or successor agencies.
(2) Utilize the reports and data supplied by federal and Stateagencies as the basis for the exercise by local ordinance or resolution of thepowers and responsibilities conferred on responsible local governments by thisPart.
(b) The Department shall provide advice and assistance to anylocal government having responsibilities under this Part. In exercising thisfunction the Department may furnish manuals, suggested standards, plans, andother technical data; conduct training programs; give advice and assistancewith respect to delineation of flood hazard areas and the development ofappropriate ordinances; and provide any other advice and assistance that theDepartment deems appropriate. The Department shall send a copy of every ruleadopted to implement this Part to the governing body of each local governmentin the State.
(c) A local government may delineate any flood hazard areasubject to its regulation by showing it on a map or drawing, by a writtendescription, or any combination thereof, to be designated appropriately andfiled permanently with the clerk of superior court and with the register ofdeeds in the county where the land lies. A local government may also delineatea flood hazard area by reference to a map prepared pursuant to the NationalFlood Insurance Program. Alterations in the lines delineated shall be indicatedby appropriate entries upon or addition to the appropriate map, drawing, ordescription. Entries or additions shall be made by or under the direction ofthe clerk of superior court. Photographic, typed or other copies of the map,drawing, or description, certified by the clerk of superior court, shall beadmitted in evidence in all courts and shall have the same force and effect aswould the original map or description. A local government may provide for theredrawing of any map. A redrawn map shall supersede for all purposes theearlier map or maps that it is designated to replace upon the filing andapproval thereof as designated and provided above.
(d) The Department may prepare a floodplain map that identifiesthe 100‑year floodplain and base flood elevations for an area for thepurposes of this Part if all of the following conditions apply:
(1) The 100‑year floodplain and base flood elevations forthe area are not identified on a floodplain map prepared pursuant to theNational Flood Insurance Program within the previous five years.
(2) The Department determines that the 100‑year floodplainand the base flood elevations for the area need to be identified and the use ofthe area regulated in accordance with the requirements of this Part in order toprevent damage from flooding.
(3) The Department prepares the floodplain map in accordancewith the federal standards required for maps to be accepted for use inadministering the National Flood Insurance Program.
(e) Prior to preparing a floodplain map pursuant to subsection(d) of this section, the Department shall advise each local government whosejurisdiction includes a portion of the area to be mapped.
(f) Upon completing a floodplain map pursuant to subsection (d)of this section, the Department shall both:
(1) Provide copies of the floodplain map to every localgovernment whose jurisdiction includes a portion of the 100‑yearfloodplain identified on the floodplain map.
(2) Submit the floodplain map to the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency for approval for use in administering the National FloodInsurance Program.
(g) Upon approval of a floodplain map prepared pursuant tosubsection (d) of this section by the Federal Emergency Management Agency foruse in administering the National Flood Insurance Program, it shall be theresponsibility of each local government whose jurisdiction includes a portionof the 100‑year floodplain identified in the floodplain map toincorporate the revised map into its floodplain ordinance. (1971, c. 1167, s. 3; 1973, c. 621, ss. 6, 7; c. 1262, s. 23; 1977, c.374, s. 2; c. 771, s. 4; 1987, c. 827, ss. 154, 184; 2000‑150, s. 1; 2002‑165,s. 1.6.)