Section 20-3104. APPLICATION PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS

 

3104.1In addition to the information and documentation required for a building permit under DCMR Title 12, Building Code, applicants shall include the information required under § 3104 with any application for new construction or development within any SFHA in the District.

 

3104.2If any new construction or development is located entirely or partially within any SFHA, applicants for building permits shall provide all the necessary information in sufficient detail and clarity to enable DCRA and DDOE to determine whether the following conditions are met:

 

(a) All proposals are consistent with the need to minimize flood damage and conform to the requirements of this and all other applicable codes and regulations;

 

(b) All utilities and facilities, such as sewer, gas, electrical, and water systems, are located and constructed to minimize or eliminate flood damage; and

 

(c) Adequate drainage is provided so as to reduce exposure to flood hazards.

 

3104.3The applicant shall file the following minimum information with DCRA, and any other pertinent information as may be required by DCRA in the issuance of permits to make the determinations required by § 3104.2:

 

(a) A completed building permit application that indicates whether the property is located in an SFHA;

 

(b) A plan of the entire site, clearly and legibly drawn at a scale of one inch (1 in.) being equal to one hundred feet (100 ft.) or less, showing the following information:

 

(1) North arrow, scale, and date;

 

(2) Topographic contour lines based upon the North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988, showing existing and proposed contours at maximum intervals of two feet (2 ft.);

 

(3)All property and lot lines including dimensions, and the size of the site expressed in acres or square feet;

 

(4)Lot number, square number, or parcel number designation (if applicable);

 

(5) The location of all existing and proposed buildings, structures, and other improvements, including the location of any existing or proposed subdivision and land development;

 

(6) The location of all existing streets, drives, and other access ways;

 

(7) The location of all existing bodies of water or watercourses; and

 

(8)Delineation of SFHAs, floodway boundaries with designated flood zones and the base flood elevation, and if available, information pertaining to the floodway, and the flow of water including direction and velocities;

 

(c) Plans of all proposed buildings, structures, and other improvements, drawn at suitable scale showing the following information:

 

(1) The proposed lowest floor elevation of any proposed structure;

 

(2) The base flood elevation;

 

(3) If available, information concerning flood depth, pressures, velocities, impact and uplift forces, and other factors associated with a base flood;

 

(4)Detailed information concerning any proposed floodproofing measures; and

 

(d) Documentation of whether a substantial improvement will be made.

 

3104.4 In addition to the information required by § 3104.3, the following additional data and documentation shall be filed by applicants:

 

(a) For any non-residential structure which will not be elevated, a Floodproofing Certificate (FEMA Form 81-65) or its latest available version from www.fema.gov, certified by a District registered professional engineer or architect that the structure is designed and constructed to be floodproof;

 

(b)For any elevated structure, an Elevation Certificate (FEMA Form 81-31) or its latest available version from www.fema.gov, certified by a District registered professional engineer, land surveyor, or architect;

 

(c) Detailed information needed to determine compliance with §§ 3105.6(f) and 3106.2 including the following:

 

(1) The amount, location, and purpose of any materials or substances referred to in §§ 3105.6(f) and 3106.2 which are intended to be used, produced, stored, or otherwise maintained on site; and

 

(2)A description of the safeguards incorporated into the design of the proposed structure to prevent leaks or spills of the dangerous materials or substances listed in § 3106.2 during a base flood; and

 

(d) Where any excavation or grading is proposed, an applicant shall submit a plan meeting the requirements of the Title 21 of DCMR, Chapter 5 to implement and maintain erosion and sedimentation control. 

 

3104.5All applicants for new subdivision proposals (including proposals for manufactured home parks and subdivisions) greater than 50 lots or 5 acres, whichever is the lesser, shall include base flood elevation data with such proposals.

 

3104.6The applicant shall submit a copy of all plans and applications for any new construction or development in an SFHA to any other appropriate agencies or individuals, including the D.C. Office of Planning, for review and comment.

 

3104.7The applicant shall consult with DDOE and the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA) and, if deemed necessary by HSEMA, develop an evacuation plan to ensure that it does not conflict with other emergency plans prepared for the area under consideration as a building site.

 

3104.8If the specific base flood elevation for an SFHA has not been provided in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and FIRM (such as Zone A), then the applicant shall:

 

(a) Obtain and reasonably use available detailed data, including floodway data, from a Federal or state agency, or other source, such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Floodplain Information Reports, U.S. Geological Survey, or similar acceptable reports, which may be accessed from the FEMA library at www.fema.gov; or

 

(b) Develop base flood data at the discretion of the Floodplain Administrator, prepared in accordance with currently accepted hydrologic and hydraulic engineering practices and shall submit the information, together with sufficient supporting studies, analyses, and computations to allow a thorough technical review, to the Department for review.

 

3104.9If the base flood data is to be used to support a request for a Letter of Map Change from FEMA, the applicant shall provide the analyses prepared by a District registered professional engineer in a format required by FEMA. It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to satisfy the submittal requirements. Application forms and instructions for Letters of Map Change are available at www.fema.gov.

 

3104.10As applicable to the location and nature of the proposed construction or development, and in addition to the requirements of this section, the applicant shall have the following analyses prepared and sealed by a District registered professional engineer for submission with the site plan:

 

(a) For activities proposed to be located in a floodway: 

 

(1) A floodway encroachment analysis that demonstrates that the encroachment of the proposed development or work will not cause any increase in the base flood elevation; or

 

(2)If the applicant proposes to undertake activities that increase the base flood elevation, the applicant shall submit such analysis to FEMA as specified in § 3105.7 of this chapter and shall have received a Conditional Letter of Map Revision from FEMA;

 

(b) For activities proposed to be located in any SFHA for which base flood elevations are included in the FIS or on the FIRM and floodways have not been designated, an encroachment analysis which demonstrates that the cumulative effect of the proposed development, when combined with all other existing and anticipated flood hazard area encroachment, will not increase the base flood elevation more than one foot (1 ft.) at any point; and

 

(c) For alteration of a watercourse, an engineering analysis prepared in accordance with standard engineering practices which demonstrates that the flood-carrying capacity of the altered or relocated portion of the watercourse will not be decreased, and certification that the altered watercourse shall be maintained in a manner which preserves the channel’s flood-carrying capacity.

 

3104.11If additional hydrologic, hydraulic, or other engineering data and studies are required to support an application, the applicant has the right to seek a Letter of Map Change from FEMA to change the base flood elevations, change floodway boundaries, or change boundaries of SFHAs shown on the FIRM, and to submit new technical data to FEMA for such purposes. The applicant for a Letter of Map Change shall:

 

(a) Have analyses prepared by a District registered professional engineer in a format required by FEMA; 

 

(b)Be responsible for submittal requirements and reviewing and processing fees; and 

 

(c)Notify the Floodplain Administrator of such submittal.

 

3104.12The applicant shall submit to FEMA the data and information necessary to maintain the FIRM, including hydrologic and hydraulic engineering analyses, prepared to support a building permit application. Such submission shall be made within six (6) months of such data becoming available.

 

3104.13An applicant shall have the right to appeal the rejection of a building permit application to DCRA, as provided in the Building Code (12 DCMR §§ 105.3.1 and 112). Appeals of the determination of base flood elevations, SFHA boundaries, floodway locations, or other FIRM-related determinations shall be made directly to DDOE, as provided in 20 DCMR § 104 and 21 DCMR § 507.

 

authority

The Acting Director of the District Department of the Environment (the Department, or DDOE), in accordance with the authority set forth in the District Department of the Environment Establishment Act of 2005, effective February 15, 2006 (D.C. Law 16-51; D.C. Official Code § 8-151.01 et seq.), the Water Pollution Control Act of 1984, as amended, effective March 16, 1985 (D.C. Law 5-188; D.C. Official Code § 8-103.01, et seq.), the Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Act of 1977 (D.C. Law 2-23; codified at Chapter 21 of District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR), §§ 500 through 507), the District of Columbia Applications Insurance Implementation Act, (District of Columbia Law 1-64, D.C. Official Code § 6-501, et seq.), and Mayor’s Order 2006-61, dated June 14, 2006.

source

Final Rulemaking published at 32 DCR 6547, 6551 (November 15, 1985); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 35 DCR 962, 963 (February 12, 1988); as amended by Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 57 DCR 10767 (November 19, 2010).

EditorNote

20 DCMR 3104 is formerly entitled, "Technical Provisions."