2011-09-23 FEMA Update LetterU.S. Department of Homeland Security
500 C Street, SW
Washington, DC 20472
SEP 2 3 2011
VEMA
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CERTIFIED MAIL
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
The Honorable James Realph
Mayor, City of Blair
218 South Sixteenth Street
Blair, Nebraska 68008
Dear Mayor Realph:
I commend you for the efforts that have been put forth in implementing the floodplain management
measures for the City of Blair, Nebraska, to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program
(NFIP). As you implement these measures, I want to emphasize the following:
a Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) have been
completed for your community;
the FIS and FIRM will become effective on January 6, 2012; and
by the FIS and FIRM effective date, the Department of Homeland Security's Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Regional Office is required to approve the
legally enforceable floodplain management measures your community adopts in
accordance with Title 44 Code of Federal Regulations Section 60.3(d).
As noted in FEMA's letter dated July 6, 2011, no significant changes have been made to the flood
hazard data on the Preliminary and /or revised Preliminary copies of the FIRM for
Washington County. Therefore, the City of Blair should use the Preliminary and /or revised
Preliminary copies of the FIRM as the basis for adopting the required floodplain management
measures. Final printed copies of the FIRM for the City of Blair will be sent to you within the next
few months.
If you encounter difficulties in enacting the measures, I recommend you contact the Nebraska
Department of Natural Resources. You may contact Bill Jones, CFM, the NFIP State Coordinator,
by telephone at (402) 471 -3932, in writing at 301 Centennial Mall South, Lincoln, Nebraska
68509 -4676, or by electronic mail at bill.jones @nebraska.gov.
The FEMA Regional staff in Kansas City, Missouri, is also available to provide technical assistance
and guidance in the development of floodplain management measures. The adoption of compliant
floodplain management measures will provide protection for the City of Blair and will ensure its
participation in the NFIP. The Regional Office may be contacted by telephone at (816) 283 -7002 or
in writing. Please send your written inquiries to the Director, Federal Insurance and Mitigation
Division, FEMA Region VII, at 9221 Ward Parkway, Suite 300, Kansas City, Missouri 64114 -3372.
www.fema.gov
The Honorable James Realph
SEP 2 3 2011
Page 2
You may have already contacted the NFIP State Coordinator and /or the FEMA Regional Office, and
may be in the final adoption process or recently adopted the appropriate measures. However, in the
event your community has not adopted the appropriate measures, this letter is FEMA's official
notification that you only have until January 6, 2012, to adopt and /or submit a floodplain
management ordinance that meets or exceeds the minimum NFIP requirements, and request approval
from the FEMA Regional Office by the effective date. Your community's adopted measures will be
reviewed upon receipt and the FEMA Regional Office will notify you when the measures
are approved.
I appreciate your cooperation to ensure that your community's floodplain management measures are
approved by the FEMA Regional Office by January 6, 2012. Your compliance with these
mandatory program requirements will enable your community to avoid suspension from the NFIP.
Sincerely,
Sandra K. Knight, PhD, PE
Deputy Federal Insurance and
Mitigation Administrator, Mitigation
cc: Beth Freeman, Regional Administrator, FEMA Region VII
Bill Jones, CFM, NFIP State Coordinator, Nebraska Department of Natural Resources
Philip Green, Floodplain Administrator /Assistant City Administrator, City of Blair