Floodplain Management Regulations

Our nation’s floodplains are regulated by federal, state, and local regulations. The Commonwealth of Kentucky and Louisville Metro regulates construction and development in floodplains so that buildings will be protected from flood damage. The regulations require a floodplain permit before you start any repair, renovation, development, improvement, or construction. Development means any changes to the property, including filling, regrading, and excavating. Also, our floodplain ordinance requires houses substantially damaged by fire, flood, or any other cause must be elevated one foot above the flood level.

Louisville Metro regulates construction and development in floodplains. The local floodplain ordinance includes strict requirements for both new construction and development in the floodplain. Therefore, you will need a floodplain permit before starting construction. All development in the floodplain requires two floodplain permits: one from the Kentucky Division of Water (DOW), and a local permit from MSD.

Example Floodplain Regulations:

• Construction or filling cannot reduce the ‘storage capacity” for floodwaters in a floodplain.
• There must be road access above the level of a 100-year flood
• The first floor of a new building must be at a level at least one foot above the 100-year flood level.
• Changes, improvements, and additions must meet the substantial improvement requirement for Pre-FIRM structures.

To read Louisville Metro's Floodplain Ordinance, click here ( , 1.4M).

For more information on permit application to develop in a floodplain, contact Randy Stambaugh.

To report drainage problems, illegal dumping, or construction activity in a floodplain call 587-0603.

Commonly Used Terms:

100-year flood: The 100-year flood has become the accepted national standard for regulatory purposes. It is defined as the flood event that has a one percent chance of occurring in any given year or, on the average, occurs once in a 100-year period. However, 100-year floods can and do occur more frequently. For regulatory purposes, the floodplain is divided into two areas based on water velocity: the floodway & the flood fringe.

Floodway: The floodway includes the channel & the portion of the adjacent floodplain required to pass the 100-year flood without increasing flood heights. Typically, this is the most hazardous portion of the floodplain where the fastest flow of water occurs. Due to the high degree of hazard, most floodplain regulations require that proposed floodway developments do not block the free flow of flood water as this could dangerously increase that water's depth & velocity.

Flood Fringe: The flood fringe is the remaining portion of the floodplain, outside of the floodway, that usually contains slow-moving or standing water. Development in the fringe will not normally interfere as much with the flow of water. Therefore, floodplain regulations for the flood fringe typically allow development to occur but require protection from the flood waters through the elevation of the buildings above the 100-year flood level, floodproofing buildings so that water cannot enter the structure and watershed improvements to assure overall flood elevation does not increase.

Special Flood Hazard Area, (SFHA): The base floodplain delineated on a FIRM. The SFHA is mapped as a Zone A. The SFHA may or may not encompass all of a community’s flood problems. Land areas that are at high risk for floods are called Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs), or floodplains. These areas are indicated on Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). A home located within an SFHA has a 26 percent chance of suffering flood damage during the term of a 30-year mortgage.

Post-FIRM building: For insurance rating purposes, a post-FIRM building was constructed or substantially improved after 1978. A post-FIRM building is required to meet the NFIP’s minimum Regular Program flood protection standards.

Pre-FIRM building: For insurance rating purposes, a pre-FIRM building was constructed or substantially improved before 1978 (the effective date of the initial FIRM of a community). Most pre-FIRM buildings were constructed without taking the flood hazard into account.

Substantial Damage: Damage of any origin sustained by a building whereby the cost of restoring the building to its before-damage condition would equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the building before the damage occurred.

Substantial Improvement: Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement to a building, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the building before the start of construction of the improvement. The cost of alteration, additions, or improvements shall reflect the value in the marketplace of the labor and materials to be used in the improvements. The first alteration of any wall, ceiling floor or other structural part of the structure constitutes beginning of construction of the substantial improvement.

For more terms and acronyms, view the Glossary.

Links to Floodplain Management Regulations:

Follow the links below to read about regulations and guidelines intended to keep people and properties out of harm’s way.

FEDERAL:

• NFIP Policy Index

Laws and Regulations

This section includes text of the laws and regulations for the NFIP.

• Executive Order 11988 -- Floodplain Management
• Executive Order 11990 - Protection of Wetland
• Federal Register Final Rules
• Federal Register Proposed Rules
• Federal Register Notices
• Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 ( , 274K)
• National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 & Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 ( , 446K)
• National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 ( , 294K)
• Stafford Act
• Title 44, code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
• U.S. Code, title 42 - National Flood Insurance Program

STATE:

• KRS 151.250  ( , 6K) Kentucky Floodplain Statute
• 401 KAR 4:060  Kentucky Floodplain Regulation

LOCAL:

• Louisville Metro Floodplain Management Ordinance
• Legislative History
• Erosion Sediment Control Regulations, Enabling Ordinance 28, Series 2000 ( , 108K)
• EPSC Ordinance and details (Chapter 159) ( , 387K), Adopted on September 25, 2001
• Standard, Drawings, Design Manual & Specifications

Routinely, businesses are identified by MSD or referred by the Board of Health, Disaster and Emergency Services, and local Fire Protection Districts as having the potential to be regulated b:

• Hazardous Materials Ordinance
• Wastewater Discharge Regulations ( , 724K)
• Hazardous Material Spill Prevention Control (HMPC) Plan Application ( , 51K)

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