FEMA: Fall 2020 Guidance and Standards Review of Guidance Updates

See below for the announcement from FEMA:

PUBLIC REVIEW ANNOUNCEMENT

Fall 2020 Guidance and Standards Review of Guidance Updates

FEMA maintains guidelines and standards to support the Risk Mapping, Assessment and Planning (Risk MAP) program. These specifically define how to apply the statutory and regulatory requirements for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). These standards also outline how to use Flood Risk Projects, how to process Letters of Map Change (LOMCs), and related Risk MAP activities. More information is available on FEMA.gov.

FEMA has a maintenance plan to keep these guidelines and standards updated. This summary relates to the update that FEMA will release in November 2020. For the 2020 annual cycle, a public review of the standards was held in July. FEMA is now initiating a review of all guidance, technical references and other resources.

A summary of the planned changes was published in June 2020. Those changes are:

Significant Changes

Topic	Description
2D Floodways	Revise the standards and guidance on modeling and mapping the regulatory floodway using a two-dimensional (2D) model. Update standards (SIDs) associated with floodway analyses and technical approaches and outputs. Also update multiple technical references, guidance documents, and templates.
Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) Compliance	Create SIDs and guidance to clarify how to issue consistency determinations for the CZMA.
Automated Map Production (AMP)	Revise associated SIDs, technical references, guidance documents, and templates to allow flexibility in Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) panel layout as the AMP tool is introduced into the Risk MAP workflow per SID 630.
Changes Since Last FIRM (CSLF)	Revise associated SIDs and the CSLF guidance document to integrate FEMA’s automated CSLF utility.
Key Decision Point (KDP)	Revise the KDP guidance and associated SIDs to allow more ownership by the FEMA Regional Offices.
FEMA IT Security/Privacy	Create a SID to increase the Risk MAP program’s safe handling and security of Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
MT-2 Guidance	Create a guidance document with more direction and clarity on developing and submitting Letters of Map Revision and other MT-2 documents.

Guidance, Technical Reference, and Other Documents

Listed below are the documents FEMA is updating in the current annual cycle. You are welcome to review any of these documents. They are available on the Risk Management Directorate SharePoint site. If you are a mapping partner with SharePoint access, please review and provide comments through SharePoint. If you do not have access to this site, please email FEMA-GS@fema.dhs.gov to request the documents you want to review.

Comments received by September 4, 2020 will be considered for incorporation. 

Guidance Document Title	Update Description
Alluvial Fans, Areas of Mitigation Interest, General Hydraulics Considerations, MT-1 Technical, Shallow Flooding Analyses and Mapping, MIP Guidance, Physical Map Revision (PMR)	Clarify standards and guidance information, and align them to current standard operating procedures.
Changes Since Last FIRM, Flood Risk Database, Flood Depth and Analysis Grids Guidance, Flood Risk Assessments	Integrate the automated creation of CSLF with current standard operating procedures and updates to terminology.
Combined Coastal and Riverine Floodplains, Contiguous Community Matching, Data Capture - Workflow Details, FIRM Database, FIRM Graphics, Floodway Analysis and Mapping, Levee, LOMR Incorporation, Mapping Base Flood Elevations on Flood Insurance Rate Maps, Profile Baseline, Riverine and Floodplain Boundaries, Flood Insurance Study (FIS) Report, Hydraulics: Two-Dimensional Analysis, Flood Profiles	Edit and refine parts associated with proposed 2D floodway changes, and incorporate changes resulting from the revised flood profile SIDs.
Quality Management of Flood Risk Projects, FIRM Database, FIRM Graphics, FIRM Index, Mapping Base Flood Elevations on FIRMs, Physical Map Revision (PMR)	Updates to add general reference for AMP.
MT-2	Create a new guidance document with more direction and clarity on developing and submitting LOMRs and other MT-2 documents.
Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) Guidance	New guidance to provide guidance on roles, responsibilities, and procedures for project compliance with consistency determinations.
Key Decision Point (KDP)	Allow more ownership by the FEMA Regional Offices.
Accepting Numerical Models for Use in the NFIP	Add new models to the guidance.
Technical References
Flood Insurance Study (FIS) Report	Updates include changes associated with the 2D floodway update; updates to information regarding Levee Systems; incorporate changes from revising the flood profile SIDs; align with standard operating procedures; and incorporate routine maintenance revisions and corrections.
Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) Panel, Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) Database, Domain Tables	Updates to add reference to AMP; and updates to information regarding Levee Systems.
Templates
Flood Insurance Study (FIS) Report	Updates include edits and refinements associated with the Levee updates; incorporate changes resulting from revisions to the flood profile SIDs; align guidance with the AMP updates; increase alignment with standard operating procedures and incorporate routine maintenance revisions and corrections.
Flood Risk Products Quality Checklist	Updates to clarify relationship of quality checks and standards, streamline the overall checklist, and clarify the requirements and checks associated with raster quality.