Public Invited to Comment on Preliminary Flood Maps

DENTON – After months of collaboration and information sharing resulting in preliminary flood maps, officials with Smith County and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are now asking the public to participate in a 90-day comment period. Homeowners, renters, and business owners in the cities of Hideaway, Lindale, New Chapel Hill, Noonday, Tyler, Whitehouse, Winona and the unincorporated areas of Smith County are encouraged to view the maps to better understand where flood risks have been identified. Those with comments or who would like to file an appeal have from September 27 to December 25 to do so.

An appeal is a formal objection to proposed base flood elevations or flood depths, Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) boundaries and zones or floodways. Appeals must be based on technical data that show proposed maps to be scientifically incorrect. Anyone who makes an appeal must include the method, data, and analysis used to support the claim. A comment is an objection to a base map feature change such as labels, incorrect roads, jurisdictional boundaries, or any other non-appealable change.

Comments and appeals should be sent to FEMA through the local floodplain administrator. Anyone who hasn’t had a chance to participate in local flood insurance meetings or to review the new flood maps is encouraged to contact his or her county or community floodplain administrator. Other resources include:

· View a Preliminary Interactive Flood Map Index at http://riskmap6.com/documents/Meeting_53/Preliminary%20Interactive%20Flood%20Map%20Index.pdf

· Using a live chat service about flood maps at http://go.usa.gov/r6C — click on the “Live Chat” icon.

· Contacting a FEMA Map Specialist at 1-877-FEMA MAP (1-877-336-2627); email [email protected]

Once all comments and appeals are resolved, FEMA will notify communities of the effective date of the final maps.