Indiana Flood Control Act Glossary: Key Terms & Definitions for Developers and Consultants

Indiana Flood Control Act Key Terms & Definitions

404 Program: The permit program under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act that regulates the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers administers the program with oversight from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Base Flood Elevation (BFE): The elevation of surface water resulting from a flood that has a one percent chance of equaling or exceeding that level in any given year, as defined in the Indiana Flood Control Act (Indiana Code 14-28-1-3).

Compensatory Storage: The provision of an artificial flood storage area to compensate for the loss of natural flood storage capacity when artificial fill or structures are placed within the floodplain. The Indiana Flood Control Act requires compensatory storage for certain activities in the floodway (Indiana Code 14-28-1-20).

Flood Control Act Permit: A permit issued by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources under the Indiana Flood Control Act for construction or other activities in a floodway (Indiana Code 14-28-1-22).

Flood Protection Grade (FPG): The elevation of the regulatory flood plus two feet at any given location in the Special Flood Hazard Area, as defined in the Indiana Flood Control Act (Indiana Code 14-28-1-3).

Floodplain: The channel proper and the areas adjoining any wetland, lake, or watercourse which have been or hereafter may be covered by the regulatory flood, as defined in the Indiana Flood Control Act (Indiana Code 14-28-1-3).

Floodway: The channel of a river or stream and those portions of the floodplains adjoining the channel which are reasonably required to efficiently carry and discharge the peak flood flow of the regulatory flood of any river or stream, as defined in the Indiana Flood Control Act (Indiana Code 14-28-1-3).

Fringe: Those portions of the floodplain lying outside the floodway, as defined in the Indiana Flood Control Act (Indiana Code 14-28-1-3).

Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR): The state agency responsible for administering the Indiana Flood Control Act and issuing permits for activities in floodways.

Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA): An amendment to the currently effective FEMA map that establishes that a property is not located in a Special Flood Hazard Area. A LOMA is issued only by FEMA.

Letter of Map Revision (LOMR): An official revision to the currently effective FEMA map. It is issued by FEMA and changes flood zones, delineations, and elevations.

Mitigation: The process of minimizing the impacts of development on flooding and flood hazards, often through the use of compensatory storage, flood-proofing, or other techniques required by the Indiana Flood Control Act.

National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP): A federal program that provides flood insurance to property owners in participating communities, which agree to adopt and enforce floodplain management regulations that meet or exceed FEMA requirements.

No-Rise Certification: A certification by a licensed professional engineer that a proposed development will not increase the regulatory flood elevation at any location, as required by the Indiana Flood Control Act for certain activities in the floodway (Indiana Code 14-28-1-20).

Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM): The line on the shore of a water body established by the fluctuations of water and indicated by physical characteristics such as clear, natural line impressed on the bank, shelving, changes in the character of soil, destruction of terrestrial vegetation, the presence of litter and debris, or other appropriate means that consider the characteristics of the surrounding areas, as defined in the Indiana Flood Control Act (Indiana Code 14-28-1-3).

Recreational Vehicle: A vehicle which is built on a single chassis, 400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projections, designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck, and designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling, but as quarters for recreational camping, travel, or seasonal use, as defined in the Indiana Flood Control Act (Indiana Code 14-28-1-3).

Regulatory Flood: That flood having a peak discharge which can be equaled or exceeded on the average of once in a one hundred year period, as calculated by a method and procedure which is acceptable to and approved by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, as defined in the Indiana Flood Control Act (Indiana Code 14-28-1-3).

Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA): Those lands within the jurisdiction of the Indiana Flood Control Act that are subject to inundation by the regulatory flood, as identified by FEMA in a scientific and engineering report entitled "The Flood Insurance Study for the County of [name of county]" dated [effective date of report].

Start of Construction: The date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, or improvement was within 180 days of the permit date, as defined in the Indiana Flood Control Act (Indiana Code 14-28-1-3).

Substantial Damage: Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred, as defined in the Indiana Flood Control Act (Indiana Code 14-28-1-3).

Substantial Improvement: Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the "start of construction" of the improvement, as defined in the Indiana Flood Control Act (Indiana Code 14-28-1-3).

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE): The federal agency responsible for administering the Section 404 permit program under the Clean Water Act, which often overlaps with the Indiana Flood Control Act in terms of regulated activities and jurisdictional areas.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): The federal agency responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Clean Water Act, including the Section 404 permit program administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Violation: The failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the Indiana Flood Control Act and its implementing regulations. A structure or other development without the elevation, other certification, or other evidence of compliance required in the Indiana Flood Control Act is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided (Indiana Code 14-28-1-26).

Wetlands: Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, as defined in the Indiana Flood Control Act (Indiana Code 14-28-1-3).