Background

In 2004, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) launched a nationwide effort to update and modernize 100,000 Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) across the country as part of its Map Modernization Plan under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The updates will transition current paper maps into digital format.

The State of Kansas identified Shawnee County, including incorporated and unincorporated areas, as a candidate for remapping, and efforts to update the maps began in September 2007. After two (2) years of coordination with community officials, FEMA released Preliminary Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMs) for review by local governing bodies and members of the public on September 30, 2009.

Following a 90-Day Appeal Period in the Spring of 2010, FEMA engineers examined and researched each appeal and resolved them when the appealed was supported by sound scientific data. On March 29, 2011, FEMA issued a Letter of Final Determination (LFD) that finalized base flood elevations and flood zone boundaries. The new countywide flood maps will go into effect on September 29, 2011. In advance of September 29th, each floodprone community participating in the NFIP in Shawnee County must adopt a compliant floodplain management regulation by the map effective date to remain participants in good standing in the NFIP. Upon the effective date of the new flood maps, new flood insurance rates (based on the new flood maps) become effective. Federally insured or regulated lenders will use the new effective maps to determine if flood insurance is required as a condition of a loan.

Updated Timeline