As evidenced from Genesis Chapters 6-9 (Noah's Ark)
we ALL live in a Flood Plain! Hence, FEMA has conducted Flood Studies for
each community in South Carolina in order to help predict your property's
chance of flooding. Your local government may have adopted a local
floodplain ordinance which would require any new construction lying within
certain flood zones to comply with their standards. In addition, if your
property lies within a certain flood zone, your mortgage lender may require you
to carry a Flood Insurance policy.
Due to vastness of the study area, the accuracy of study data, and the detail
of the study method, your property or structure may be identified by the Flood
Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) as lying within a particular flood zone, and in fact
may be higher in elevation than the published Base Flood Elevation (BFE) for
that zone. With the use of the elevation certificate and by applying for
a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA), FEMA may issue a letter removing your
property or structure from the published flood zone.
The following information is published by FEMA:
PURPOSE OF THE ELEVATION CERTIFICATE
The Elevation Certificate is an important administrative tool of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). It is to be
used to provide elevation information necessary to ensure compliance with community floodplain management
ordinances, to determine the proper insurance premium rate, and to support a request for a Letter of Map Amendment
(LOMA) or Letter of Map Revision based on fill (LOMR-F).
The Elevation Certificate is required in order to properly rate Post-FIRM buildings, which are buildings constructed after
publication of the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), located in flood insurance Zones A1-A30, AE, AH, A (with BFE),
VE, V1-V30, V (with BFE), AR, AR/A, AR/AE, AR/A1-A30, AR/AH, and AR/AO. The Elevation Certificate is not
required for Pre-FIRM buildings unless the building is being rated under the optional Post-FIRM flood insurance rules.
As part of the agreement for making flood insurance available in a community, the NFIP requires the community to adopt
floodplain management regulations that specify minimum requirements for reducing flood losses. One such requirement is for the community to obtain the elevation of the lowest floor (including basement) of all new and substantially improved buildings, and maintain a record of such information. The Elevation Certificate provides a way for a community to document compliance with the community’s floodplain management ordinance.
Use of this certificate does not provide a waiver of the flood insurance purchase requirement. Only a LOMA or LOMR-F
from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can amend the FIRM and remove the Federal mandate for a
lending institution to require the purchase of flood insurance. However, the lending institution has the option of requiring
flood insurance even if a LOMA/LOMR-F has been issued by FEMA. The Elevation Certificate may be used to support a
LOMA or LOMR-F request. Lowest floor and lowest adjacent grade elevations certified by a surveyor or engineer will be
required if the certificate is used to support a LOMA or LOMR-F request. A LOMA or LOMR-F request must be
submitted with either a completed FEMA MT-EZ or MT-1 package, whichever is appropriate.
This certificate is used only to certify building elevations. A separate certificate is required for floodproofing. Under the
NFIP, non-residential buildings can be floodproofed up to or above the Base Flood Elevation (BFE). A floodproofed
building is a building that has been designed and constructed to be watertight (substantially impermeable to floodwaters)
below the BFE. Floodproofing of residential buildings is not permitted under the NFIP unless FEMA has granted the
community an exception for residential floodproofed basements. The community must adopt standards for design and
construction of floodproofed basements before FEMA will grant a basement exception. For both floodproofed nonresidential
buildings and residential floodproofed basements in communities that have been granted an exception by
FEMA, a floodproofing certificate is required.
