NFIP and the Land Surveyor is a discussion that may help explain the role of the land surveyor in serving clients with property that has been inadvertently included in the SFHA, or Special Flood Hazard Area.

     I receive phone calls from clients every week seeking my help to resolve the all too common complaint that they suddenly have to pay for flood insurance but that their house is ten or even twenty feet higher than the nearest flooding source.  Somewhere along the way, these people have been informed that their building(s) or property is "mapped" into a flood zone.  They may have lived at the same residence for their entire life and have inherited it from their parents, who inherited it from their parents - generations of family ownership that had never even heard of flood insurance.  "It's never flooded here before since my grandparents settled here in the 1800's and I don't understand why, suddenly, I have to deal with this" is not an exact quote from a particular client, but you get the picture.

     Perhaps the person calling is trying to get a building permit or is re-financing, but ultimately they seem to feel that they are "guilty until proven innocent", and have been informed by their lender or local officials that the only way you can resolve this is through the help of a Professional Land Surveyor or Engineer.

     The first thing I do when I receive a phone call like this is to assure to them that they are not alone and this happens frequently.  I explain that I can help them if they are willing to share a bit of information about the property including flooding history.  Nine times out of ten their property falls in "Zone A", which means that it is mapped HORIZONTALLY into the SHFA that has no established Base Flood Elevation, or BFE, and that just because you are "mapped in" doesn't necessarily mean that your property is a part of this mysterious area because your property may very well be VERTICALLY above all of this apparent nonsense.

     The approximate methods used by FEMA to establish areas in "Zone A" were inherently lacking in precision, that is, "wide brush strokes" were used in marking the potential flood hazard areas and did not account for the "tiny" bumps in the terrain that may be exactly where your dwelling is located.

     This excerpt from "The National Flood Insurance Program Description" identifies and provides methods for mitigation of the scenario above. 

"...the limitations imposed by the scales at which the maps are prepared may result in individual properties being inadvertently included in SFHAs. FEMA has developed a process, referred to as a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA), to correct these inadvertent inclusions. A LOMA results from an administrative procedure that involves the review of technical data submitted by the owner or lessee of property ...(usually by a Land Surveyor or Engineer hired to act on their behalf) ...who believes the property has incorrectly been included in a designated SFHA. A LOMA amends the currently effective FEMA map and establishes that a specific property is not located in an SFHA, thereby removing the Mandatory Flood Insurance Purchase Requirement."

     It is important be able to answer the questions your clients may ask. They may feel singled out and a bit angry about the whole process, but if they own land and structures that truly are and inadvertent inclusion you are there to help rectify that situation for them by performing the necessary research, measurements, and form completion involved in an applying for an amendment.  It should also be stressed that in no way does this guarantee that they will be immune from flooding. 

-Scott D. Warner, RLS