Floodplain Administrator

A floodplain development permit is required for all construction in the floodplain / Special Flood Hazard Area.

 

Grimes County’s Flood Damage Prevention Order became effective April 3rd, 2012.  Any development in the floodplain after this date must comply with the Flood Damage Prevention Order.  “Development” means any man-made change to improved and unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials.

 

A floodplain development permit is required for all construction in the floodplain / Special Flood Hazard Area.  Only the property owner or their legal representative may apply for a permit.  All other permits must be issued before the floodplain development permit is approved.

 

Determine if your property is in the floodplain:

FEMA Flood Map Service Center

 

As a participant in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), Grimes County requires that the provisions of 44 CFR 60.3(b) are followed in the unincorporated areas of the County.   

Grimes County’s Special Flood Hazard Areas (A zones) are designated on Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  Grimes County’s FIRMs do not include water surface elevation data and do not identify a floodway.  A registered surveyor, engineer, or architect may use the FEMA Region 6 Estimated Base Flood Elevation (estBFE) Viewer “1D BLE cross-sections” layer to complete the required Elevation Certificate in support of a floodplain development permit in all unincorporated areas except for the Walnut Creek - Spring Creek watershed.  In the Walnut Creek/Spring Creek watershed a registered surveyor, engineer, or architect may use

 

Requirements for Development in the Floodplain include (see Flood Damage Prevention Order for full requirements):

 

Residential Construction: New structures, or substantially improved structures, must be elevated to or above the base flood elevation and must be constructed using methods and practices which minimize flood damage.  A floodplain development permit is required and must include 1) an Elevation Certificate (link), 2) plans showing location, dimensions, and elevations of the lowest floor, 3) information related to any alteration of the waterway (any change to natural ground related to the development), 4) a survey showing natural ground elevations on the property.  The Grimes County Floodplain Administrator may require additional information if required.

  • Substantial improvement is when the cost of construction is more than 50% of the taxable value of the structure based on the most recent taxable valuation by the Grimes County Appraisal District

 

Non-residential Construction: New structures, or substantially improved structures, must be elevated to or above the base flood elevation and must be constructed using methods and practices which minimize flood damage, or must be designed so that below the base flood level the structure is watertight with walls substantially impermeable to the passage of water and with structural components having the capability of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and effects of buoyancy.  A floodplain development permit and the same required documents as Residential Construction are required.

 

Manufactured homes:  Manufactured homes must be elevated to or above the base flood elevation and must be constructed using methods and practices which minimize flood damage.  Manufactured homes must be elevated and anchored to resist flotation, collapse, or lateral movement. Methods of anchoring may include, but are not to be limited to, use of over-the-top or frame ties to ground anchors. This requirement is in addition to applicable State and local anchoring requirements for resisting wind forces.

 

Subdivisions: All new subdivision proposals and other proposed developments (including proposals for manufactured home parks and subdivisions) greater than 50 lots or 5 acres, whichever is the lesser, include within such proposals base flood elevation data.

 

A floodplain development permit is required if adding fill to a property in the floodplain or modifying the natural ground on a property in the floodplain.

 

Floodplain management is a community-based effort to prevent or reduce the risk of flooding, resulting in a more resilient community.  A floodplain is a geographic area subject to flooding and includes land adjacent to a waterway necessary to contain a flood.  Floodplain regulations protect the health, safety and welfare of the public and encourage safe and responsible development by 1) minimizing public and private losses due to flood conditions, 2) minimizing expenditure of public money for costly flood control projects, 3) minimizing the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding (undertaken at the expense of the general public), 4) minimizing damage to public facilities and utilities, 5) minimizing future flood blight areas; and 6) informing potential buyers of properties in flood hazard areas of flood risks.

 

Work in Floodplain (Special Flood Hazard Areas):

If the property contains any portion of the floodplain, or if the property drains to the floodplain:

  • A Grimes County Floodplain Permit Form is required (link)
  • The project must meet the requirements of the Grimes County Flood Damage Prevention Order 

 Grimes County Flood Damage Prevention Order 2012

 

 

 

Grimes County Floodplain Administrator:

Jonathan Steiber, P.E.

jonathan.steiber@grimescountytexas.gov

936-873-4436