Map Change Process

What is a LOMR?

A LOMR, issued to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the community, has the effect of revising a FIRM without physically revising and reprinting the affected FIRM panel(s). The LOMR and map attachment are the official flood hazard data that should be used for floodplain management and flood insurance rating purposes.

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What processes are available for changing or correcting the information shown on the flood hazard map when large areas of a community are affected?

One way in which FEMA updates flood hazard maps is to conduct a Government-funded detailed reevaluation of flood hazards, referred to as a flood study. The flood study process is very costly and can take up to 5 years to complete. Because of the time and expense involved in conducting a restudy, FEMA bases its decision on whether to conduct a restudy on a benefit-cost analysis. Through this analysis, FEMA weighs the expected benefits to existing and future development against the funds to be expended. In this way, the flood studies that will yield the most benefit are selected to be performed first. However, the number of flood studies needed far outweighs the funds available to perform them.

As an alternative, FEMA established procedures by which an interested community may compile appropriate data and request a map revision. Map revisions are often completed in less than 90 days from the date all data are received.

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What type of data must be submitted by a community to support a map revision?

The type of data required to support a map revision request will vary depending on the type of revision being requested. For more information on the revision types and the data required for each type, interested parties are encouraged to visit the Frequently Asked Questions: FIRM Revisions section of the Flood Hazard Mapping Web site.

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What can homeowners do if they believe their homes should not be included in a Special Flood Hazard Area?

If an individual homeowner has technical information to indicate that his or her home has been inadvertently shown within the Special Flood Hazard Area on the Flood Insurance Rate Map, the homeowner may submit that information to FEMA and request that FEMA remove the flood zone designation from the home by issuing a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) or a Letter of Map Revision Based on Fill (LOMR-F).

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What kind of information must be submitted by a homeowner to support having a home removed from the Special Flood Hazard Area?

The request must include the surveyed elevation of the lowest grade adjacent to the structure or the lowest enclosed level of the structure and certain other information, as described in the MT-EZ and the MT-1 application forms. The instructions in the package will assist property owners in compiling the information required to support a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) or a Letter of Map Revision Based on Fill (LOMR-F) request. For additional assistance in compiling the required supporting information, visit the Homeowners section of the Flood Hazard Mapping Web site.

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How does FEMA respond to requests to have homes removed from the floodplain?

If, based on its review of the required information, FEMA determines that a home should be removed from the floodplain, FEMA will issue a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) or Letter of Map Revision based on Fill (LOMR-F). LOMAs and LOMR-Fs are effective on the date they are issued and have the effect of revising the effective National Flood Insurance Program map without physically revising and reissuing the affected map panel. FEMA usually responds to such requests within 30 days of the date all required information is received.

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Does FEMA charge a fee for reviewing map change requests?

FEMA assesses review and processing fees for most types of map change requests. A standard fee schedule for map change requests was enacted to ensure full reimbursement of all funds expended by FEMA for reviewing and processing these requests. Through the fee schedule, FEMA is redistributing the costs of providing the products more equitably between the flood insurance policyholders and the users of the products who are most likely to benefit from those products. The review and processing fees for map change requests covered by the fee schedule are based on FEMA's actual average review and processing costs for these products.

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Under what circumstances will FEMA waive the review and processing fee for a map change request?

In accordance with Section 72.5 of the National Flood Insurance Program regulations, FEMA does not assess a review and processing fee for Letter of Map Amendment requests; FEMA also does not assess a fee if a map change request:

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How do I obtain a copy of the effective flood hazard map for the City of Sacramento?

To obtain a copy of the flood hazard map, interested parties may visit the FEMA Flood Map Store or call the FEMA Map Service Center, toll free, at 1-800-358-9616. If you are looking for information regarding a specific piece of property, it is important to know the community identification number (CID) and map panel number. The CID for the City of Sacramento is 060266. To identify the panel number, interested parties may conduct a search using the Flood Map Store's Map Search Feature or view a copy of the printed map, which will be available for inspection at the Community Map Repository located at the Engineering Services Division, 1395 35th Avenue in Sacramento. FEMA assesses a nominal fee for each map panel, plus shipping and handling for each order.  Visit the Fees page for more information for the current fee schedule.

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Does FEMA have any reference documents that would be useful to homeowners and other interested citizens?

FEMA has published numerous documents to assist homeowners and other interested citizens in understanding the mapping and insurance requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program. The following are some examples:

Copies of these documents may be obtained by contacting the FEMA Map Assistance Center, toll free, at 1-877-FEMA MAP (1-877-336-2627).

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Last Modified: Friday, 12-Oct-2007 13:06:00 EDT

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