Ohio Revised Code
Chapter 1521 | Division of Water Resources
Section 1521.13 | Floodplain Management Activities.

Effective: January 1, 2016
Latest Legislation: House Bill 64 - 131st General Assembly
(A) Development in one-hundred-year floodplain areas shall be protected to at least the one-hundred-year flood level, and flood water conveyance shall be maintained, at a minimum, in accordance with standards established under the national flood insurance program. This division does not preclude a state agency or political subdivision from establishing flood protection standards that are more restrictive than this division.
(B) Prior to the expenditure of money for or the construction of buildings, structures, roads, bridges, or other facilities in locations that may be subject to flooding or flood damage, all state agencies and political subdivisions shall notify and consult with the division of water resources and shall furnish information that the division reasonably requires in order to avoid the uneconomic, hazardous, or unnecessary use of floodplains in connection with such facilities.
(C) The chief of the division of water resources shall do all of the following:
(1) Coordinate the floodplain management activities of state agencies and political subdivisions with the floodplain management activities of the United States, including the national flood insurance program;
(2) Collect, prepare, and maintain technical data and information on floods and floodplain management and make the data and information available to the public, state agencies, political subdivisions, and agencies of the United States;
(3) Cooperate and enter into agreements with persons for the preparation of studies and reports on floods and floodplain management;
(4) Assist any county, municipal corporation, or state agency in developing comprehensive floodplain management programs;
(5) Provide technical assistance to any county, municipal corporation, or state agency through engineering assistance, data collection, preparation of model laws, training, and other activities relating to floodplain management;
(6) For the purpose of reducing damages and the threat to life, health, and property in the event of a flood, cooperate with state agencies, political subdivisions, and the United States in the development of flood warning systems, evacuation plans, and flood emergency preparedness plans;
(7) Upon request, assist the emergency management agency established by section 5502.22 of the Revised Code in the preparation of flood hazard mitigation reports required as a condition for receiving federal disaster aid under the "Disaster Relief Act of 1974," 88 Stat. 143, 42 U.S.C.A. 5121, as amended, and regulations adopted under it;
(8) Adopt, and may amend or rescind, rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for the administration, implementation, and enforcement of this section and sections 1521.14 and 1521.18 of the Revised Code;
(9) Establish, by rule, technical standards for the delineation and mapping of floodplains and for the conduct of engineering studies to determine the vertical and horizontal limits of floodplains and for the assessment of development impacts on flood heights and flood conveyance. The standards established in rules adopted under this division shall be consistent with and no more stringent than the analogous standards established under the national flood insurance program.
(10) On behalf of the director of natural resources, administer section 1506.04 of the Revised Code.
In addition to the duties imposed in divisions (C)(1) to (10) of this section, and with respect to existing publicly owned facilities that have suffered flood damage or that may be subject to flood damage, the chief may conspicuously mark past and probable flood heights in order to assist in creating public awareness of and knowledge about flood hazards.
(D)(1) Development that is funded, financed, undertaken, or preempted by state agencies shall comply with division (A) of this section and with rules adopted under division (C)(9) of this section.
(2) State agencies shall apply floodproofing measures in order to reduce potential additional flood damage of existing publicly owned facilities that have suffered flood damage.
(3) Before awarding funding or financing or granting a license, permit, or other authorization for a development that is or is to be located within a one-hundred-year floodplain, a state agency shall require the applicant to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the agency that the development will comply with division (A) of this section, rules adopted under division (C)(9) of this section, and any applicable local floodplain management resolution or ordinance.
(4) Prior to the disbursement of any state disaster assistance money in connection with any incident of flooding to or within a county or municipal corporation that is not listed by the chief as being in compliance under division (D)(1) of section 1521.18 of the Revised Code, a state agency that has authority to disburse such money shall require the county or municipal corporation to establish or reestablish compliance as provided in that division.
(E)(1) Subject to section 1521.18 of the Revised Code, a county or a municipal corporation may do all of the following:
(a) Adopt floodplain maps that reflect the best available data and that indicate the areas to be regulated under a floodplain management resolution or ordinance, as applicable;
(b) Develop and adopt a floodplain management resolution or ordinance, as applicable;
(c) Adopt floodplain management standards that exceed the standards that are established under the national flood insurance program.
(2) A county or municipal corporation shall examine and apply, where economically feasible, floodproofing measures in order to reduce potential additional flood damage of existing publicly owned facilities that have suffered flood damage.
(3) A county that adopts a floodplain management resolution shall do so in accordance with the procedures established in section 307.37 of the Revised Code. The county may enforce the resolution by issuing stop work orders, seeking injunctive relief, or pursuing other civil actions that the county considers necessary to ensure compliance with the resolution. In addition, failure to comply with the floodplain management resolution constitutes a violation of division (D) of section 307.37 of the Revised Code.
(4) No action challenging the validity of a floodplain management resolution adopted by a county or a floodplain management ordinance adopted by a municipal corporation, or an amendment to such a resolution or ordinance, because of a procedural error in the adoption of the resolution, ordinance, or amendment shall be brought more than two years after the adoption of the resolution, ordinance, or amendment.

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