The purpose of this part is to provide an administrative procedure whereby the Federal Insurance Administrator will review the scientific or technical submissions of an owner or lessee of property who believes his property has been inadvertently included in designated A, AO, A1-30, AE, AH, A99, AR, AR/A1-30, AR/AE, AR/AO, AR/AH, AR/A, VO, V1-30, VE, and V Zones, as a result of the transposition of the curvilinear line to either street or to other readily identifiable features. The necessity for this part is due in part to the technical difficulty of accurately delineating the curvilinear line on either an FHBM or FIRM. These procedures shall not apply when there has been any alteration of topography since the effective date of the first NFIP map (i.e., FHBM or FIRM) showing the property within an area of special flood hazard. Appeals in such circumstances are subject to the provisions of part 65 of this subchapter.

The definitions set forth in part 59 of this subchapter are applicable to this part.

(a) Any owner or lessee of property (applicant) who believes his property has been inadvertently included in a designated A, AO, A1-30, AE, AH, A99, AR, AR/A1-30, AR/AE, AR/AO, AR/AH, AR/A, VO, V1-30, VE, and V Zones on a FHBM or a FIRM, may submit scientific or technical information to the Federal Insurance Administrator for the Federal Insurance Administrator's review.

(b) Scientific and technical information for the purpose of this part may include, but is not limited to the following:

(1) An actual copy of the recorded plat map bearing the seal of the appropriate recordation official (e.g. County Clerk, or Recorder of Deeds) indicating the official recordation and proper citation (Deed or Plat Book Volume and Page Numbers), or an equivalent identification where annotation of the deed or plat book is not the practice.

(2) A topographical map showing (i) ground elevation contours in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NVGD) of 1929, (ii) the total area of the property in question, (iii) the location of the structure or structures located on the property in question, (iv) the elevation of the lowest adjacent grade to a structure or structures and (v) an indication of the curvilinear line which represents the area subject to inundation by a base flood. The curvilinear line should be based upon information provided by any appropriate authoritative source, such as a Federal Agency, the appropriate state agency (e.g. Department of Water Resources), a County Water Control District, a County or City Engineer, a Federal Emergency Management Agency Flood Insurance Study, or a determination by a Registered Professional Engineer;

(3) A copy of the FHBM or FIRM indicating the location of the property in question;

(4) A certification by a Registered Professional Engineer or Licensed Land Surveyor that the lowest grade adjacent to the structure is above the base flood elevation.

The Administrator, after reviewing the scientific or technical information submitted under the provisions of § 70.3, shall notify the applicant in writing of his/her determination within 60 days after we receive the applicant's scientific or technical information that we have compared either the ground elevations of an entire legally defined parcel of land or the elevation of the lowest adjacent grade to a structure with the elevation of the base flood and that:

(a) The property is within a designated A, A0, A1-30, AE, AH, A99, AR, AR/A1-30, AR/AE, AR/AO, AR/AH, AR/A, V0, V1-30, VE, or V Zone, and will state the basis of such determination; or

(b) The property should not be within a designated A, A0, A1-30, AE, AH, A99, AR, AR/A1-30, AR/AE, AR/AO, AR/AH, AR/A,V0, V1-30, VE, or V Zone and that we will modify the FHBM or FIRM accordingly; or

(c) The property is not within a designated A, A0, A1-30, AE, AH, A99, AR, AR/A1-30, AR/AE, AR/AO, AR/AH, AR/A,V0, V1-30, VE, or V Zone as shown on the FHBM or FIRM and no modification of the FHBM or FIRM is necessary; or

(d) We need an additional 60 days to make a determination.

Upon determining from available scientific or technical information that a FHBM or a FIRM requires modification under the provisions of § 70.4(b), the Administrator shall issue a Letter of Map Amendment which shall state:

(a) The name of the Community to which the map to be amended was issued;

(b) The number of the map;

(c) The identification of the property to be excluded from a designated A, AO, A1-30, AE, AH, A99, AR, AR/A1-30, AR/AE, AR/AO, AR/AH, AR/A, VO, V1-30, VE, or V Zone.

(a) A copy of the Letter of Map Amendment shall be sent to the applicant who submitted scientific or technical data to the Federal Insurance Administrator.

(b) A copy of the Letter of Map Amendment shall be sent to the local map repository with instructions that it be attached to the map which the Letter of Map Amendment is amending.

(c) A copy of the Letter of Map Amendment shall be sent to the map repository in the state with instructions that it be attached to the map which it is amending.

(d) A copy of the Letter of Map Amendment will be sent to any community or governmental unit that requests such Letter of Map Amendment.

(e) [Reserved]

(f) A copy of the Letter of Map Amendment will be maintained by the Agency in its community case file.

(a) The Federal Insurance Administrator, shall not publish a notice in the Federal Register that the FIRM for a particular community has been amended by letter determination pursuant to this part unless such amendment includes alteration or change of base flood elevations established pursuant to part 67. Where no change of base flood elevations has occurred, the Letter of Map Amendment provided under §§ 70.5 and 70.6 serves to inform the parties affected.

(b) [Reserved]

A Standard Flood Insurance Policyholder whose property has become the subject of a Letter of Map Amendment under this part may cancel the policy within the current policy year and receive a premium refund under the conditions set forth in § 62.5 of this subchapter.

An individual who proposes to build one or more structures on a portion of property that may be included inadvertently in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) may request FEMA's comments on whether the proposed structure(s), if built as proposed, will be in the SFHA. FEMA's comments will be issued in the form of a letter, termed a Conditional Letter of Map Amendment. The data required to support such requests are the same as those required for final Letters of Map Amendment in accordance with § 70.3, except as-built certification is not required and the requests shall be accompanied by the appropriate payment, in accordance with 44 CFR part 72. All such requests for CLOMAs shall be submitted to the FEMA Regional Office servicing the community's geographic area or to the FEMA Headquarters Office in Washington, DC.