MT-1

FEMA doesn’t require participation from a Community CEO or Floodplain Administrator for a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) or Conditional Letter of Map Amendment (CLOMA) since FEMA’s determination will be made based on natural, as-built elevations. However, the community is expected to play an active role for Letters of Map Revision based on Fill (LOMR-F), Conditional Letters of Map Revision based on Fill (CLOMR-F) and Letters of Map Revision Floodway (LOMR-FW) by reviewing the Community Acknowledgement Form and signing when appropriate.

So, you decided to purchase or refinance a home and it turns out that it’s in a FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) and your lender says, “you have two options, get flood insurance or a get a LOMA.”  Sound familiar?

Although many homes are correctly shown in the SFHA (Special Flood Hazard area or high-risk flood zone), sometimes there’s newer or better information available that wasn’t considered when FEMA established the high-risk flood zone. FEMA uses engineering best practices and standards to delineate its flood zones, but the data is usually only good to +/- 2 feet. That’s why FEMA created the MT-1 process allowing property owners to challenge the zone classification of their home or property by submitting more detailed information.