(a)State flood hazard area standards.
(1)On or before January 1, 2026, the Secretary shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 that establish a set of flood hazard area standards for enrollment in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
(2)The rules shall contain flood hazard area standards that meet or exceed the minimum standards of the NFIP by reducing flood risk to new development and ensuring new development does not create adverse impacts to adjacent preexisting development.
(3)Any municipality with a municipal flood hazard area bylaw or ordinance shall update their bylaw or ordinance to incorporate the State Flood Hazard Area Standards. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a municipality from adopting a more protective flood hazard standard with language and stand
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(a) State flood hazard area standards.
(1) On or before January 1, 2026, the Secretary shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 that establish a set of flood hazard area standards for enrollment in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
(2) The rules shall contain flood hazard area standards that meet or exceed the minimum standards of the NFIP by reducing flood risk to new development and ensuring new development does not create adverse impacts to adjacent preexisting development.
(3) Any municipality with a municipal flood hazard area bylaw or ordinance shall update their bylaw or ordinance to incorporate the State Flood Hazard Area Standards. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a municipality from adopting a more protective flood hazard standard with language and standards approved by the Agency.
(4) On or after January 1, 2028, the State Flood Hazard Areas adopted under subdivision (1) of this subsection shall be the State minimum flood hazard areas standards.
(b) Education and assistance. The Secretary, in consultation with regional 2024 planning commissions, shall provide ongoing education, technical assistance, and guidance to municipalities regarding the requirements under 24 V.S.A. chapter 117 necessary for compliance with the NFIP, including implementation of the State Flood Hazard Area Standards adopted under subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Model flood hazard area bylaw or ordinance. The Secretary shall create and make available to municipalities a model flood hazard area bylaw or ordinance for potential adoption by municipalities pursuant to 24 V.S.A. chapter 117 or 24 V.S.A. § 2291. The model bylaw or ordinance shall set forth the minimum provisions necessary to meet the requirements of the NFIP, including implementation of the State Flood Hazard Area Standards adopted under subsection (a) of this section. The model bylaw may include alternatives that exceed the minimum requirements for compliance with the NFIP and State Flood Hazard Area Standards in order to allow a municipality to elect whether it wants to adopt the minimum requirement or an alternate requirement that further minimizes the risk of harm to life, property, and infrastructure from flooding.
(d) Assistance to municipalities with no flood hazard area bylaw or ordinance. The Secretary, in consultation with municipalities, municipal organizations, and regional planning commissions, shall provide education and technical assistance to municipalities that lack a flood hazard area bylaw or 2024 ordinance in order to encourage adoption of a flood hazard area bylaw or ordinance that qualifies the municipality for the NFIP. (Added 2011, No. 138 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 14, 2012; amended 2023, No. 121 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. July 1, 2024.)