Table of Contents Sec. 25-68b. Definitions. As used in sections 25-68b to 25-68h, inclusive: Sec. 25-68c. Powers and duties of commissioner. The commissioner shall have
the following powers and duties under sections 25-68b to 25-68h, inclusive: Sec. 25-68d. Certification of activity or critical activity within or affecting the
floodplain. Exemption. (a) No state agency shall undertake an activity or a critical
activity within or affecting the floodplain without first obtaining approval from the
commissioner of a certification submitted in accordance with subsection (b) or exemption by the commissioner from such approval in accordance with subsection (d). Sec. 25-68e. Suspension. The provisions of sections 25-68b to 25-68h, inclusive,
and any regulations adopted thereunder may be suspended by the commissioner during
any disaster emergency proclaimed by the Governor pursuant to section 28-9a or during
an emergency declaration or major disaster declaration declared by the President of the
United States under Public Law 93-288. Sec. 25-68f. Floodplain designation. Where more than one flood zone has been
designated for an area, the most stringent designation shall be used in fulfilling the
provisions of sections 25-68b to 25-68h, inclusive. Sec. 25-68g. Immunity. The state, any municipality or any officer or employee
thereof shall not be liable for any damage resulting from reliance on any decision made
pursuant to section 25-68d.
Sec. 25-68b. Definitions.
Sec. 25-68c. Powers and duties of commissioner.
Sec. 25-68d. Certification of activity or critical activity within or affecting the
floodplain. Exemption.
Sec. 25-68e. Suspension.
Sec. 25-68f. Floodplain designation.
Sec. 25-68g. Immunity.
Sec. 25-68h. Regulations.
(1) "Activity" means any proposed state action in a floodplain or that impacts natural
or man-made storm drainage facilities, including, but not limited to, the following: (a)
Any structure, obstruction or encroachment proposed for emplacement within the floodplain area; (b) any proposal for site development which increases peak runoff rates; (c)
any grant or loan which affects land use, land use planning or the disposal of state
properties in floodplains, or (d) any program regulating flood flows within the floodplain;
(2) "Base flood" means that flood which has a one per cent chance of being equaled
or exceeded in any year, as defined in regulations of the National Flood Insurance Program (44 CFR 59 et seq.) or that flood designated by the commissioner pursuant to
section 25-68c. Any flood so designated by the commissioner shall have at least a one
per cent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any year. Such flood may be designated
as the A or V zones on maps published by the National Flood Insurance Program. The
"base flood for a critical activity" means the flood that has at least a .2 per cent chance
of being equaled or exceeded in any year. Such flood may be designated as the B zone
on maps published for the National Flood Insurance Program;
(3) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Environmental Protection;
(4) "Critical activity" means any activity, including, but not limited to, the treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous waste and the siting of hospitals, housing for
the elderly, schools or residences, in the .2 per cent floodplain in which the commissioner
determines that a slight chance of flooding is too great;
(5) "Floodplain" means that area located within the real or theoretical limits of the
base flood or base flood for a critical activity;
(6) "Flood-proofing" means any combination of structural or nonstructural additions, changes or adjustments which reduce or eliminate flood damage to real estate
or improved real property, to water and sanitary facilities, and to structures and their
contents;
(7) "Freeboard" means a safety factor, expressed in feet above a calculated flood
level, that compensates for unknown factors contributing to flood heights greater than
the calculated height, including, but not limited to, ice jams, debris accumulations, wave
actions, obstructions of bridge openings and floodways, the effects of urbanization on the
hydrology of a watershed, loss of flood storage due to development and sedimentation of
a watercourse bed.
(P.A. 84-536, S. 1.)
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(1) To coordinate, monitor and analyze the floodplain management activities of
state and local agencies;
(2) To coordinate flood control projects within the state and be the sole initiator of
a flood control project with a federal agency;
(3) To act as the primary contact for federal funds for floodplain management activities sponsored by the state;
(4) To regulate actions by state agencies affecting floodplains except conversion
by The University of Connecticut of commercial or office structures to an educational
structure;
(5) To designate a repository for all flood data within the state;
(6) To assist municipalities and state agencies in the development of comprehensive
floodplain management programs;
(7) To determine the number and location of state-owned structures and uses by the
state in the floodplain and to identify measures to make such structures and uses less
susceptible to flooding including flood-proofing or relocation;
(8) To mark or post the floodplains within lands owned, leased or regulated by state
agencies in order to delineate past and probable flood heights and to enhance public
awareness of flood hazards;
(9) To designate the base flood or base flood for a critical activity where no such
base flood is designated by the National Flood Insurance Program. The commissioner
may add a freeboard factor to any such designation;
(10) To require that any flood control project be designed to provide protection
equal to or greater than the base flood.
(P.A. 84-536, S. 2; P.A. 95-230, S. 44, 45.)
History: P.A. 95-230 amended Subdiv. (4) to add exception for The University of Connecticut, effective June 7, 1995.
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(b) Any state agency proposing an activity or critical activity within or affecting
the floodplain shall submit to the commissioner information certifying that:
(1) The proposal will not obstruct flood flows or result in an adverse increase in
flood elevations, significantly affect the storage or flood control value of the floodplains,
cause an adverse increase in flood velocities, or an adverse flooding impact upon upstream, downstream or abutting properties, or pose a hazard to human life, health or
property in the event of a base flood or base flood for a critical activity;
(2) The proposal complies with the provisions of the National Flood Insurance Program (44 CFR 59 et seq.), and any floodplain zoning requirements adopted by a municipality in the area of the proposal and the requirements for stream channel encroachment
lines adopted pursuant to the provisions of section 22a-342;
(3) The agency has acquired, through public or private purchase or conveyance,
easements and property in floodplains when the base flood or base flood for a critical
activity is elevated above the increment authorized by the National Flood Insurance
Program or the flood storage loss would cause adverse increases in such base flood
flows;
(4) The proposal promotes long-term nonintensive floodplain uses and has utilities
located to discourage floodplain development;
(5) The agency has considered and will use to the extent feasible flood-proofing
techniques to protect new and existing structures and utility lines, will construct dikes,
dams, channel alterations, seawalls, breakwaters or other structures only where there
are no practical alternatives and will implement stormwater management practices in
accordance with regulations adopted pursuant to section 25-68h; and
(6) The agency has flood forecasting and warning capabilities consistent with the
system maintained by the National Weather Service and has a flood preparedness plan.
(c) The commissioner shall make a decision either approving or rejecting a certification within ninety days of receipt of such certification, except that in the case of an
exemption any decision shall be made within ninety days of the close of the hearing. If
a certification is rejected, the agency shall be entitled to a hearing in accordance with
the provisions of sections 4-176e, 4-177, 4-177c and 4-180.
(d) Any state agency proposing an activity or critical activity within or affecting
the floodplain may apply to the commissioner for exemption from the provisions of
subsection (b). Such application shall include a statement of the reasons why such agency
is unable to comply with said subsection and any other information the commissioner
deems necessary. The commissioner, after public notice of the application and an opportunity for a public hearing in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, may approve
such exemption if he determines that (1) the agency has shown that the activity or critical
activity is in the public interest, will not injure persons or damage property in the area
of such activity or critical activity, complies with the provisions of the National Flood
Insurance Program, and, in the case of a loan or grant, the recipient of the loan or grant
has been informed that increased flood insurance premiums may result from the activity
or critical activity or (2) in the case of a flood control project, such project meets the
criteria of subdivision (1) and is more cost-effective to the state and municipalities than
a project constructed to or above the base flood or base flood for a critical activity.
Following approval for exemption for a flood control project, the commissioner shall
provide notice of the hazards of a flood greater than the capacity of the project design
to each member of the legislature whose district will be affected by the project and to
the following agencies and officials in the area to be protected by the project: The
planning and zoning commission, the inland wetlands agency, the director of civil defense, the conservation commission, the fire department, the police department, the chief
elected official and each member of the legislative body, and the regional planning
agency. Notice shall be given to the general public by publication in a newspaper of
general circulation in each municipality in the area in which the project is to be located.
(e) The failure of any agency to comply with the provisions of this section or any
regulations adopted pursuant to section 25-68c shall be grounds for revocation of the
approval of the certification.
(f) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any proposal by the department
of transportation for a project within a drainage basin of less than one square mile.
(P.A. 84-536, S. 3; P.A. 88-317, S. 87, 107.)
History: P.A. 88-317 added references in Subsec. (c) to Secs. 4-176e, 4-177c and 4-180, effective July 1, 1989, and
applicable to all agency proceedings commencing on or after that date.
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(P.A. 84-536, S. 4.)
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(P.A. 84-536, S. 5.)
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(P.A. 84-536, S. 6.)
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