Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 33 - Public Health - Local Governments And Rural Water Systems Improvements Board › Part 208 - Flood Damage Prevention Regulation › Chapter 2 - Definitions › Rule 33-208-2.1 - Definitions

Current through June 25, 2024
Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases used in
				  this Regulation shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have
				  in common usage and to give this Regulation it's most reasonable application.
A Zone
is the Area of Special Flood Hazard
				  without base flood elevations determined.
AE Zone
is the Area of Special Flood Hazard with
				  base flood elevations determined.
Accessory structure
(Appurtenant structure)
				  means a structure, which is located on the same parcel of property as the
				  principal structure and the use of which is incidental to the use of the
				  principal structure. Accessory structures should constitute a minimal initial
				  investment, may not be used for human habitation, and be designed to have
				  minimal flood damage potential. Examples of accessory structures are detached
				  garages, carports, storage sheds, pole barns, and hay sheds.
Addition
(to an existing building) means any
				  walled and roofed expansion to the perimeter or height of a building. Any
				  addition shall be considered new construction. If the addition is more than 50%
				  of the market value of the structure, then the addition and the existing
				  structure are now new construction.
AO Zone
is an area of one percent chance of
				  shallow flooding where depths are between one to three feet (usually shallow
				  ponding), with base flood elevations shown.
Appeal
means a request for a review of the
				  Floodplain Administrator's interpretation of any provision of this Regulation
				  or a request for a variance.
AR/AE, AR/AH, AR/AO, and AR/A Zones
are SFHAs
				  that result from the decertification of a previously accredited flood
				  protection system or levee that is in the process of being restored to provide
				  a one percent chance or greater level of flood protection. After restoration is
				  complete, these areas will still experience residual flooding from other
				  flooding sources.
A99 Zone
is that part of the SFHA inundated by
				  the one percent chance flood to be protected from the one percent chance flood
				  by a Federal flood protection system or levee under construction, no base flood
				  elevations are determined.
Area of shallow flooding
means a designated AO
				  or AH Zone on the community's Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) with flood depths
				  from one to three feet where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where
				  the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate, and where velocity
				  flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet
				  flow.
Area of special flood hazard
is the land in the
				  floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of
				  flooding in any given year. This area is also referred to as the Special Flood
				  Hazard Area (SFHA).
Base flood
means the flood having a one percent
				  chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also called the "one
				  percent chance flood").
Base Flood Elevation (BFE)
is the elevation
				  shown in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) for Zones AE, AH, AR, AR/A, AR/AE,
				  AR/AH, AR/AO, and VE that indicates the water surface elevation resulting from
				  a flood that has a one percent or greater chance of being equaled or exceeded
				  in any given year.
Basement
means any portion of a building having
				  its floor sub-grade (below ground level) on all sides.
Breakaway wall
means a wall that is not part of
				  the structural support of the building and is intended through its design and
				  construction to collapse under specific lateral loading forces without causing
				  damage to the elevated portion of the building or the supporting foundation
				  system. This is associated with VE Zone construction.
Building
see
Structure
.
Coastal AE Zone
means the portion of the Special
				  Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) to be landward of a Velocity (V) Zone or landward of
				  an open coast or back-bay area without mapped V-Zones, in which the principal
				  sources of flooding are astronomical tides, storm surges, seiches or tsunamis;
				  not riverine sources. Coastal AE Zones may be subject to wave effects, velocity
				  flows, erosion, scour or combinations of these forces. All community-identified
				  or designated portions of the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) between the
				  landward limit of moderate wave action (the LiMWA or 1.5-foot breaking wave)
				  and the landward limit of the V Zone boundary shall be regulated as VE Zones.
				  Where no VE Zone is mapped in back-bay areas, the Coastal AE Zone is the
				  portion between the high tide line and the landward limit of the 1.5-foot
				  breaking wave.
Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS)
is a
				  system of protected coastal areas which also includes otherwise protected
				  areas; subject to certain flood coverage restrictions. These areas were
				  identified by the Coastal Barrier Resources Act of 1982 (CBRA) and the Coastal
				  Barrier Improvement Act of 1990 and are shown on appropriate FIRM
				  panels.
Coastal high hazard area
is an area of special
				  flood hazard, extending from offshore to the inland limit of the primary
				  frontal dune along an open coast and any other area subject to high velocity
				  wave action from storms or seismic sources. The area is designated on the FIRM
				  as VE Zone.
Community
is a political entity and/or its
				  authorized agents or representatives that have the authority to adopt and
				  enforce floodplain Regulations for the area under its jurisdiction.
Community Floodplain Management Map
means any
				  map produced by the community utilizing best available base flood elevation and
				  floodway data that is from a federal, state, or other accepted technical
				  source.
Community Rating System (CRS)
is a program
				  developed by the Federal Insurance Administration to provide incentives for
				  those communities in the Regular Program that have gone beyond the minimum
				  floodplain management requirements to develop extra measures to provide
				  protection from flooding.
Community Flood Hazard Area (CFHA)
is an area
				  that has been determined by the Floodplain Administrator (or other delegated,
				  designated, or qualified community official) from available technical studies,
				  historical information, and other available and reliable sources, which may be
				  subject to periodic inundation by floodwaters that can adversely affect the
				  public health, safety and general welfare. This includes areas downstream from
				  dams.
Critical facility
(also called critical action)
				  means facilities for which the effects of even a slight chance of flooding
				  would be too great. The minimum floodplain of concern for critical facilities
				  is the 0.2 percent chance flood level. Critical facilities include, but are not
				  limited to facilities critical to the health and safety of the public such as:
				  emergency operations centers, designated public shelters, schools, nursing
				  homes, hospitals, police, fire and emergency response installations, vital data
				  storage centers, power generation and water and other utilities (including
				  related infrastructure such as principal points of utility systems) and
				  installations which produce, use or store hazardous materials or hazardous
				  waste (as defined under the Clean Water Act and other Federal statutes and
				  regulations).
D Zone
is an area in which the flood hazard is
				  undetermined.
Dam
is any artificial barrier, including
				  appurtenant works, constructed to impound or divert water, waste water, liquid
				  borne materials, or solids that may flow if saturated. All structures necessary
				  to maintain the water level in an impoundment or to divert a stream from its
				  course will be considered a dam.
Development
means any man-made change to
				  improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to, buildings or
				  other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavating,
				  drilling operations, or storage of materials or equipment.
Dry Floodproofing
means any combination of
				  structural and nonstructural additions, changes, or adjustments to structures,
				  which reduce or eliminate flood damages to real estate or improved real estate
				  property, water, and sanitary facilities, structures, and their contents.
				  Structures shall be floodproofed with a minimum of 12 inches of freeboard (more
				  is recommended) in relation to the base flood elevation. Dry floodproofing of a
				  pre-FIRM residential structure that has not been substantially damaged or
				  improved is allowed. Dry floodproofing of a post-FIRM residential building is
				  not allowed. Non-residential structures may be dry floodproofed in all flood
				  zones with the exception of the Coastal High Hazard Area or the Coastal AE
				  Zone.
Elevated building
means for insurance purposes,
				  a non-basement building which has its lowest elevated floor raised above ground
				  level by foundation walls, shear walls, posts, pilings, columns, or
				  piers.
Elevation Certificate
is a FEMA form used as a
				  certified statement that verifies a building's elevation information.
Emergency Program
means the first phase under
				  which a community participates in the NFIP. It is intended to provide a first
				  layer amount of insurance coverage for all insurable buildings in that
				  community before the effective date of the initial FIRM.
Enclosure below the Lowest Floor see "Lowest Floor."
Encroachment
means the advance or infringement
				  of uses, plant growth, fill, excavation, buildings, structures or development
				  into a floodplain, which may impede or alter the flow capacity of a
				  floodplain.
Executive Order 11988 (Floodplain Management)
this order requires that no federally assisted activities be conducted in or
				  have the potential to affect identified Special Flood Hazard Areas, unless
				  there is no practicable alternative.
Executive Order 11990 (Wetlands Protection)
this
				  order requires the avoidance of adverse impacts associated with the destruction
				  or modification of wetlands.
Existing Construction
means structures for which
				  the "start of construction" commenced before the date of the FIRM or before
				  January 1, 1975, for FIRMs effective before that date. Existing construction
				  may also be referred to as existing structures.
Existing manufactured home park or subdivision
means a manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of
				  facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be
				  affixed (including at a minimum the installation of utilities, the construction
				  of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is
				  completed before the effective date of the floodplain management regulations
				  adopted by a community.
Expansion to an existing manufactured home park or
				  subdivision
includes the preparation of additional sites by the
				  construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured
				  homes are to be affixed (including the installation of utilities, the
				  construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of
				  concrete pads).
Fill
means a deposit of earthen materials placed
				  by artificial means.
Five-Hundred Year Flood
means the flood that has
				  a 0.2 percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any year. Areas subject to
				  the 0.2 percent chance flood have a moderate risk of flooding.
Flood or flooding
means a general and temporary
				  condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas
				  from:
a.) The overflow of inland or tidal waters.
b.) The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface
				  waters from any source.
c.) Mudslides which are proximately caused by flooding and
				  are akin to a river of liquid and flowing mud on the surfaces of normally dry
				  land areas, as when earth is carried by a current of water and deposited along
				  the path of the current.
d.) The collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a
				  lake or other body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by
				  waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels or suddenly
				  caused by an unusually high water level in a natural body of water, accompanied
				  by a severe storm, or by an unanticipated force of nature, such as flash flood
				  or an abnormal tidal surge, or by some similarly unusual and unforeseeable
				  event which results in flooding.
Flood
(insurance definition) means a general and
				  temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of
				  normally dry land areas or of two or more properties (
e.g.
a
				  building and a public street) from (1) overflow of inland or tidal waters (2)
				  unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters (3) mudflows caused
				  by flooding.
F
lood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)
means an
				  official map of a community, on which FEMA has delineated both the areas of
				  special flood hazard and the risk premium zones applicable to the
				  community.
Flood Insurance Study (FIS)
is the document
				  which provides an examination, evaluation, and determination of flood hazards
				  and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations, or an examination,
				  evaluation, and determination of mudslide and/or flood-related erosion
				  hazards.
Floodplain
means any land area susceptible to
				  being inundated by flood waters from any source.
Floodplain Administrator
is the individual
				  appointed to administer and enforce the floodplain management
				  regulations.
Floodplain management
means the operation of an
				  overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage
				  and preserving and enhancing, where possible, natural resources in the
				  floodplain, including but not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood
				  control works, floodplain management regulations, and open space plans.
Floodplain management regulations
means this
				  Regulation and other zoning Regulations, subdivision regulations, building
				  codes, health regulations, special purpose Regulations, and other applications
				  of police power which control development in flood-prone areas. This term
				  describes federal, state, or local regulations in any combination thereof,
				  which provide standards for preventing and reducing flood loss and
				  damage.
Floodproofing Certificate
is an official FEMA
				  form used to certify compliance for non-residential structures in non-Coastal
				  High Hazard Areas as an alternative to elevating buildings to or above the base
				  flood elevation.
Floodway
see
Regulatory
				  Floodway
.
Floodway fringe
means that area of the special
				  flood hazard area on either side of the regulatory floodway.
Flood Protection Elevation
is the base flood
				  elevation plus the community freeboard. In areas where no base flood elevations
				  exist from any authoritative source, the flood protection elevation can be
				  historical flood elevations or base flood elevations determined and/or approved
				  by the floodplain administrator plus freeboard.
Freeboard
means a factor of safety, usually
				  expressed in feet above the BFE, which is applied for the purposes of
				  floodplain management. {Communities are encouraged to adopt at least an 18 inch
				  freeboard to account for the one foot rise built into the concept of
				  designating a floodway, where floodways have not been designated.}
Functionally dependent use
means a use which
				  cannot perform its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in
				  close proximity to water. The term includes only docking facilities, port
				  facilities that are necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or
				  passengers, ship building and ship repair facilities and seafood offloading
				  facilities. The term does not include long-term storage, manufacture,
				  processing functions, sales, administrative functions, or service
				  facilities.
Hardship
(as related to variances of this
				  Regulation) means the exceptional difficulty that would result from a failure
				  to grant the requested variance. The Board of Directors requires that the
				  variance is exceptional, unusual, and peculiar to the property involved. Mere
				  economic or financial hardship alone is NOT exceptional. Inconvenience,
				  aesthetic considerations, physical handicaps, personal preferences, or the
				  disapproval of one's neighbors likewise cannot, as a rule, qualify as an
				  exceptional hardship. All of these problems can be resolved through other means
				  without granting a variance, even if the alternative is more expensive, or
				  requires the property owner to build elsewhere or put the parcel to a different
				  use than originally intended.
Hazard potential
means the possible adverse
				  incremental consequences that result from the release of water or stored
				  contents due to failure of a dam or mis-operation of a dam or appurtenances.
				  The hazard potential classification of a dam does not reflect in any way on the
				  current condition of a dam and its appurtenant structures
				  (
e.g
. safety, structural integrity, and flood routing
				  capacity).
High hazard dam
means a class of dam in which
				  failure may cause loss of life, serious damage to residential, industrial, or
				  commercial buildings; or damage to, or disruption of, important public
				  utilities or transportation facilities such as major highways or railroads.
				  Dams which meet the statutory thresholds for regulation that are proposed for
				  construction in established or proposed residential, commercial, or industrial
				  areas will be assigned this classification, unless the applicant provides
				  convincing evidence to the contrary. A development permit is required for a
				  structure and any associated fill downstream from a dam at any location where
				  flooding can be reasonably anticipated from principal or emergency spillway
				  discharges, or from overtopping and failure of the dam.
Highest adjacent grade
means the highest natural
				  elevation of the ground surface, prior to construction, net to the proposed
				  walls of a building.
Historic Structure
means any structure that
				  is:
a.) Listed individually in the National Register of Historic
				  Places (a listing maintained by the Department of Interior) or preliminarily
				  determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for
				  individual listing on the National Register;
b.) Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of
				  the Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered
				  historic or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as
				  a registered historic district;
c.) Individually listed on the State of Mississippi inventory
				  of historic structures, or;
d.) Individually listed on a local inventory historic places
				  in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified by
				  an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the
				  Interior.
Hydrologic and hydraulic engineering analyses
means the analyses performed by a professional engineer, registered in the
				  state of Mississippi, in accordance with standard engineering practices as
				  accepted by FEMA, used to determine flood elevations and /or floodway
				  boundaries.
Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) coverage
means under the standard flood insurance policy the cost to repair a
				  substantially flood damaged building that exceeds the minimal repair cost and
				  that is required to bring a substantially damaged building into compliance with
				  the local flood damage prevention Regulation. Acceptable mitigation measures
				  are floodproofing (nonresidential), relocation, elevation, demolition, or any
				  combination thereof. All renewal and new policies with effective dates on or
				  after June 1, 1997, include ICC coverage.
Letter of Map Change (LOMC)
is an official FEMA
				  determination, by letter, to amend or revise effective Flood Insurance Rate
				  Maps, Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps, and Flood Insurance Studies. LOMC's are
				  broken down into the following categories:
Letter of Map Amendment
				  (LOMA)
An amendment based on technical data showing that a property
				  was incorrectly included in a designated SFHA, was not elevated by fill (only
				  by a natural grade elevation) and will not be inundated by the one percent
				  chance flood. A LOMA amends the current effective FIRM and establishes that a
				  specific property is not located in a SFHA.
Letter of Map Revision (LOMR)
A revision based on technical data that, usually due to
				  manmade changes, shows changes to flood zones, flood elevations, floodplain and
				  floodway delineations, and planimetric features. One common type of LOMR, a
				  LOMR-F, is a determination concerning whether a structure or parcel has been
				  elevated by fill above the BFE and is, therefore, excluded from the
				  SFHA.
Conditional Letter of Map Revision
				  (CLOMR)
A formal review and comment by FEMA as to whether a proposed
				  project complies with the minimum NFIP floodplain management criteria. A CLOMR
				  does not revise effective Flood Insurance Rate Maps, Flood Boundary and
				  Floodway Maps, or Flood Insurance Studies.
Levee
means a man-made structure; usually an
				  earthen embankment designed and constructed in accordance with sound
				  engineering practices to contain, control, or divert the flow of water so as to
				  provide protection from temporary flooding.
Levee system
means a flood protection system
				  which consists of a levee, or levees, and associated structures, such as
				  closure and drainage devices, which are constructed and operated in accordance
				  with sound engineering practices. For a levee system to be recognized, the
				  following criteria must be met. All closure devices or mechanical systems for
				  internal drainage, whether manual or automatic, must be operated in accordance
				  with an officially adopted operation manual (a copy of which must be provided
				  to FEMA by the operator when levee or drainage system recognition is being
				  sought or revised). All operations must be under the jurisdiction of a Federal
				  or State agency, an agency created by Federal or State law, or an agency of a
				  community participating in the NFIP.
Limit of Moderate Wave Action (LiMWA)
is the
				  limit of the AE Zone category area exposed to wave attack from waves greater
				  than 1.5 feet during the base (one percent chance) flood on open coastal and
				  inland areas exposed to erosion and wave propagation.
Low hazard dam
means a class of dam in which
				  failure would at the most result in damage to agricultural land, farm buildings
				  (excluding residences), or minor roads.
Lowest adjacent grade
means the elevation of the
				  sidewalk, patio, deck support, or basement entryway immediately next to the
				  structure and after the completion of construction. It does not include earth
				  that is placed for aesthetic or landscape reasons around a foundation wall. It
				  does include natural ground or properly compacted fill that comprises a
				  component of a building's foundation system.
Lowest floor
means the lowest floor of the
				  lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood resistant
				  enclosure, used solely for parking of vehicles, building access, or storage, in
				  an area other than a basement, is not considered a building's lowest floor,
				  provided that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in
				  violation of the non-elevation provisions of this code.
Manufactured home
(
				  44 CFR
				  59.1 definition / FEMA) means a structure,
				  transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis
				  and designed to be used with or without a permanent foundation when attached to
				  the required utilities. The term manufactured home does not include a
				  "recreational vehicle."
Manufactured housing
(
				  24 CFR
				  3280.3 and
				  3285.5 definitions / HUD) means
				  ".a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which in the traveling
				  mode is 8 body feet or more in width or 40 body feet in length or which the
				  private insurance industry.
National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD)
means a
				  vertical control, corrected in 1929, used as a reference for establishing
				  varying elevations within the floodplain.
New Construction
means a structure or an
				  addition to an existing structure for which the start of construction commenced
				  on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by
				  a community and any subsequent improvements to such structure or the
				  addition.
New manufactured home park or subdivision
means
				  a manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of
				  facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be
				  affixed (including at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the
				  construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of
				  concrete pads) is completed on or after the effective date of floodplain
				  regulations adopted by a community.
Non-Residential
means, but is not limited to;
				  small business concerns, churches, schools, farm buildings (including grain
				  bins and silos), pool houses, clubhouses, recreational buildings, mercantile
				  structures, agricultural and industrial structures, warehouses, and hotels and
				  motels with normal room rentals for less than 6 months duration.
North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988
means a vertical control, corrected in 1988, used as a reference for
				  establishing varying elevations within the floodplain.
Obstruction
means, but is not limited to, any
				  dam, wall, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile, abutment, protection,
				  excavation, channel construction, bridge, culvert, building, wire, fence, rock,
				  gravel, refuse, fill, structure, vegetation or other material in, along, across
				  or projecting into any watercourse which may alter, impede, retard or change
				  the direction and/or velocity of the flow of water, or due to its location, its
				  propensity to snare or collect debris carried by the flow of water, or its
				  likelihood of being carried downstream.
One Percent Flood (aka 100-Year Flood)
is the
				  flood that has a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given
				  year. Any flood zone that begins with the letter A or V is subject to
				  inundation by the one percent chance flood. Over the life of a 30-year loan,
				  there is a 26-percent chance of experiencing such a flood within the
				  SFHA.
Participating Community
is any community that
				  voluntarily elects to participate in the NFIP by adopting and enforcing
				  floodplain management regulations that are consistent with the standards of the
				  NFIP.
Post-FIRM Construction
means new construction
				  and substantial improvements for which start of construction occurred after
				  December 31, 1974, or on or after the effective date of the initial FIRM of the
				  community, whichever is later.
Pre-FIRM Construction
means new construction and
				  substantial improvements for which start of construction occurred on or before
				  December 31, 1974, or before the effective date of the initial FIRM of the
				  community, whichever is later.
Probation
is a means of FEMA formally notifying
				  participating communities of the first of the two NFIP sanctions due to their
				  failure to correct violations and deficiencies in the administration and
				  enforcement of the local floodplain management regulations.
Public safety and nuisance
means anything which
				  is injurious to the safety or health of an entire community or neighborhood, or
				  any considerable number of persons, or unlawfully obstructs the free passage or
				  use, in the customary manner, of any navigable lake, or river, bay, stream,
				  canal, or basin.
Recreational vehicle
means a vehicle that
				  is:
a.) Licensed and titled as an RV or park model (not a
				  permanent residence);
b.) Built on a single chassis;
c.) 400 square feet or less when measured at the largest
				  horizontal projection;
d.) Has no attached deck, porch, or shed;
e.) Has quick-disconnect sewage, water, and electrical
				  connectors;
f.) Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a
				  light duty truck, and;
g.) Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling
				  but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal
				  use.
Regular Program
means the second phase of the
				  community's participation in the NFIP in which second layer coverage is
				  available based upon risk premium rates only after FEMA has competed a risk
				  study for the community.
Regulatory floodway
means the channel of a river
				  or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order
				  to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface
				  elevation more than one foot.
Repair
means the reconstruction or renewal of
				  any part of an existing building for which the start of construction commenced
				  on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by
				  a community and all such regulations effective at the time of permitting must
				  be met.
Repetitive Loss
means flood-related damages
				  sustained by a structure on two separate occasions during a 10-year period for
				  which the cost of repairs at the time of each such flood event, on the average,
				  equals or exceeds 25 percent of the market value of the structure before the
				  damage occurred.
Repetitive Loss Property
is any insurable
				  building for which two or more claims of more than $1,000 were paid by the
				  National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) within any rolling 10-year period,
				  since 1978. At least two of the claims must be more than ten days apart but,
				  within ten years of each other. A RL property may or may not be currently
				  insured by the NFIP.
Section 1316
means that section of the National
				  Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended, which states that no new flood
				  insurance coverage shall be provided for any property that FEMA finds has been
				  declared by a duly constituted state or local zoning authority or other
				  authorized public body to be in violation of state or local laws, regulations,
				  or Regulations that are intended to discourage or otherwise restrict land
				  development or occupancy in flood-prone areas.
Severe Repetitive Loss Structure
means any
				  insured property that has met at least one of the following paid flood loss
				  criteria since 1978, regardless of ownership:
1. Four or more separate claim payments of more than $5,000
				  each (including buildings and contents payments); or
2. Two or more separate claim payments (building payments
				  only) where the total of the payments exceeds the current market value of the
				  property.
In either case, two of the claim payments must have occurred
				  within ten years of each other. Multiple losses at the same location within ten
				  days of each other are counted as one loss, with the payment amounts added
				  together.
Significant hazard dam
means a dam assigned the
				  significant hazard potential classification where failure may cause damage to
				  main roads, minor railroads, or cause interruption of use, or service of
				  relatively important public utilities.
Special flood hazard area (SFHA)
means that
				  portion of the floodplain subject to inundation by the base flood and/or
				  flood-related erosion hazards as shown on a FHBM or FIRM as Zones A, AE, AH,
				  AO, AR, AR/AE, AR/AO, AR/AH, AR/A, A99, or VE
Start of construction
(for other than new
				  construction or substantial improvements under the Coastal Barrier Resources
				  Act P. L. 97-348), includes substantial improvement, and means the date the
				  building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair,
				  reconstruction, or improvement was within 180 days of the permit date. The
				  actual start means the first placement of permanent construction of a building
				  (including a manufactured home) on a site, such as the pouring of slabs or
				  footings, installation of piles, construction of columns, or any work beyond
				  the stage of excavation or placement of a manufactured home on a foundation.
				  Permanent construction does not include land preparation, such as clearing,
				  grading and filling; nor does it include the installation of streets and/or
				  walkways; nor does it include excavation for a basement, footings, piers or
				  foundations or the erection of temporary forms; nor does it include the
				  installation on the property of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds
				  not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main building. For
				  substantial improvement, the actual start of construction means the first
				  alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of a building,
				  whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the
				  building.
Structure
(for floodplain management purposes),
				  means a walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank that
				  is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.
Structure
(for insurance purposes), means a
				  building with two or more outside rigid walls and a fully secured roof, that is
				  affixed to a permanent site; a manufactured home built on a permanent chassis,
				  transported to it site in one or more sections, and affixed to a permanent
				  foundation; or a travel trailer without wheels, built on a chassis and affixed
				  to a permanent foundation, that is regulated under the community's floodplain
				  management and building Regulations or laws. The term does not include a
				  recreational vehicle or a park trailer or other similar vehicle, except as
				  described in the last part of this definition, or a gas, or a liquid storage
				  tank.
Subrogation
means an action brought by FEMA when
				  flood damages have occurred, a flood insurance claim has been paid, and all or
				  part of the damage can be attributed to acts or omissions by a community or
				  other third party.
Substantial Damage
means damage of any origin
				  sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its
				  before damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value
				  of the structure before the damage occurred. Substantial damage also means
				  flood-related damages sustained by a structure on two separate occasions during
				  a 10-year period for which the cost of repairs at the time of each flood event,
				  on the average, equals or exceeds 25 percent of the market value of the
				  structure before the damage occurred
Substantial Improvement
means any combination of
				  reconstruction, rehabilitation, or other improvement of a structure taking
				  place over a designated 10-year period in which the cumulative percentage of
				  improvement equals or exceeds 50 percent of the current market value of the
				  structure before the "start of construction" of the improvement. The designated
				  10-year period begins at the date of the initial improvement to the structure.
				  The costs for determining substantial improvement include the costs of
				  additions. This term includes structures which have incurred repetitive loss or
				  substantial damage, regardless of the actual repair work performed.
The term does not apply to:
a.) Any project for improvement of a building required to
				  comply with existing health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have
				  been identified by the Code Enforcement Official and which are solely necessary
				  to assure safe living conditions, provided that said code deficiencies were not
				  caused by neglect or lack of maintenance on the part of the current or previous
				  owners or;
b.) Any alteration of a "historic structure" provided that
				  the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a
				  "historic structure."
Substantially improved existing manufactured home parks
				  or subdivisions
means manufactured home parks or subdivisions where the
				  repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement of the streets, utilities
				  and pads equals or exceeds 50 percent of the value of the streets, utilities
				  and pads before the repair, reconstruction or improvement commenced.
Suspension
means the removal, with or without
				  probation, of a participating community from the NFIP because the community
				  failed to adopt and enforce the compliant floodplain management regulations
				  required for participation in the NFIP.
VE Zone
see Coastal High Hazard
				  Area.
Variance
is a grant of relief from the
				  requirements of this Regulation.
Violation
means the failure of a structure or
				  other development to be fully compliant with this Regulation. A structure or
				  other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications, or
				  other evidence of compliance required in this Regulation is presumed to be in
				  violation until such time as that documentation is provided.
Watercourse
means any flowing body of water
				  including a river, creek, stream, or a branch.
Water surface elevation
means the height, in
				  relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929, the North
				  American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988, (or other datum, where specified) of
				  floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or
				  riverine areas.
Wet floodproofing
means a method of construction
				  which allows water to enter a structure in such a way that will minimize damage
				  to the structure and its contents. Wet floodproofing is appropriate for
				  functionally dependent use and uses that facilitate open space use by variance
				  only, structures utilized for parking or limited storage, or when all other
				  techniques are not technically feasible. Wet floodproofing shall not be
				  utilized as a method to satisfy the requirements of this Regulation for
				  bringing substantially damaged or improved structures into compliance. Wet
				  floodproofing is not allowed in lieu of complying with the lowest floor
				  elevation requirements for new residential buildings.
X Zones (shaded)
are areas of 0.2 percent chance
				  flood that are outside of the SFHA subject to the one percent chance flood with
				  average depths of less than one foot, or with contributing drainage area less
				  than one square mile, and areas protected by certified levees from the base
				  flood.
X Zones (unshaded)
are areas determined to be
				  outside the 0.2 percent chance floodplain.
Zone
means a geographical area shown on a Flood
				  Hazard Boundary Map or a Flood Insurance Rate Map that reflects the severity or
				  type of flooding in the area.
Miss. Code
				  Ann. §
										51-9-127 (Rev.
				  2000)