Ohio Transportation Department Issues Public Comment on FEMA Notice

WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 -- Jeffrey E. Syar, administrator for the Office of Hydraulic Engineering at the Ohio Department of Transportation, has issued a public comment on the Federal Emergency Management Agency notice entitled "Request for Information on the National Flood Insurance Program's Floodplain Management Standards for Land Management and Use, and an Assessment of the Program's Impact on Threatened and Endangered Species and Their Habitats". The comment was written on Dec. 1, 2021, and posted on Dec. 21, 2021:

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The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) appreciates the opportunity to respond to the Notice issued on October 12, 2021 announcing a request for information on the NFIP floodplain management standards for land management and use, and an assessment of the program's impact on T&E species and their habitat.

Our mission at ODOT is to provide the safe and easy movement of people and goods from place-to-place for the Great State of Ohio and the Nation.

A significant number of structures and roadways within this transportation system are located within FEMA SFHAs.

Changes in NFIP requirements can affect our ability to maintain this system by increasing the time required for project development, design and construction as well as an increase in overall costs associate with compliance.

Enquiries in Docket ID FEMA 2021-0024 were presented in a numeric format of (1)-(17) in some cases with multiple questions.

The included responses follow the identical numbering format where those questions with a response are reprinted in bold followed by our reply while omitting those without.

View attachment at https://downloads.regulations.gov/FEMA-2021-0024-0166/attachment_1.pdf

Sincerely,

Jeffrey E. Syar, P.E.

Administrator, Office of Hydraulic Engineering

Ohio Department of Transportation

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The notice can be viewed at https://www.regulations.gov/document/FEMA-2021-0024-0001

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