Missoula County outlines next steps after FEMA publishes preliminary floodplain maps for three rivers

Missoula County officials said preliminary floodplain maps published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the Clark Fork, Bitterroot and Rock Creek will begin a multi-step review that could affect insurance, lending and development standards in parts of the county.

"If the county were to decide we're not going to adopt regulations that reference these maps, nobody in the county would be able to purchase flood insurance through the NFIP," said Matt Heimel, Missoula County planner and floodplain administrator, describing why the county must reference FEMA maps to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

The maps, Heimel said, are produced by FEMA and provide a national standard of flood hazard products that communities use to assess risk and to determine eligibility for NFIP insurance and certain federal disaster aid. Heimel said private flood insurance is available but that NFIP policies have federal backing and standardized pricing managed by…