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Sumter County grants first reading to floodplain ordinance adopting updated Black River maps
Summary
Sumter County Council on Sept. 13 gave first reading to an ordinance updating the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance to adopt revised Black River watershed maps and FEMA Flood Insurance Study changes effective Oct. 27, 2022; county and residents raised concerns about map accuracy and sought further local surveying.
Sumter County Council on Sept. 13 granted first reading to an ordinance that would amend the county’s Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance to adopt revised Black River watershed maps and the associated FEMA Flood Insurance Study revisions scheduled to take effect Oct. 27, 2022. Zoning Administrator Jeff Dewort told the council the update is necessary for continued participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and to preserve Community Rating System (CRS) benefits that can lower insurance premiums for property owners.
The ordinance, presented for first reading by Dewort, updates local regulations that control development in mapped special flood hazard areas and includes corrections required by FEMA. County Administrator Gary Mixon said the county must move forward to meet federal deadlines but acknowledged community concerns about map accuracy raised by residents from Lakewood Subdivision and others.
Residents and local stakeholders have questioned how the new maps were developed. According to Mixon, a meeting coordinated by Speaker of the House Murrell Smith and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) brought affected residents and local officials together to review the maps. Community representative Louis Tisdale told attendees the maps still contain errors and urged earlier involvement of local engineers and community members in future delineations. Mixon said DNR was asked to provide a cost estimate for additional on‑the‑ground surveying to re‑delineate areas identified as having numerous errors; the county will consider that information when it is available.
The Planning Commission and county planning staff recommended approval to keep Sumter County in NFIP and maintain CRS credit. Councilman Charles T. Edens and others participated in discussion but raised no procedural objection at first reading. Councilman Artie Baker moved to grant first reading; Councilman Edens seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.
Because this was a first reading, no final adoption occurred; the ordinance will return to the council for subsequent readings. County staff indicated they will distribute the DNR cost estimate and any further technical materials to council and the public when received.
