Whitman County to split flood rules from Critical Areas code to meet Dec. 23 FEMA deadline

Whitman County planners and staff told the county Planning Commission on Sept. 2 that FEMA’s adoption of updated flood maps requires the county to adopt the flood insurance study and maps by Dec. 23, 2026. County Planner Grace Di Biase said Ecology offered to help the county extract floodplain language from the recently revised Critical Areas Ordinance and place it in a standalone Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance in Chapter 17.12.

Mark Storey, the county’s Public Works director, said the county and Ecology are aiming to separate federal floodplain requirements from Growth Management–driven critical-areas rules so local implementation is clearer and to preserve residents’ ability to obtain federal flood insurance. “If we don’t do this, we endanger the citizen’s ability to have or maintain flood insurance in flood zones,” Storey said. He added the Board of County Commissioners has already signed a board order supporting the approach.

Grace Di Biase asked the commission to schedule a Planning Commission public hearing for Oct. 7 so the county can complete required comment periods and recommended the Board of County Commissioners consider adoption on Nov. 16. Di Biase said Ecology provided draft ordinance text that largely mirrors Ecology’s model NFIP language and that the county intends to keep substantive content unchanged while moving building- and development-related language into the new chapter.

Commission discussion focused on timing and public outreach. Commissioner David McKeirnan said the public reaction to the new FEMA maps has been mixed and supported moving forward with Ecology’s approach to avoid leaving residents without access to federally backed flood insurance. The commission did not take a final vote on the ordinance at the Sept. 2 meeting; staff will post updated drafts and a “cheat sheet” showing which definitions and standards moved from the Critical Areas Ordinance into the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance before the Oct. 7 hearing.

The commission’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Sept. 16; staff recommended commissioners review the draft ordinance and submit any suggested edits in advance. The county’s adoption timetable is driven by FEMA’s deadline; failure to adopt the required ordinance language by the effective date could lead to automatic suspension from the National Flood Insurance Program, Ecology staff said.