Minnehaha County, SD Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Minnehaha County adopted the 2021 International Residential Code through Ordinance MC 62-22, effective May 31, 2022 and applicable to permits issued after May 27, 2022; it repealed the prior code adoption, Ordinance MC55-19. 3, "Floodplain Inspections," governs construction anywhere in a flood hazard area shown on the county's Flood Insurance Rate Map. Once the lowest floor, including any basement, is placed and before the builder frames any further vertical construction, the Floodplain Administrator must receive documentation of that floor's elevation, prepared and sealed by a registered design professional such as a licensed engineer, architect, or surveyor.

The section ties that documentation requirement directly back to the elevation standard set out in the county's 2017 Floodplain Management Ordinance. 10 must reach the Floodplain Administrator again before the county will conduct the final inspection, meaning a project can clear framing only to be held up at closeout if the certified elevation was never filed. 1 of its 2021 International Existing Building Code amendments (Ordinance MC 63-22, also effective May 31, 2022), the code official is barred from granting any modification to the flood-resistance provisions of the 2017 Floodplain Management Ordinance for existing buildings undergoing repairs, alterations, or additions that qualify as a substantial improvement.

Building permits for flood hazard area projects are issued and inspected through the county's Planning and Zoning Department, which the code amendments identify as the office housing the Floodplain Administrator and the building official for unincorporated Minnehaha County.