Bossier Parish, LA Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Bossier Parish Code § 54-92 sets the specific elevation standards that apply once base flood elevation data exists for a site, whether from the FEMA Flood Insurance Study adopted at § 54-52, the floodplain administrator's own data under § 54-72(8), or subdivision-generated data under § 54-93(3). For residential construction, § 54-92(1) requires the lowest floor, including any basement, plus all mechanical and electrical equipment and duct work, to sit at least one foot above the base flood elevation; a registered professional engineer, architect, or land surveyor must certify to the floodplain administrator that the structure meets that standard as part of the permit application required under § 54-73(1)a.

Nonresidential structures get an alternative under § 54-92(2): they can either meet the same one-foot freeboard or be floodproofed watertight below that line, with an engineer's certification kept on file recording the specific elevation to which the structure was floodproofed. Section 54-92(6) raises the bar further wherever the Red River Advisory Base Flood Elevation Map, dated January 4, 2016, supersedes the FEMA FIRM panels: in that area, the required elevation becomes 18 inches above the Red River Advisory map's base flood elevation instead of the standard one foot above the FIRM's base flood elevation.