Cameron County, TX Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Article 5, Section A of the county's Flood Damage Prevention and Building Regulations sets the freeboard every new structure or substantial improvement in a flood prone or flood hazard area must clear. The lowest finished floor has to sit at least 12 inches above the Base Flood Elevation shown or estimated on Cameron County's Flood Insurance Rate Map, or 24 inches above the highest adjacent natural grade, whichever works out higher. Builders can reach that elevation with fill, a raised foundation, or piles and columns.

Section B then layers on a certification requirement for residential construction: the lowest floor, including any basement, must be elevated to or above the base flood elevation, and a registered professional engineer, architect or land surveyor has to submit a certification to the Floodplain Administrator confirming the finished floor meets that standard, cross-referenced to Article 4, Section C.1's permit procedure. The Floodplain Administrator, a role the Cameron County Engineer holds under Article 4, Section A, keeps that certification on file and reviews it before signing off on the project.

Nonresidential buildings get an alternative path: instead of elevating the lowest floor, they can be floodproofed watertight below the base flood level with structural components rated for hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads, again certified by a licensed engineer or architect and recorded with the Floodplain Administrator.