Midland, TX Environmental Rules: Flood Elevation Requirements (2026)

Section 11-3-12(B)1 sets the residential freeboard standard directly: new construction and substantial improvement of a residential structure must have the lowest floor, including any basement, elevated to at least one foot above Base Flood Elevation (BFE), defined in § 11-3-1 as the water-surface elevation of the flood with a one-percent annual chance of being equaled or exceeded, as shown on FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Map. A registered professional engineer, architect, or land surveyor must certify compliance to the Floodplain Administrator before the building official approves the foundation inspection.

Nonresidential structures under § 11-3-12(B)2 face the same one-foot freeboard, or may instead be floodproofed watertight to that elevation with an engineer's certification. Manufactured homes must have the bottom of the steel frame set at least one foot above BFE and anchored against flotation (§ 11-3-12(B)4), and electrical, heating, and mechanical equipment must sit at least one foot above BFE (§ 11-3-12(B)6). The Floodplain Administrator can approve up to a one-foot reduction below the freeboard, but only where other factors offset the reduced protection, never for cost savings alone, and any such reduction is treated as a variance under § 11-3-13 (§ 11-3-12(B)7).

Where FEMA has not published BFE data, § 11-3-5(B)8 requires the Administrator to obtain and use the best available federal, state, or other data, or require the builder to establish one.