FEMA flood zone rules in Saginaw County, MI — also called floodplain regulations or special flood hazard area (SFHA) rules — determine flood insurance requirements and elevation standards for new construction.
Saginaw County sits in the Saginaw River floodplain and floods recurrently. Communities enforce FEMA floodplain standards through the National Flood Insurance Program, and EGLE issues state floodplain occupation permits under NREPA Part 31.
The Saginaw, Tittabawassee, Cass, Shiawassee, and Flint rivers converge in the county, and the low, flat terrain floods regularly, most recently in the 2020 mid-Michigan flood. The City of Saginaw, Saginaw County, and the townships participate in the National Flood Insurance Program and enforce floodplain construction standards in FEMA special flood hazard areas: new and substantially improved buildings must have their lowest floor elevated to or above base flood elevation, documented by an elevation certificate. Separately, occupying or filling the 100-year floodplain of a river or stream requires an EGLE floodplain permit under Part 31 of NREPA (MCL §324.3101 et seq.). Flood insurance is mandatory for federally backed mortgages inside a mapped flood zone.
Building below base flood elevation or filling a floodway without permits brings retroactive correction or removal orders, local and EGLE enforcement, and higher or force-placed flood insurance premiums.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Saginaw County's flood zones rules stack up against other locations.
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