FEMA flood zone rules in Nashua, NH — also called floodplain regulations or special flood hazard area (SFHA) rules — determine flood insurance requirements and elevation standards for new construction.
Nashua's floodplain regulations are codified in Chapter 190 (Land Use), Part 2, Article VII — the City of Nashua Floodplain Development Ordinance — administered by the Building Safety Department and the Division of Public Works (Waterways). The ordinance applies to all lands designated as Special Flood Hazard Areas (Zones A, AO, and AE) by FEMA's Flood Insurance Study for Hillsborough County, New Hampshire dated September 25, 2009, together with the associated Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) dated September 25, 2009, including revised panels 33011C0514E and 33011C0652E dated April 18, 2011. Nashua joined the NFIP on June 15, 1979. Principal flood sources are the Nashua River, the Merrimack River, Salmon Brook, and Pennichuck Brook. The May 2006 and May 2007 Mother's Day flood events on the Nashua and Souhegan rivers were benchmark events that drove the post-2009 FIRM update.
Article VII of Chapter 190 is Nashua's NFIP-implementing floodplain ordinance. The ordinance overlays and supplements the city's underlying zoning ordinance and is treated as part of the zoning ordinance for administration and appeals. The regulatory floodplain is defined by FEMA's Flood Insurance Study (FIS) for Hillsborough County, New Hampshire dated September 25, 2009, with the associated FIRM panels of the same date and the revised panels 33011C0514E and 33011C0652E dated April 18, 2011. Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) zones inside Nashua include Zone A (no base flood elevation determined), Zone AO (shallow flooding with average depth indicated), and Zone AE (base flood elevation determined). Base flood elevations are referenced to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 or other datum specified on the FIRM. A floodplain development permit must be obtained before any construction, substantial improvement, fill, grading, or placement of a manufactured home within the SFHA. Lowest-floor elevation, anchoring, flood-resistant materials, and utility-protection requirements follow the FEMA/NFIP standard adopted by reference. The Waterways Division of Public Works oversees the city's flood-protection infrastructure including the hydro-power dams on the Nashua River and the levee along the Merrimack River. The Nashua River and Merrimack River are the principal mapped watercourses, with the confluence at the southeast corner of the city; Salmon Brook and Pennichuck Brook also have mapped SFHAs. Properties within shoreland jurisdiction (250 feet of public waters) are also subject to the New Hampshire Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act under RSA 483-B.
Building, filling, or substantially improving a structure inside the Nashua SFHA without a floodplain development permit violates Chapter 190 Article VII and is enforceable by stop-work order, removal order, withholding of Certificate of Occupancy, and civil penalty. Federal consequences are larger: noncompliant structures can jeopardize the city's NFIP eligibility under 44 CFR Part 60, trigger FEMA's Section 1316 denial of flood insurance to the specific property, and disqualify the owner from federal disaster assistance. Insurance carriers may refuse or rate-up coverage on unpermitted floodplain construction. Shoreland violations are separately enforceable by NHDES under RSA 483-B with civil penalties. Substantial-damage and substantial-improvement rebuilds that fail to elevate the lowest floor to or above the base flood elevation violate the NFIP minimum standards.
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