FEMA flood zone rules in Scranton, PA — also called floodplain regulations or special flood hazard area (SFHA) rules — determine flood insurance requirements and elevation standards for new construction.
Scranton's Floodplain Management Requirements are codified at Section 445.51 of the Zoning Ordinance, last amended July 28, 2020 by Ordinance No. 16-2020. New construction in a Special Flood Hazard Area along the Lackawanna River or Roaring Brook must be elevated or flood-proofed at least 18 inches above base flood elevation.
Scranton has long flood history including the 1972 Hurricane Agnes disaster and the September 2011 Tropical Storm Lee event. The City participates in FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program. Floodplain rules were originally Chapter 245 of the Code and are now incorporated into Section 445.51 of the Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 445, Ord. 54-2023). The current floodplain text was adopted as Ordinance No. 16-2020 (File of Council No. 16, 2020) under the Pennsylvania Flood Plain Management Act of 1978 (Act 1978-166, 32 P.S. 679.101) and PA DCED model rules at 12 Pa. Code Chapter 113. The Special Flood Hazard Area is shown on the Lackawanna County FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps. A Letter of Map Revision A99 was issued effective July 6, 2011, and updated county-wide FIRMs followed. New construction must be elevated or flood-proofed to at least 18 inches above BFE.
Building, filling, or substantially improving structures in an SFHA without a floodplain development permit violates Section 445.51. The Floodplain Administrator can require removal or elevation, and FEMA can suspend Scranton from the NFIP, ending federally backed flood insurance citywide.
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