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U.S. Department of Homeland Secttrity <br />1Region 10 130 30 228th Street, SW <br />Bothell, WA 98021-8627 <br />REy. rrnwrn,F <br />��iv�o��z FEMA <br />��qkD SF•t'J <br />KiTTITAS COUNTY <br />130ARD OF C0 <br />MM'SS10NFM1irch 13, 2024 <br />The Honorable Brett Wachsmith <br />Chair, Board of Commissioners, Kittitas County <br />205 West 5th Avenue, Suite 108 <br />Ellensburg, Washington 98926 <br />Re: 30-Day Notification for Proposed Engineering Models <br />Dear Chair Wachsmith: <br />This letter serves as a notice of the engineering data models being used for the Federal Emergency <br />Management Agency's (FEMA) ongoing flood risk project in Kittitas County, Washington. In <br />March 2024, we met to discuss the scope of work with community officials during a community <br />engagement conference call. As discussed, FEMA's goal is to offer useful, credible data, and a fair <br />process to help you make informed decisions to continue building a safer and stronger community. <br />These engineering data models will form the basis for the proposed Special Flood Hazard Areas <br />(SFHAs) that will be presented on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for your community. An <br />SF14A is an area that is subject to inundation by the 1-percent-annual-chance flood (also called the <br />base flood). Over time, water flow and drainage patterns in your area may have changed <br />dramatically due to surface erosion, land use, and natural forces. The models are based on the latest <br />topographic data available, which reflects all physical changes to the floodplain since the previous <br />study, for the areas being revised. Given these factors, the likelihood of flooding in certain areas may <br />have increased or decreased over time, changing the SFHA designations. <br />Draft flood hazard information for Kittitas County, Washington (developed by FEMA's mapping <br />partner, STARR II) will be based on one- (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) hydraulic engineering <br />models developed using the free, publicly available tools developed by the U.S. Army Corps of <br />Engineers (USACE) Hydrologic Engineering Center. These tools are widely used, well -documented, <br />and meet the applicable regulations (44 CFR 65.6(a)(6)) for use within the National Flood Insurance <br />Program (NFIP). An online web viewer is available for reviewing the stream reaches scoped for this <br />flood study update: http://tinvurl.com/WAKittitasCO. The specific engineering models were selected <br />based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the type of study performed (e.g., base or <br />enhanced, shallow flooding, coastal, alluvial fan, etc.), the size of the drainage area affecting the <br />flooding source, and the type of terrain present (e.g., flat, hilly, mountainous, etc.). <br />If there are any concerns with the proposed engineering methods, your community should notify the <br />FEMA Project Officer, listed below, within 30 days of the receipt of this notification. Your <br />community will have additional opportunities to comment on and provide feedback about the models <br />and other draft flood hazard information throughout the project. If there are uncertainties about the <br />w .lema.gov <br />