The benefits of having Certified Floodplain Managers (CFM®) in your community include:
Professionals that:
- understand the rules and regulations of floodplain management;
- understand natural and beneficial functions of the floodplain;
- understand risk analysis and map interpretation;
- understand the impacts of building in the floodplain;
- stay current with floodplain management trends and activities by taking continuing education classes;
- provide guidance on local conditions and development;
- provide guidance to officials and citizens on floodplain management and describe the risks involved in building in the floodplain as well as the beneficial uses of the floodplain; and
- have attained a level of knowledge of floodplain management that allows them to perform a variety of flood preventive activities in the community.
Additional reasons to have CFMs in your community:
The CFMs will:
- be aware of applicable federal, state, and local laws pertaining to development in the floodplain;
- demonstrate an ability to read and interpret maps – a significantly important step in assessing the level of risk in a community or within a development;
- provide options for those choosing to develop or planning development in the floodplain, ranging from set-backs to elevation requirements, and from floodproofing to simply not building in a particular area; and.
- coordinate with the engineering and planning departments of a community – an integral part of the community development team that can make recommendations for development that best assess the needs and conditions of your community. With this type of team approach, the CFMs can help guide responsible land use decisions and protect the citizens and property in a community.
The National Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM®) Program was established by the Association of State Floodplain Managers, Inc. (ASFPM) as a formalized means to:
- recognize the need for continuing education and professional development needs of local, state, federal, and private-sector floodplain managers; and
- ensure that highly qualified individuals will help the community meet the challenges of breaking the damage cycle and stopping the negative drain on the nation’s human, financial, and natural resources.
What type of person becomes a CFM?
The ASFPM CFM® Program is directed toward individuals from widely varying occupations, interests, and educational backgrounds who have routine floodplain management duties. This includes representatives from local communities, state and federal officials, the private sector, academia, special interest groups, and private citizens.
What are the CFM® Program goals and how do they help YOUR community?
The CFM® Program helps improve the knowledge and abilities of floodplain managers to better serve the community by:
- enhancing credibility and visibility of the floodplain management profession in the community;
- requiring continuing education to keep up to date on regulatory and grant programs;
- testing floodplain managers on specific knowledge of state and regional requirements and legislation; and
- ensuring that the CFMs have an awareness not only of the NFIP, but of comprehensive floodplain management.
CFMs are Committed to the safety of the citizens and property in a community. Through rigorous study and application of sound development principles, the CFM is an integral part of your community development team. The CFM provides reasonable resolutions to a community’s everyday needs to balancing the demands for development, and use of the floodplains in efficient, effective ways.
How can the CFM® program protect the community from legal action?
The ASFPM CFM® Program can assist and help local CFMs to ensure that actions taken in the floodplains, and throughout the watershed, do not lead to adverse impacts on neighbors and neighboring communities. CFMs can help mitigate adverse impacts to prevent transferring the development problems to another property or community, thus protecting the community from legal action.
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For more information about the CFM® Program, please visit us, the Association of State Floodplain Managers at:
ASFPM
575 D’Onofrio Dr. Ste. 200
Madison, WI 53793
608-828-3000
608-828-6319 FAX