Project Scoping

• After the communities’ mapping needs are identified and FEMA, State, and community officials have determined it is appropriate to initiate a new or updated DFIRM, a project team is formed.
• The project team for the MS coastal mapping project included representatives from:
  • FEMA Region IV Office in Atlanta, GA
  • MEMA Floodplain Management Bureau
  • Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) Geospatial Resources Division
  • A FEMA contractor team, referred to collectively as the Mapping on Demand team, that serves as National Service Provider for the FEMA Flood Map Modernization (Map Mod) effort
  • A State contractor team that is known collectively as Mississippi Geographical Information, LLC
• Project scoping, the first project activity undertaken by the project team, entails the following:
  • Conducting background research and community outreach
  • Determining what flood hazard data can be used in the revised flood hazard analyses and/or transferred without change to the new flood map and collateral summary report
  • Identifying other data needed to complete the project and sources of those data
  • Establishing priority levels for flooding sources for which engineering analyses will be performed and maps will be prepared or updated
  • Determining the map format and layout
  • Developing schedules and cost estimates for project components
  • Assigning project tasks to project team members
  • Developing, distributing, and signing appropriate contracts or agreements for completion of assigned work
    Successful completion of these activities requires close coordination by FEMA and the rest of the project team.
• All findings from the research conducted are discussed and decisions are made at project team meetings called Scoping Meetings. The Scoping Meetings for Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson Counties were held during the Summer of 2004.
• Based on decisions made at the Scoping Meetings, the project team members prepare the appropriate contractual agreements to document the assigned work. These agreements include milestones, deliverables, and specifications for the assigned tasks/activities.
• FEMA distributes the final contractual agreements, which have been signed the appropriate team members, and the project enters into the data development/floodplain mapping phase of the project.

You may view the contractual agreements signed by FEMA, MEMA, and MDEQ for the project—called Mapping Activity Statements—by visiting the "CTP News" page on the FEMA Website and clicking on the State of Mississippi on the U.S. map provided.

Additional information on project scoping is provided in Volume 1, Section 1.3, of FEMA’s Guidelines and Specifications for Flood Hazard Mapping Partners.

During the course of a mapping project, it is sometimes necessary to reconsider the agreed-upon scope as a result of significant changes in conditions in the area to be studied. Hurricane Katrina was such an occurrence, and it caused FEMA, MEMA, and MDEQ to change the scope of the mapping project to include detailed coastal engineering analyses of flood hazards from the Gulf of Mexico.

FEMA also added an additional contractor to the original project team to perform the analyses. The contractor selected was the same contractor selected to prepare the Flood Recovery Maps in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This work was undertaken by FEMA and the contractor under the Hazard Mitigation Technical Assistance Program.

Back to the Calendar/Schedule page.