February 4, 2022

As outlined in AR Admin Rules 138.00.03-002, Title 18, Floodplain Administrators are required to obtain eight (8) hours of continuing education every 12 months. This ensures that each community is up-to-date with respect to National Flood Insurance Regulations, opportunities to mitigate and reduce flood risk, and strategies to implement long-term flood resilience.

Communities that fail to ensure that their Floodplain Administrator receives the required training may be put on probation or suspended from the NFIP program.  To ensure that every Floodplain Administrator has access to a variety of training opportunities, the Floodplain Management Section of ADNR, along with the Arkansas Floodplain Management Association (AFMA) and other organizations, provide a number of face-to-face and virtual training options. 

2022 IN PERSON TRAINING WORKSHOPS

One-Day Training Workshops

The ANRD will begin offering one-day Floodplain Administrator accreditation classes beginning late June 2022. The exact dates and locations of the training will be posted later this spring. The target audience for these workshops are local floodplain administrators, emergency management officers, community chief executive officers, county judges, and floodplain management consultants.

Approximately 10 workshops will be offered across the state. The workshops will provide a general overview of floodplain management and community responsibilities as participants in the NFIP with some workshops including advanced special topics targeting more experienced floodplain management professionals. Specific topics will include compliance and enforcement, substantial damage estimation, base level engineering, and mitigation strategies. The special topic for 2022 is enforcement and it will be included in each face-to-face workshop.

Managing Floodplain Development through the National Flood Insurance Program, May 2nd - 5th, 2022

ANRD, in partnership with the Arkansas Floodplain Management Association (AFMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), will sponsor Managing Floodplain Development through the National Flood Insurance Program, a four (4) day course providing local communities with the knowledge and skills to manage development within flood-prone areas. The course will be held at in Little Rock, May 2nd - 5th, 2022.

The course is FREE. However, participants must furnish their own lodging, meals and transportation. Registration for the course will open in March 2022. At that time, the registration link will be posted on this website, on the ADNR Facebook page, on the AFMA website and Facebook page, and via email outreach.

If you need assistance or have any questions, please contact Toni Brown, Training Coordinator, at 501-682-3982 or toni.brown@agriculture.arkansas.gov.

2022 ONLINE TRAINING OPTIONS

Due to the pandemic, many face-to-face training options are not available at this time. Floodplain administrators are encouraged to utilize online training opportunities provided by the ADNR Floodplain Management Section, AFMA, FEMA, and other organizations. ADNR will send out periodic emails to all floodplain administrators detailing upcoming opportunities. Current opportunities for online training include the ANRD Virtual Floodplain Administrator training sessions, FEMA Independent Study Courses, STARR Webinar series, and FEMA Region 6 Virtual Brown Bag Series. Details regarding each option is listed below.

ANRD Virtual Floodplain Administrator Training

ANRD is currently offering one-hour online training sessions. The next session, Base Level Engineering as a Higher Standard, will be offered March 8th, 2022, from 12 noon to 1:00 pm. Registration for this session will open February 18th. This session will also be available for viewing online beginning March 9th.

Additionally, recorded training sessions from 2020 and 2021 are available for viewing. For access to these trainings, please click HERE. For questions about these trainings, please contact Toni Brown, Training Coordinator, at 501-682-3982 or toni.brown@agriculture.arkansas.gov.

FEMA Independent Study (IS) Courses

FEMA's Emergency Management Institute (EMI) offers a number of online, distance learning courses. These Independent Study (IS) courses are designed for people with emergency management responsibilities, allowing them to obtain credit from a remote workspace environment. All IS courses are offered free-of-charge to those who qualify for enrollment. Below, NRD has compiled a list of active IS courses that Floodplain Administrators, Emergency Managers, and CRS Coordinators may find beneficial. These course may be used to obtain continuing education credits for floodplain administrator accreditation and/or CFM training requirements. Click HERE to start an IS Course.

Course ID	Course Title
IS-162	Hazard Mitigation Floodplain Management in Disaster Operations
IS-212.b	Introduction to Unified Hazard Mitigation Assistance
IS-242.b	Effective Communication
IS-273	How to Read a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)
IS-274	How to use a Flood Insurance Study (FIS)
IS-279.a	Introduction to Retrofitting Flood-Prone Residential Buildings
IS-285	Substantial Damage Estimation for Floodplain Administrators
IS-322	Flood Mitigation Basics for Mitigation Staff
IS-727	Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands
IS-1103.a	Elevation Certificate for Surveyors
IS-1105.a	EC Made Easy: Elevation Certificate Overview
IS-1106.a	FEMA Mapping Changes
IS-1120	Letters of Map Revision

STARR Webinar Series

The Community Rating System [CRS] Webinar Series provides both live and on-demand training to communities that are not yet participating in the Community Rating System, local government staff who are new to the CRS, and those with experience in the program. The series includes basic introductory sessions and more advanced topics, most averaging about an hour in length. Click HERE to view the list of upcoming webinars and pre-recorded sessions.

FEMA Region 6 Virtual Brown Bag Series

A series of Virtual Brown Bag lunch time trainings are offered through FEMA Region VI Floodplain Management & Insurance Branch on a vast array of topics. This suite of monthly one to two-hour seminars help communities become more resilient by providing training on the use of flood risk data for future development, emergency planning, and risk communications.

"Virtual Brown Bag" sessions include:

• Using Base Level Engineering (BLE) at the Local Level [Specific seminars available for Local Officials, Local Planners, Engineering Practitioners, Floodplain Administrators, and Insurance Stakeholders];
• Live tutorials on pairing local data with FEMA data to develop flood risk assessments;
• Letters of Map Change (LOMCs) for Local Officials;
• Base Level Engineering (BLE) and the Community Rating System (CRS); and
• Using the Estimated Base Flood Elevation (BFE) Viewer.

Click HERE to schedule your attendance today.

If you need assistance or have any questions, please contact Toni Brown, Training Coordinator, at 501-682-3982 or toni.brown@arkansas.gov.