Corridor Development Certificate Program

Local governments with development permitting authority within the Trinity River corridor which are currently implementing the CDC are Arlington, Carrollton, Coppell, Dallas, Dallas County, Farmers Branch, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie, Irving, Lewisville, and Tarrant County.

A CDC is required if a project is located within the Flood Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 100-year floodplain (referred to as the Regulatory Zone in the CDC Manual) of the Trinity River Corridor. A project located completely outside of the Regulatory Zone does not require a CDC. The FEMA 100-year flood maps are part of the FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer and can be accessed at the FEMA Map Service Center.

The Regulatory Zone is the FEMA 100-year regulatory floodplain of the Trinity River Corridor, minus areas of specific prior development produced from the Clear Fork, West Fork, Elm Fork, and main stem of the Trinity River. The outer boundary of the Regulatory Zone within the tributaries – such as Village Creek, Mountain Creek, and Denton Creek – is determined from the backwater from the Clear Fork, West Fork, Elm Fork, and main stem of the Trinity River.

The CDC/Floodplain Administrator will provide the final determination on projects subject to the CDC process.

Any public or private development within the Regulatory Zone must obtain a CDC prior to start of any development activity, unless specifically exempted. Please see your local CDC/Floodplain Administrator for more details.

Projects located within the Regulatory Zone must meet the Common Regional Criteria to ensure that the projects do not raise the water level and exacerbate flooding. These common permit criteria include the following.

• No increase in the 100-year flood elevation and no significant increase in the Standard Project Flood elevation
• A maximum allowable loss of valley storage in the 100-year Flood and Standard Project Flood discharges of 0.0% and 5.0%, respectively
• No creation of or increases in erosive water velocity on site or off site

If you are your community's CDC/Floodplain Administrator and do not have a Qntrl account set up, email EandD@nctcog.org to register. You will receive an invitation to join NCTCOG’s Qntrl service, which is used for submitting, tracking, and commenting on CDC applications. Once registered, you will be able to create and submit CDC applications. For more information, please review the CDC Tracking System Guide.

The CDC/Floodplain Administrator shall hold an initial pre-application consultation with potential applicants.

As part of the development of the CDC Process, 2-foot contour interval topographic mapping has been developed, which includes approximately 240 square miles of the upper Trinity River watershed, indicating roadways and other major topographic features. The mapping provides a consistent base for all the cities/counties in the Trinity River Corridor and is available from participating local governments and NCTCOG.

Maps of the Regulatory Zone (FEMA 100-year floodplain) can be found at the FEMA Map Service Center.

The US Army Corps of Engineers maintains the CDC model and updates the model to incorporate floodplain development. This model provides a consistent basis for communities and developers to analyze impacts of proposed development. The latest version of the model is available on the Trinity River Corridor Development Certificate webpage.

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) provides technical review of the CDC applications, per letter of request by the participating CDC/Floodplain Administrator. The technical review includes evaluation of the applicant’s hydraulic modeling, and evaluation of the project as it pertains to the Common Regional Criteria. The USACE provides the respective CDC/Floodplain Administrator, via letter, with the results of the technical review.

The CDC process provides the participating cities and counties along the Trinity River the opportunity to review and comment on projects in their neighbors’ jurisdictions. The applicant’s CDC submission is forwarded to each of the participating entities in the Trinity River Corridor for review and comment. USACE technical review results may be forwarded per the CDC/Floodplain Administrator’s discretion. Participating local governments have 30 days to review and comment on the development request.

CDC applicants for development activities within the Regulatory Zone and within a hydraulically effective flow area will submit a $6,000 fee. For development activities located within both the 100-year and SPF ineffective flow areas, applicants will submit a $4,000 fee. CDC applicants for development activities within the 100-year ineffective flow area but within the SPF effective flow area will submit a $6,000 fee. The CDC fee is the same regardless of whether or not the project will require a Section 404 permit.

Supplemental fees to fund additional USACE technical review may be required for projects requiring more extensive analysis. In the event that the USACE determines that additional funds are required to meet the final cost of the specified technical review, the USACE shall notify the CDC applicant and NCTCOG in writing of the amount of additional funds required. These additional costs will be billed on a per-hour basis beyond the cost recovery fee amount based upon a time and cost estimate provided by USACE.

Additionally, a CDC applicant will submit a model maintenance fee of $2,500 when submitting their Letter of Map Revision for incorporation into the CDC model.

The CDC application is forwarded to each of the CDC permitting entities in the Trinity River Corridor for review and comment. The US Army Corps of Engineers will provide a technical review, upon request, of the data contained in the CDC application. Each individual CDC permitting entity, however, retains authority over final local development decisions.

Yes. An exemption to the CDC process may be issued for specific activities as outlined in Section 1.6 of the CDC Manual.

Yes. Under certain circumstances the CDC permitting entity may issue a variance from the Common Regional Criteria. Any development that cannot meet the established criteria detailed in the CDC manual may request a variance. A variance shall be any modification of the literal provisions of the CDC manual when strict enforcement of the CDC would cause undue hardship, owing to circumstances unique to the individual property on which variance from the process is requested. Variances may also be issued for public projects deemed to be in the overall regional public interest, as determined by the jurisdiction's policy-making body.

An applicant seeking a variance must, like any other applicant, complete the CDC application form and undergo USACE technical review and regional review and comment by the participating CDC permitting entities.

Yes. Failure to comply with the provisions outlined in the CDC manual will result in the penalties provided under the floodplain management ordinance or regulations of the jurisdiction.

The CDC process allows parallel review of the various federal, state, and local regulatory permits required for floodplain development to occur simultaneously. This feature of the CDC process ensures that no additional time is added to the local development decision-making process and that the overall federal, state, and local approval process is streamlined for quicker decision-making.

You may download a copy of the CDC Manual and find more information about the CDC process on the Trinity River Corridor Development Certificate webpage. For further questions, please contact NCTCOG's Environment & Development Department at 817-695-9210 or at EandD@nctcog.org.