Professional Standards & Competencies Flashcards
7 cards from real CFS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Professional Standards & Competencies flashcards as text
Under NFIP regulations, a 'substantial improvement' to a structure in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) triggers compliance requirements when the cost of improvements equals or exceeds what threshold?
Answer: 50% of the structure's pre-improvement market value
44 CFR defines substantial improvement as any reconstruction or improvement costing 50% or more of the structure's pre-improvement market value.
A CFS who lacks expertise in a specific area of a floodplain project should:
Answer: Disclose the limitation, decline that scope, or associate with a qualified professional for that component
Professional ethics require practitioners to work only within their areas of competency and to be transparent when a project exceeds their expertise.
Which federal program provides financial incentives for communities that adopt floodplain management practices exceeding NFIP minimum requirements?
Answer: Community Rating System (CRS)
The CRS rewards communities that go beyond minimum NFIP standards by providing flood insurance premium discounts to their policyholders.
A CFS is asked to complete an Elevation Certificate for a building where the lowest floor is a basement. Which elevation is recorded in Section C of the EC for this structure?
Answer: The elevation of the top of the basement slab as the lowest floor elevation
For structures with basements, the lowest floor elevation is the top of the basement floor slab, which is recorded in Section C of the Elevation Certificate.
Professional liability in floodplain surveying most commonly arises from which type of error?
Answer: Incorrect benchmark selection or datum conversion errors that misstate a structure's elevation relative to the BFE
Datum conversion errors and benchmark mistakes are the most consequential surveying errors in floodplain work because they directly affect insurance classifications and compliance status.
When a CFS accepts a project in a jurisdiction where they are not licensed to practice land surveying, the CFS must:
Answer: Associate with or subcontract to a licensed surveyor in that jurisdiction for regulated survey activities
State surveying licensure is jurisdictionally required for regulated survey activities; the CFS credential does not substitute for a state professional license.
A CFS reviewing a proposed development plan notices that the floodway shown on the FIRM would be encroached upon. To demonstrate no rise in the base flood elevation, the developer must provide:
Answer: A hydraulic analysis and no-rise certification prepared by a licensed engineer
44 CFR Part 60.3(d) requires a registered engineer's hydraulic analysis demonstrating no rise in BFE before any floodway encroachment is permitted.