40 CFR § 257.8 - Floodplains.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t40/s257.8"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "40 CFR § 257.8 - Floodplains."
title_number: 40
title_name: "Protection of Environment"
section_number: "257.8"
section_name: "Floodplains."
chapter_name: "ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY"
subchapter_number: "I"
subchapter_name: "SOLID WASTES"
part_number: "257"
part_name: "CRITERIA FOR CLASSIFICATION OF SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITIES AND PRACTICES"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "42 U.S.C. 6907(a)(3), 6912(a)(1), 6927, 6944, 6945(a) and (d); 33 U.S.C. 1345(d) and (e)."
regulatory_source: "44 FR 53460, Sept. 13, 1979, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "257"
---


# 257.8 Floodplains.

(a) Owners or operators of new units, existing units, and lateral expansions located in 100-year floodplains must demonstrate that the unit will not restrict the flow of the 100-year flood, reduce the temporary water storage capacity of the floodplain, or result in washout of solid waste so as to pose a hazard to human health and the environment. The owner or operator must place the demonstration in the operating record and notify the State Director that it has been placed in the operating record.

(b) For purposes of this section:

(1) *Floodplain* means the lowland and relatively flat areas adjoining inland and coastal waters, including flood-prone areas of offshore islands, that are inundated by the 100-year flood.

(2) *100-year flood* means a flood that has a 1-percent or greater chance of recurring in any given year or a flood of a magnitude equalled or exceeded once in 100 years on the average over a significantly long period.

(3) *Washout* means the carrying away of solid waste by waters of the base flood.