The acronyms and abbreviations listed below will regularly be encountered by mapping partners, stakeholders, and users 
that are actively involved in the Flood Map Modernization (Map Mod) effort that has been undertaken by the Department 
of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, as part of its administration of the National Flood 
Insurance Program (NFIP). Many of these acronyms and abbreviations would be of particular interest to those involved in 
the evaluation and mapping of levee systems and levee-impacted areas.

A
ACSM	American Congress of Surveying and Mapping
ASCE	American Society of Civil Engineers
ASDSO	Association of State Dam Safety Officials	
ASFPM	Association of State Floodplain Managers
ASPRS	American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
B
BFE	Base Flood Elevation
BIA	U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs
C
CAC	Community Assistance Call
CAP	Community Assistance Program
CAP-SSSE	Community Assistance Program-State Support Services Element
CAV	Community Assistance Visit 
CCO	Consultation Coordination Officer
CEO	Chief Executive Officer
CFR	Code of Federal Regulations
CMP	Corrugated Metal Pipe
CRS	Community Rating System
CTP	Cooperating Technical Partners (Program)



D
DEM	Digital Elevation Model
DFIRM	Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map
DFO	Disaster Field Office
DHS	Department of Homeland Security
DOQ	Digital Orthophoto Quadrangle
DTM	Digital Terrain Model
E
EC	Engineer Circular (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [USACE])
EM	Engineer Manual (USACE)
EO	Executive Order 
EP	Engineer Pamphlet (USACE)
ER	Engineer Regulation  (USACE)
ETL	Engineering Technical Letter (USACE)
F
FEDD	Flood Elevation Determination Docket 
FEMA	Federal Emergency Management Agency
FGDC	Federal Geographic Data Committee
FHBM	Flood Hazard Boundary Map 
FHWA	Federal Highway Administration
FIRM	Flood Insurance Rate Map
FIS	Flood Insurance Study
FLIS	FEMA Levee Inventory System
FMA	Flood Mitigation Assistance (Program)
FMAC 	FEMA Map Assistance Center
FPMS	Floodplain Management Services (USACE Program)
G
G&S	Guidelines and Specifications
GDM	General Design Memorandum (GDS)
GIS	Geographic Information System
GPO	U.S. Government Printing Office
H
H&H	Hydrologic and Hydraulic (Analyses)
HMGP	Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
HQ	Headquarters (FEMA)
I
IBWC	International Boundary and Water Commission
ICW	Inspection of Completed Works (USACE Program)
IDIQ	Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity Contractor
ITR	Independent Technical Review (USACE)
IWR	Institute for Water Resources (USACE)
L
LAG	Lowest Adjacent Grade
LFD	Letter of Final Determination
LFFE	Lowest Finished Floor Elevation
LOMC	Letter of Map Change
LOMR	Letter of Map Revision
M
MAS	Mapping Activity Statement
MLI	Mid-Term Levee Inventory
MNUSS	Mapping Needs Update Support System
MOD	Mapping on Demand (team)
MSC	Map Service Center (FEMA)
	Major Subordinate Commands (USACE)
N
NAD27	North American Datum of 1927
NAD83	North American Datum of 1983
NAFSMA	National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies
NAVD88	North American Vertical Datum of 1988
NDSP	National Dam Safety Program
NEHRP	National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program
NFIF	National Flood Insurance Fund
NFIP	National Flood Insurance Program
NGVD29	National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929
NGS	National Geodetic Survey
NID	National Inventory of Dams
NLD	National Levee Database
NRCS	Natural Resources Conservation Service
NSP	National Service Provider
NWS	National Weather Service

O
O&M	Operations and Maintenance 
P
PAL	Provisionally Accredited Levee
PDF	Portable Document Format
PDM	Pre-Disaster Mitigation (Program)
PE	Professional Engineer
PID	Permanent Identifier
PL	Public Law 
PM	Procedure Memorandum (FEMA)
	Program Management (Contractor)
PMR	Physical Map Revision
PTS	Production and Technical Services (Contractor)
Q
QA	Quality Assurance
QC	Quality Control
R
RFC	Repetitive Flood Claims (Program)
RIP	Rehabilitation and Inspection Program (USACE)
RiskMAP	Risk Mapping, Analysis, and Planning (initiative)
RO	Regional Office (FEMA)
S
SRL	Severe Repetitive Loss (Program)
SC	Study Contractor
SFHA	Special Flood Hazard Area
SWEL	Stillwater Flood Elevation
SWFL	Stillwater Flood Level
T
TBM	Temporary Bench Mark
TIN	Triangulated Irregular Network
TVA	Tennessee Valley Authority
U
USACE	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
USBR	U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
USGS	U.S. Geological Survey
W
WSEL	Water-Surface Elevations 
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Frequently Used for Levee Systems