Using Multi-Objective Management to Reduce Flood Losses in Your

No net loss: A term used in wetlands protection and restoration programs to
signify the intent to reduce the cumulative impact of wetland losses. No net loss
determinations may be based on acreage and/or the functional value of wetlands.
NOAA: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
Nonpoint source pollution: Water pollution that originates from diffuse sources,
such as rainfall runoff or snowmelt.
Nonstructural measures: Techniques, such as regulations, acquisition, and
floodproofing, that modify susceptibility to flooding, as opposed to structural
methods that modify flooding, like dams and levees.
Noreaster or Northeaster: On the U.S. East Coast, a storm whose
counterclockwise winds approach the shore from the northeast.
NPDES: The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, a program
managed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to improve water quality.
Larger businesses must work to improve the quality of stormwater runoff in order
to get NPDES permits.
NPS: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
NRCS: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation
Service.
NWS: National Weather Service.
One percent chance flood: See “base flood.”
Point source pollution: Water pollution that is discharged from a discrete
location, such as a pipe, tank, pit, or ditch.
Ponding: A flooding condition in flat areas caused when rain runoff drains to a
location that has no ready outlet. Ponding water usually stands until it evaporates,
seeps into the ground, or is pumped out.
Post-FIRM: Constructed after the date of the community’s Flood Insurance Rate
Map.
Pre-FIRM: Constructed before the date of the community’s Flood Insurance Rate
Map.
Repetitive loss structure: A building that has incurred two or more losses of
more than $1,000 over a specified period of time, usually over the last 10 years.
Retrofitting: Techniques, such as floodproofing, elevation, construction of small
levees, and other modifications, made to an existing building or its yard to protect
it from flood damage.
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