NORWICH – Any homes built in a flood plain from now on would have to meet regulations drawn up by the federal government, officials said.

“We’re not out to prevent development,” said Paul Weberg, a senior engineer with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, speaking of construction in a floodplain. “We want to make sure development is done in the proper way to prevent further losses.”

FEMA and officials from the state Department of Environmental Conservation are holding an open house from 5 to 8 p.m. tonight in the Summit Room of The Eaton Center on 19 Eaton Ave. in Norwich.

“People can come in and look at a specific situation,” said DEC representative Bill Nechamen.

The open house presentations will be informal, and the public is encouraged to come at their convenience to discuss how proposed changes in the local flood maps could affect their insurance costs and construction codes.

The preliminary flood maps, drawn up over the last two years in response to severe flooding, are still subject to appeal.

“We’ll put a notice in the newspaper for two consecutive weeks” before the appeals period begins, said Weberg.

“People may find there is some erroneous or more recent or better information,” he said, adding: “We’ll work with the county and the community to make sure the maps are the best and latest available.”

The mapping was paid for by federal assistance allocated after Chenango County was declared a federal disaster area in 2006, said FEMA official Scott Duell. Duell said no exact figure on how much re-mapping Chenango County cost.

Teams of hydraulic engineers and map specialists developed the new flood maps using a technology known as LiDAR, which uses lasers, shot from an airplane, to develop a more specific topography and elevation readings.

“These maps are our best hope in 2009,” said Weberg.

City of Norwich Emergency Managment Director A. Wesley Jones concurred.