“A bill to amend the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 to address ecosystem restoration projects, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section revises section 22 of the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (42 U.S.C. 4101e) concerning ecosystem restoration projects under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which provides flood insurance and uses FEMA flood maps to set premium rates and zones. Specifically, the section (1) defines an "ecosystem restoration project" as one primarily aimed at recovering natural functions of degraded aquatic resources or floodplains, or enhancing such functions; (2) exempts requesters from review or processing fees for flood insurance rate map change requests based on any such project (broadening prior exemption limited to federally or state-funded habitat restoration projects such as dam removal or fish passage installation); (3) authorizes communities to permit ecosystem restoration projects in regulatory floodways (i.e., areas required to convey base floodwaters without specified elevation increases) that raise base flood elevations, if a professional engineer certifies the cumulative effect raises water surface elevations by no more than 1 foot (or greater amount set by FEMA), no insurable structures or critical infrastructure are adversely affected, and the community submits a post-completion analysis to FEMA within 180 days; and (4) specifies that the section does not alter pre-enactment procedures for notifying landowners of regulatory floodway development. The section also updates the table of contents for the 2014 act and directs the FEMA Administrator, after consulting federal and state natural resource agencies, to issue implementing guidance within 180 days of enactment.