Flood Mapping Modernization and Homeowner Empowerment Pilot Program Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3161 To establish a pilot program to enhance the mapping of urban flooding and associated property damage and the availability of such mapped data to homeowners, businesses, and localities to help understand and mitigate the risk of such flooding, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 12, 2021 Mr. QUIGLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Com- mittee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a pilot program to enhance the mapping of urban flooding and associated property damage and the availability of such mapped data to homeowners, busi- nesses, and localities to help understand and mitigate the risk of such flooding, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Flood Mapping Mod- 4 ernization and Homeowner Empowerment Pilot Program 5 Act of 2021’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3161.IH H3161 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3161 IH SEC. 2. FLOOD MAPPING MODERNIZATION AND HOME- 1 OWNER EMPOWERMENT PILOT PROGRAM. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal 3 Emergency Management Agency shall carry out a pilot 4 program to make grants to units of local government to 5 enhance the mapping of urban flooding and associated 6 property damage and the availability of such mapped data 7 to homeowners, businesses, and units of local government 8 to enable them to minimize the risk of such flooding. 9 (b) OBJECTIVES.—Amounts from grants made under 10 the pilot program under this section may be used only to 11 carry out activities to meet the following objectives: 12 (1) To develop a methodology for assessing 13 urban flood risk through the deployment of tech- 14 nology-based mapping tools that are easily under- 15 standable by the public and effectively convey infor- 16 mation regarding the level of flood risk. 17 (2) To provide structure-specific projections of 18 annual chance flood frequency. 19 (3) To provide structure-based flood-risk assess- 20 ments. 21 (4) To provide urban flood-risk mitigation pro- 22 gram design. 23 (5) To incorporate information regarding cli- 24 mate trends into urban flooding risk assessments. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3161.IH H3161 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3161 IH (6) To make the information described in this 1 subsection publicly available on the internet through 2 a web-based portal so as to increase transparency re- 3 garding homeowner flood risks. 4 (c) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Grants under the pilot pro- 6 gram under this section may be made only to units 7 of general local government located in a urbanized 8 areas, as such term is used by the Bureau of the 9 Census of the Department of Commerce, having 10 populations exceeding 50,000 or to stormwater man- 11 agement authorities of such units of general local 12 government. 13 (2) ONE-TIME GRANTS.—A grant under the 14 pilot program under this section may not be made 15 to— 16 (A) any unit of general local governmental, 17 or stormwater management authority of a unit 18 of general government, that has previously re- 19 ceived a grant under the pilot program; 20 (B) any unit of general local government if 21 the stormwater management agency for such 22 unit has previously received a grant under the 23 pilot program; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3161.IH H3161 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3161 IH (C) any stormwater management agency of 1 a unit of general local government if such unit 2 has previously received a grant under the pilot 3 program. 4 (3) TREATMENT OF STORMWATER MANAGE- 5 MENT AUTHORITIES.—In the case of a stormwater 6 management authority that operates with respect to 7 more than one unit of general local government, the 8 application of such authority shall be considered for 9 purposes of paragraph (2) of this subsection and 10 subsections (e), (f), and (g)(1) to be made for the 11 largest unit of general local government for which 12 such authority operates. The preceding sentence 13 shall not limit the ability of such authority to carry 14 out activities under the demonstration project in any 15 other jurisdictions or unit of local government with 16 respect to which the authority operates. 17 (d) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for a grant under 18 this section a unit of general local government or stormwa- 19 ter management agency shall submit to the Administrator 20 an application in such form and containing such informa- 21 tion as the Administrator shall require. 22 (e) SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS.— 23 (1) ANNUAL SELECTION.—Subject to para- 24 graph (2) and to the submission of approvable appli- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3161.IH H3161 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3161 IH cations, in each fiscal year for which amounts are 1 made available for grants under the pilot program 2 under this section the Administrator shall select, 3 from among applications submitted under subsection 4 (d) for such fiscal year, 3 units of general govern- 5 ment or stormwater management authorities to re- 6 ceive grants under the pilot program under this sec- 7 tion. 8 (2) AGGREGATE LIMIT.—Subject only to the 9 submission of approvable applications, the Adminis- 10 trator shall select, in the aggregate over the entire 11 duration of the pilot program under this section, 12 12 units of general government or stormwater manage- 13 ment authorities to receive grants under the pilot 14 program, as follows: 15 (A) TIER 1.—Three of the applicants se- 16 lected shall be units of general local govern- 17 ment, or stormwater management authorities 18 for such units, having a population exceeding 19 800,000, as follows: 20 (i) PELAGIC COASTAL CITY.—One 21 shall be a unit of general local government, 22 or stormwater authority for such a unit, 23 that is a pelagic unit. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3161.IH H3161 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3161 IH (ii) NON-PELAGIC COASTAL CITY.— 1 One shall be unit of general local govern- 2 ment, or stormwater authority for such a 3 unit, that is a coastal unit, but not a pe- 4 lagic unit. 5 (iii) NON-COASTAL CITY.—One shall 6 be unit of general local government, or 7 stormwater authority for such a unit, that 8 is not a coastal unit. 9 (B) TIER 2.—Six of the applicants selected 10 shall be units of general local government, or 11 stormwater management authorities for such 12 units, having a population exceeding 200,000 13 but not exceeding 800,000, as follows: 14 (i) COASTAL CITIES.—Three shall be 15 units of general local government, or 16 stormwater management authorities for 17 such units, that are coastal units. 18 (ii) NON-COASTAL CITIES.—Three 19 shall be units of general local government, 20 or stormwater management authorities for 21 such units, that are not coastal units. 22 (C) TIER 3.—Three of the applicants se- 23 lected shall be units of general local govern- 24 ment, or stormwater management authorities 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3161.IH H3161 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3161 IH for such units, having a population exceeding 1 50,000 but not exceeding 200,000. 2 (f) PRIORITY.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall se- 4 lect applicants for grants under the pilot program 5 under this section based on the extent to which their 6 applications will achieve the objectives set forth in 7 subsection (b). 8 (2) TIERS 2 AND 3.—In selecting applicants to 9 receive grants under the pilot program under this 10 section pursuant to subparagraphs (B) and (C) of 11 subsection (e)(2), the Administrator shall give pri- 12 ority to applicants— 13 (A) that are highly vulnerable to sea level 14 rise; 15 (B) within which are located a military in- 16 stallation or other facility relating to national 17 security concerns; or 18 (C) that have a population that is highly 19 vulnerable to urban flooding and have an un- 20 even capacity for flood mitigation and response 21 efforts resulting from socioeconomic factors. 22 (g) AMOUNT.— 23 (1) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining the 24 amount of grant under the pilot program under this 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3161.IH H3161 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3161 IH section, the Administrator shall consider the popu- 1 lation of the grant recipient, which may be consid- 2 ered in terms of the tier under subsection (e)(2) of 3 the recipient. 4 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The amount of a grant 5 under the pilot program under this section may not 6 exceed 75 percent of the total cost of the activities 7 under subsection (b) to be carried out using the 8 grant amounts. 9 (h) DURATION.—The Administrator shall require 10 each recipient of a grant under the pilot program under 11 this section to complete the activities under subsection (b) 12 to be carried out using the grant amounts before the expi- 13 ration of the 18-month period beginning upon the initial 14 receipt of grant amounts under the pilot program. 15 (i) USE OF CENSUS DATA.—The Administrator shall 16 make all determinations under the pilot program regard- 17 ing population using the most recent available data from 18 the decennial census. 19 (j) GRANTEE REPORTS TO FEMA.—Each recipient 20 of a grant under the pilot program under this section 21 shall, not later than the expiration of the 30-month period 22 beginning upon the initial receipt of any such grant 23 amounts, submit to the Administrator a report that de- 24 scribes— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3161.IH H3161 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3161 IH (1) the activities carried out with amounts from 1 the grant; 2 (2) how the activities carried out with such 3 grant amounts have met the objectives described in 4 subsection (b); and 5 (3) any lessons learned in carrying out such ac- 6 tivities and any recommendations for future map- 7 ping modernization efforts by the Federal Emer- 8 gency Management Agency. 9 (k) BIENNIAL REPORTS BY FEMA.—Not later than 10 the expiration of the 24-month period beginning on the 11 date of the enactment of this Act, and not later than the 12 expiration of each successive 24-month period thereafter 13 until the completion of all activities carried out with 14 amounts from grants under the pilot program under this 15 section, the Administrator shall submit to the Congress 16 and make available to the public on an internet website 17 a report that— 18 (1) describes— 19 (A) the progress of the activities carried 20 out with amounts from such grants; and 21 (B) the effectiveness of technology-based 22 mapping tools used in carrying out the activi- 23 ties described in subparagraph (A); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3161.IH H3161 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3161 IH (2) with respect to the final report that the Ad- 1 ministrator is required to submit under this sub- 2 section, includes recommendations to the Congress 3 and the executive branch of the Federal Government 4 for implementing strategies, practices, and tech- 5 nologies to mitigate the effects of urban flooding. 6 (l) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 7 that, because the pilot program is limited with respect to 8 scope and resources, communities that participate in the 9 pilot program should acknowledge that the most successful 10 efforts to mitigate the effects of urban flooding— 11 (1) take a structural-based mitigation approach 12 with respect to construction, which includes— 13 (A) recognizing any post-storm damage 14 that may occur; and 15 (B) pursuing designs that proactively mini- 16 mize future flood damage; 17 (2) make individuals in the community aware, 18 through any cost-effective and available means of 19 education, of the best approaches regarding the con- 20 struction of properties that are able to survive 21 floods, which reduces the cost of future repairs; and 22 (3) encourage home and property owners to 23 consider the measures described in paragraphs (1) 24 and (2), which are the most cost-effective and pru- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3161.IH H3161 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3161 IH dent ways to reduce the impact of flooding, when 1 constructing or renovating building components. 2 (m) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 3 following definitions shall apply: 4 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 5 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 6 Emergency Management Agency. 7 (2) COASTAL.—The term ‘‘coastal’’ means, with 8 respect to a unit of general local government, that 9 the unit borders a body of water that— 10 (A) exceeds 2,000 square miles in size; and 11 (B) is not a river. 12 (3) PELAGIC.—The term ‘‘pelagic’’ means, with 13 respect to a unit of general local government, that 14 the unit is a coastal unit and the body of water that 15 the unit borders is an ocean or other large, open 16 body of water (including bays and gulfs) that 17 empties into an ocean. 18 (4) URBAN FLOODING.— 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘urban flood- 20 ing’’ means the inundation of property in a 21 built environment, particularly in more densely 22 populated areas, caused either by falling rain 23 collecting on impervious surfaces or increasing 24 the levels of nearby water bodies and over- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3161.IH H3161 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3161 IH whelming the capacity of drainage systems, 1 such as storm sewers, including— 2 (i) situations in which stormwater en- 3 ters buildings through windows, doors, or 4 other openings; 5 (ii) water backup through sewer pipes, 6 showers, toilets, sinks, and floor drains; 7 (iii) seepage through walls and floors; 8 (iv) the accumula [Text truncated for display. 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