Flood Mapping Modernization and Homeowner Empowerment Pilot Program Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1276 To require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to carry out a pilot program to enhance the mapping of urban flooding and associated property damage and the availability of that mapped data to homeowners, businesses, and localities to help understand and mitigate the risk of such flooding, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 1, 2019 Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to carry out a pilot program to enhance the mapping of urban flooding and associated property damage and the availability of that mapped data to homeowners, businesses, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1276.IS S1276 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1276 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Flood Mapping Mod- 2 ernization and Homeowner Empowerment Pilot Program 3 Act of 2019’’. 4 SEC. 2. FLOOD MAPPING MODERNIZATION AND HOME- 5 OWNER EMPOWERMENT PILOT PROGRAM. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 8 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 9 Emergency Management Agency. 10 (2) COASTAL.—The term ‘‘coastal’’ means, with 11 respect to a unit of general local government, that 12 the unit borders a body of water that— 13 (A) is more than 2,000 square miles in 14 size; and 15 (B) is not a river. 16 (3) PELAGIC.—The term ‘‘pelagic’’ means, with 17 respect to a unit of general local government, that— 18 (A) the unit is a coastal unit; and 19 (B) the body of water that the unit borders 20 is— 21 (i) an ocean; or 22 (ii) a large, open body of water, in- 23 cluding a bay or a gulf, that empties into 24 an ocean. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1276.IS S1276 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1276 IS (4) PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘pilot pro- 1 gram’’ means the pilot program carried out by the 2 Administrator under this section. 3 (5) URBAN FLOODING.—The term ‘‘urban 4 flooding’’— 5 (A) means the inundation, by water, of 6 property in a built environment, particularly in 7 a densely populated area, that— 8 (i) is caused by falling rain— 9 (I) collecting on an impervious 10 surface; or 11 (II) increasing the level of a body 12 of water that is located near that built 13 environment; and 14 (ii) overwhelms the capacity of drain- 15 age systems in the built environment, such 16 as storm sewers; 17 (B) includes— 18 (i) a situation in which stormwater 19 enters a building through a window, door, 20 or other opening; 21 (ii) the backup of water through a 22 sewer pipe, shower, toilet, sink, or floor 23 drain; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1276.IS S1276 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1276 IS (iii) the seepage of water through a 1 wall or a floor; 2 (iv) the accumulation of water on 3 property or a public right-of-way; and 4 (v) the overflow from a body of water, 5 such as a river, lake, or ocean; and 6 (C) does not include flooding in an unde- 7 veloped or agricultural area. 8 (6) URBANIZED AREA.—The term ‘‘urbanized 9 area’’ means an area that has been defined and des- 10 ignated as an urbanized area by the Bureau of the 11 Census during the most recently completed decennial 12 census. 13 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall 14 carry out a pilot program to make grants to units of local 15 government to— 16 (1) enhance the production of maps relating to 17 urban flooding and associated property damage; and 18 (2) increase the availability of the maps de- 19 scribed in paragraph (1) to homeowners, businesses, 20 and units of local government to enable those enti- 21 ties to minimize the risk of urban flooding. 22 (c) OBJECTIVES.—Amounts from grants made under 23 the pilot program may be used only to carry out activities 24 that meet the following objectives: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1276.IS S1276 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1276 IS (1) Developing a methodology for assessing the 1 risk of urban flooding through the deployment of 2 technology-based mapping tools that— 3 (A) are easily understandable by the pub- 4 lic; and 5 (B) effectively convey information regard- 6 ing the level of flood risk. 7 (2) Providing structure-specific projections of 8 annual chance flood frequency. 9 (3) Providing structure-based flood risk assess- 10 ments. 11 (4) Providing program design for the mitigation 12 of the risk of urban flooding. 13 (5) Incorporating information regarding climate 14 trends into urban flooding risk assessments. 15 (6) Making the information described in this 16 subsection publicly available on the internet through 17 a web-based portal so as to increase transparency re- 18 garding homeowner flood risks. 19 (d) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—A grant under the pilot pro- 21 gram may be made only to— 22 (A) a unit of general local government that 23 is located in an urbanized area with a popu- 24 lation of more than 50,000 individuals; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1276.IS S1276 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1276 IS (B) a stormwater management authority of 1 a unit of general local government described in 2 subparagraph (A). 3 (2) ONE-TIME GRANTS.—A grant under the 4 pilot program may not be made to— 5 (A) any unit of general local government, 6 or the stormwater management authority of a 7 unit of general local government, that pre- 8 viously received a grant under the pilot pro- 9 gram; 10 (B) any unit of general local government if 11 the stormwater management agency for that 12 unit previously received a grant under the pilot 13 program; or 14 (C) any stormwater management agency of 15 a unit of general local government if that unit 16 previously received a grant under the pilot pro- 17 gram. 18 (3) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN STORMWATER 19 MANAGEMENT AUTHORITIES.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 21 stormwater management authority that oper- 22 ates with respect to more than 1 unit of general 23 local government, the application of that au- 24 thority shall be considered for purposes of para- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1276.IS S1276 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1276 IS graph (2) of this subsection and subsections (f), 1 (g), and (h)(1) to be made for the largest unit 2 of general local government with respect to 3 which that authority operates. 4 (B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 5 subparagraph (A) may be construed to limit the 6 ability of a stormwater management authority 7 described in that subparagraph to carry out ac- 8 tivities under a demonstration project in any 9 other jurisdiction in, or with respect to any 10 other unit of local government with, which that 11 authority operates. 12 (e) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for a grant under 13 the pilot program, a unit of general local government or 14 a stormwater management agency shall submit to the Ad- 15 ministrator an application in such form and containing 16 such information as the Administrator shall require. 17 (f) SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS.— 18 (1) ANNUAL SELECTION.—Subject to para- 19 graph (2), and to the submission of approvable ap- 20 plications, in each fiscal year for which amounts are 21 made available for grants under the pilot program, 22 the Administrator shall select, from among applica- 23 tions submitted under subsection (e) for that fiscal 24 year, 3 units of general government or stormwater 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1276.IS S1276 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1276 IS management authorities to receive grants under the 1 pilot program. 2 (2) AGGREGATE LIMIT.—Subject only to the 3 submission of approvable applications, the Adminis- 4 trator shall select, in the aggregate over the entire 5 duration of the pilot program, 12 units of general 6 government or stormwater management authorities 7 to receive grants under the pilot program, as follows: 8 (A) TIER 1.—Three of the applicants se- 9 lected shall be units of general local govern- 10 ment, or stormwater management authorities 11 for those units, each of which has a population 12 of more than 800,000 individuals, as follows: 13 (i) PELAGIC COASTAL CITY.—One 14 shall be— 15 (I) a unit of general local govern- 16 ment that is a pelagic unit; or 17 (II) a stormwater authority for a 18 unit described in subclause (I). 19 (ii) NON-PELAGIC COASTAL CITY.— 20 One shall be— 21 (I) a unit of general local govern- 22 ment that— 23 (aa) is a coastal unit; and 24 (bb) is not a pelagic unit; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1276.IS S1276 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1276 IS (II) a stormwater authority for a 1 unit described in subclause (I). 2 (iii) NON-COASTAL CITY.—One shall 3 be— 4 (I) a unit of general local govern- 5 ment that is not a coastal unit; or 6 (II) a stormwater authority for a 7 unit described in subclause (I). 8 (B) TIER 2.—Six of the applicants selected 9 shall be units of general local government, or 10 stormwater management authorities for those 11 units, each of which has a population of more 12 than 200,000 individuals and not more than 13 800,000 individuals, as follows: 14 (i) COASTAL CITIES.—Three shall 15 be— 16 (I) units of general local govern- 17 ment that are coastal units; or 18 (II) stormwater management au- 19 thorities for units described in sub- 20 clause (I). 21 (ii) NON-COASTAL CITIES.—Three 22 shall be— 23 (I) units of general local govern- 24 ment that are not coastal units; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1276.IS S1276 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1276 IS (II) stormwater management au- 1 thorities for units described in sub- 2 clause (I). 3 (C) TIER 3.—Three of the applicants se- 4 lected shall be— 5 (i) units of general local government, 6 each of which has a population of more 7 than 50,000 individuals and not more than 8 200,000 individuals; or 9 (ii) stormwater management authori- 10 ties for units described in clause (i). 11 (g) PRIORITY.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall se- 13 lect applicants for grants under the pilot program 14 based on the extent to which the applications of 15 those applicants shall achieve the objectives de- 16 scribed in subsection (c). 17 (2) TIERS 2 AND 3.—In selecting applicants to 18 receive grants under the pilot program under sub- 19 paragraphs (B) and (C) of subsection (f)(2), the Ad- 20 ministrator shall give priority to applicants— 21 (A) that are highly vulnerable to sea level 22 rise; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1276.IS S1276 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 1276 IS (B) within which are located a military in- 1 stallation or another facility relating to national 2 security concerns; or 3 (C) that have— 4 (i) populations that are highly vulner- 5 able to urban flooding; and 6 (ii) an uneven capacity for flood miti- 7 gation and response efforts resulting from 8 socioeconomic factors. 9 (h) AMOUNT.— 10 (1) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining the 11 amount of a grant under the pilot program, the Ad- 12 ministrator shall consider the population of the 13 grant recipient, which may be considered in terms of 14 the tier under subsection (f)(2) with respect to the 15 recipient. 16 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The amount of a grant 17 under the pilot program may not exceed 75 percent 18 of the total cost incurred in carrying out the activi- 19 ties described in subsection (c). 20 (i) DURATION.—The Administrator shall require 21 each recipient of a grant under the pilot program to com- 22 plete the activities described in subsection (c), which shall 23 be, subject to subsection (h)(2), carried out using the 24 grant amounts, not later than 18 months after the date 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1276.IS S1276 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 1276 IS on which the recipient initially receives the grant amounts 1 under the pilot program. 2 (j) USE OF CENSUS DATA.—The Administrator shall 3 make all determinations regarding population under the 4 pilot program by using data from the most recently com- 5 pleted decennial census by the Bureau of the Census. 6 (k) GRANTEE REPORTS TO FEMA.—Each recipient 7 of a grant under the pilot program shall, not later than 8 30 months after the date on which the recipient initially 9 receives the grant amounts, submit to the Administrator 10 a report that describes— 11 (1) the activities carried out with the grant 12 amounts; 13 (2) how the activities carried out with the grant 14 amounts have met the objectives described in sub- 15 section (c); 16 (3) any lessons learned in carrying out the ac- 17 tivities described in paragraph (2); and 18 (4) any recommendations for future mapping 19 modernization efforts by the Federal Emergency 20 Management Agency. 21 (l) BIENNIAL REPORTS BY FEMA.—Not later than 22 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and not 23 less frequently than once every 2 years thereafter until 24 the date on which all activities carried out with amounts 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1276.IS S1276 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 1276 IS from grants under the pilot program are completed, the 1 Administrator shall submit to Congress and make avail- 2 able to the public on an internet website a report that— 3 (1) describes— 4 (A) the progress of the activities carried 5 out with amounts from those grants; and 6 (B) the effectiveness of technology-based 7 mapping tools used in carrying out the activi- 8 ties described in subparagraph (A); and 9 (2) with respect to the final report that the Ad- 10 ministrator is required to submit under this sub- 11 section, includes recommendations to Congress and 12 the executive branch of the [Text truncated for display. 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