should the flood insurance program continue?

1

NFIP: Community Floodplain Management

One purpose of the NFIP is to “mitigate and reduce the nation’s

comprehensive flood risk”. (Horn & Brown, p.2)

Before NFIP, only a few states and a few hundred communities

regulated floodplain development. For many communities, the NFIP

was their first exposure to land use planning and community

regulations. (FEMA, PD, p.12)

What is floodplain management?

FEMA, NFIP definition

Floodplain management is a decision-making process that aims to achieve the wise use of the nation's floodplains. "Wise use" means both reduced flood losses and protection of the natural resources and function of floodplains.

Roles of FEMA and the local community

FEMA is responsible for identifying areas at risk in the United States

o Flood

o Flood-related erosion hazards

Communities choose whether to participate in NFIP.

2

Participating communities and FEMA develop Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) that identify the community’s flood risk and floodplain.

o Creating the FIRM is primarily FEMA’s responsibility

o Implementing the FIRM is the community’s responsibility (Horn & Brown, p.3)

FEMA relies on local governments to notify them of changes to flood

hazards in the community so that flood maps can be updated. (GAO p.4)

Communities Adopt and Enforce Regulations

Communities incorporate the FIRM into law.

The authority to regulate floodplain development belongs to the States

with their capacity to regulate behavior (police powers)

o Require and approve permits

o Inspect property

o Cite violations

Federal government does not have land use authority.

o FEMA has no direct involvement in administering local

ordinances.

o NFIP is based on Federal government’s power to spend under the

Constitution.

(FEMA, PD, pp. 12-13)

3

Federal Government Sets Standards Community Must Meet

Standards are designed to

o protect buildings (new and existing) from anticipated floods

o prevent new development from increasing the flood threat (GAO, p.4)

Building Standards

Standards depend on the level of risk. Risk is defined through zones on

the map. The community’s Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) identifies

any Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA).

o Zone A

o Zone could flood in ‘1 in 100-year’ flood

o Properties have risk of 1% or more of flooding each year

o “The Base Flood Elevation (BFE) is the water-surface

elevation of the base flood, which is the l%-annual-

chance flood, commonly called the 100-year flood”

(Horn & Brown, p. 14)

o Zone V

o more hazardous coastal flood zones

o subject to high velocity wave action

(FEMA, PD, p.7)

4

Standards apply to new construction or existing buildings that are

‘substantially improved’ or ‘substantially damaged’.

If a building is in Zone A

• Residential building: lowest floor (incl. basement) elevated

to or above Base Flood Elevation

• Nonresidential building: either elevated or dry-floodproofed

• Foundations, enclosure walls: flood resistant materials;

openings to let water flow

If a building is in Zone V

• Elevated on piles or columns

▪ Bottom element of lowest floor at or above Base Flood

Elevation

• Structures must be located landward of the reach of mean

high tide

Restrictions on New Development

New development cannot increase the risk of flood damage.

5

In the A Zone

Community must select a ‘regulatory floodway’ for rivers

o area designed to carry the water of the 1-percent-annual-chance

flood without raising the water level of the flood more than one

foot at any point.

o Usually river channel and adjacent floodplains

All development prohibited in floodway

In the V Zone

In these coastal zones, no development can deplete existing natural

barriers.

o man-made alteration of sand dunes and mangrove stands are

prohibited

(FEMA, PD, p. 14)

Maps can be found at http://msc.fema.gov

Community-Level Decisions

New Developments

The community approves new developments in the SFHA.

o Community reviews proposal to ensure compliance with

6

o local ordinances (include FEMA standards)

o requirements of other state of Federal agencies

▪ Wetlands (Army Corps of Engineers)

▪ Endangered Species Act

The NFIP does not prohibit large developments in the SFHA.

Subdivision proposals (including manufactured home parks) need to be

reviewed

o Homes are reasonably safe

o Service facilities (utilities) constructed to minimize flood damage

(FEMA, PD, p. 13)

Status of Existing Buildings

Community decides whether a property has been substantially

improved or substantially damaged. These classifications require the

property to be brought up to NFIP standards.

The relationship between FEMA and local communities

The NFIP structure fits a principal-agent framework.

o FEMA sets the standards and bears the risk. (principal)

o Communities need to implement the standards to manage the

risk. (agent)

7

How does the federal government ensure compliance?

Incentives

The ‘carrot’ for the community is the ability to buy flood insurance.

FEMA provides technical assistance to help and encourage community

compliance

o workshops

o formal floodplain management courses

o direct responses to inquiries from local officials

Monitoring

FEMA can monitor participating communities in several ways.

Through the paperwork that is filed

o Applications for flood insurance policies

o Requests to remove properties from floodplain designation

Community Assistance Contact (CAC)

o Establish contact to see if problems exist

o Phone call or short visit

Community Assistance Visits (CAV)

o Viewed as opportunity to provide technical assistance

o tour of floodplain

8

o meet local officials involved

o examine records on permits and variances

If the CAV reveals problems, communities are given time to address

them.

Penalties

If a community makes no effort to resolve issues FEMA has identified, it

can be put on probation.

o Flood insurance remains available

o An additional charge ($50) is added to the premium for at least 1

year

(FEMA, PD, p. 19)

A community can be suspended from the NFIP if

o The problems remain unresolved

o Does not adopt an approved FIRM and management standards

within the required timeframe

o Repeals or revises the floodplain standards so that they fail to

meet FEMA’s minimum standards

If the community is suspended from the program, federally-backed

flood insurance not available in the community. There are limitations

on other federal assistance.

9

One of the primary reasons communities comply is to avoid disruptions

in the real estate market that would result with the potential loss of

flood insurance. Federally-backed mortgages require flood insurance

for properties mapped into an SFHA.

10

Sources

Federal Emergency Management Agency (n.d.) The National Flood Insurance

Program. Retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-

program

(Referenced as FEMA, NFIP)

Federal Emergency Management Administration (2002) National Flood Insurance

Program: Program Description. Retrieved from

https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1447-20490-

2156/nfipdescrip_1_.pdf

(Referenced as FEMA, PD)

Horn, D.P. & J.T. Brown (2018, February 13). Introduction to the National Flood

Insurance Program (NFIP). Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service

United States Government Accountability Office (2017). Flood Insurance:

Comprehensive Reform Could Improve Solvency and Enhance Resilience

(GAO-17-25). Retrieved from https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-425

(Referenced as GAO)