S 2090 — MEMA Act of 2017

(a) Publication of information; establishment of flood-risk zones; estimates of flood-caused loss The Administrator is authorized to consult with, receive information from, and enter into any agreements or other arrangements with the Secretaries of the Army, the Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the heads of other Federal departments or agencies, on a reimbursement basis, or with the head of any State or local agency, or enter into contracts with any persons or private firms, in order that he may— (1) identify and publish information with respect to all flood plain areas, including coastal areas located in the United States, which has special flood hazards, within five years following August 1, 1968, and (2) establish or update flood-risk zone data in all such areas, and make estimates with respect to the rates of probable flood caused loss for the various flood risk zones for each of these areas until the date specified in section 4026 of this title. (b) Accelerated identification of flood-risk zones; authority of Administrator: grants, technical assistance, transactions, and payments The Administrator is directed to accelerate the identification of risk zones within flood-prone and mudslide-prone areas, as provided by subsection (a)(2) of this section, in order to make known the degree of hazard within each such zone at the earliest possible date. To accomplish this objective, the Administrator is authorized, without regard to subsections (a) and (b) of section 3324 of title 31 and section 6101 of title 41, to make grants, provide technical assistance, and enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, or other transactions, on such terms as he may deem appropriate, or consent to modifications thereof, and to make advance or progress payments in connection therewith. (c) Priority in allocation of manpower and other available resources for identification and mapping of flood hazard areas and flood-risk zones The Secretary of Defense (through the Army Corps of Engineers), the Secretary of the Interior (through the United States Geological Survey), the Secretary of Agriculture (through the Soil Conservation Service), the Secretary of Commerce (through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the head of the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the heads of all other Federal agencies engaged in the identification or delineation of flood-risk zones within the several States shall, in consultation with the Administrator, give the highest practicable priority in the allocation of available manpower and other available resources to the identification and mapping of flood hazard areas and flood-risk zones, in order to assist the Administrator to meet the deadline established by this section. (d) Plan for bringing communities with flood-risk zones into full program status The Administrator shall, not later than September 30, 1984, submit to the Congress a plan for bringing all communities containing flood-risk zones into full program status by September 30, 1987. (e) Review of flood maps Once during each 5-year period (the 1st such period beginning on September 23, 1994) or more often as the Administrator determines necessary, the Administrator shall assess the need to revise and update all floodplain areas and flood risk zones identified, delineated, or established under this section, based on an analysis of all natural hazards affecting flood risks. (f) Updating flood maps The Administrator shall revise and update any floodplain areas and flood-risk zones— (1) upon the determination of the Administrator, according to the assessment under subsection (e), that revision and updating are necessary for the areas and zones; or (2) upon the request from any State or local government stating that specific floodplain areas or flood-risk zones in the State or locality need revision or updating, if sufficient technical data justifying the request is submitted and the unit of government making th...

(a) Reviewing, updating, and maintaining maps The Administrator, in coordination with the Technical Mapping Advisory Council established under section 4101a of this title, shall establish an ongoing program under which the Administrator shall review, update, and maintain National Flood Insurance Program rate maps in accordance with this section. (b) Mapping (1) In general In carrying out the program established under subsection (a), the Administrator shall— (A) identify, review, update, maintain, and publish National Flood Insurance Program rate maps with respect to— (i) all populated areas and areas of possible population growth located within the 100-year floodplain; (ii) all populated areas and areas of possible population growth located within the 500-year floodplain; (iii) areas of residual risk, including areas that are protected by levees, dams, and other flood control structures; (iv) areas that could be inundated as a result of the failure of a levee, dam, or other flood control structure; (v) areas that are protected by non-structural flood mitigation features; and (vi) the level of protection provided by flood control structures and by non-structural flood mitigation features; (B) establish or update flood-risk zone data in all such areas, and make estimates with respect to the rates of probable flood caused loss for the various flood risk zones for each such area; and (C) use, in identifying, reviewing, updating, maintaining, or publishing any National Flood Insurance Program rate map required under this section or under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4011 et seq.), the most accurate topography and elevation data available. (2) Mapping elements Each map updated under this section shall— (A) assess the accuracy of current ground elevation data used for hydrologic and hydraulic modeling of flooding sources and mapping of the flood hazard and wherever necessary acquire new ground elevation data utilizing the most up-to-date geospatial technologies in accordance with guidelines and specifications of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and (B) develop National Flood Insurance Program flood data on a watershed basis— (i) to provide the most technically effective and efficient studies and hydrologic and hydraulic modeling; and (ii) to eliminate, to the maximum extent possible, discrepancies in base flood elevations between adjacent political subdivisions. (3) Other inclusions In updating maps under this section, the Administrator shall include— (A) any relevant information on coastal inundation from— (i) an applicable inundation map of the Corps of Engineers; and (ii) data of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration relating to storm surge modeling; (B) any relevant information of the United States Geological Survey on stream flows, watershed characteristics, and topography that is useful in the identification of flood hazard areas, as determined by the Administrator; (C) any relevant information on land subsidence, coastal erosion areas, changing lake levels, and other flood-related hazards; (D) any relevant information or data of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the United States Geological Survey relating to the best available science regarding future changes in sea levels, precipitation, and intensity of hurricanes; and (E) any other relevant information as may be recommended by the Technical Mapping Advisory Committee. (c) Standards In updating and maintaining maps under this section, the Administrator shall— (1) establish standards to— (A) ensure that maps are adequate for— (i) flood risk determinations; and (ii) use by State and local governments in managing development to reduce the risk of flooding; and (B) facilitate identification and use of consistent methods of data collection and analysis by the Administrator, in conjunction with State and local governments, in developing maps for communities with similar flood risks, as determined by the Adminis...