On
January 30, 2015, President Barack Obama released Executive Order 13690, "Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management
Standard and a Process for Further Soliciting and Considering Stakeholder
Input," to further the President’s
June, 2013 Climate Action Plan. The Climate
Action Plan directed federal agencies to take appropriate actions needed to
reduce risks to federal investments, and to specifically “update their
flood-risk reduction standards.” The new Federal Flood Risk Management Standard
("FFRMS" or "Standard") builds upon Executive Order (EO) 11988 governing federal actions in floodplains (issued in
1977). After Executive Order 11988 was
issued, the Water Resources Council
issued implementing guidelines for agencies to assist with incorporating the
standards of the EO into their policies, procedures, and programs. The new Standard is meant to be incorporated
into existing Federal department and agency processes used to implement EO
11988.
The
FFRMS and Executive Order 13690 ensure that agencies expand management from the
current base flood level to a higher vertical elevation and corresponding
horizontal floodplain to address current and future flood risk and ensure that
projects funded with Federal money last as long as intended. The new Standard requires all future
federal investments in and affecting floodplains to meet a level of resilience
established by the Standard, including investments where federal funds are used
to build new structures and facilities, or to rebuild structures and facilities
that have been damaged. The Standard
applies to all Federal activities
except those "in the interest of national security, where the agency
action is an emergency action, where application to a Federal facility or
structure is demonstrably inappropriate, or where the agency action is a
mission-critical requirement related to a national security interest or
emergency action."
The Standard encourages the use of
natural features and nature-based approaches in the development of
alternatives, provides a higher vertical elevation and corresponding
floodplain, where appropriate, to address current and future flood risks, and
provides for three approaches to establish the Standard's elevation and flood
hazard area (among those three approaches, preferring a climate-informed
science approach). Importantly, EO 13690
does not prohibit building in floodplains, and does not apply to private investments
in structures, facilities or homes. The
Standard will not affect flood insurance premiums or the requirements for
participation in the National Flood Insurance Program.
The Mitigation Framework Leadership
Group (MitFLG), established through the National Mitigation
Framework developed the new Standard and is tasked with periodically reassessing the Standard in order to provide
recommendations for updating it to the Water Resources Council in consultation
with the Federal Interagency Floodplain Management Task Force (FIFMTF).
The Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) published Draft Guidelines for
Implementing Executive Order 13690 on behalf of the MitFLG in the
February 5, 2015 Federal Register,
opening up a public comment period that closed on May 6, 2015. Comments submitted on the draft Guidelines can be found on this Regulations.gov page. The MitFLG will revise the
draft Guidelines, based on input received during that public comment process, and provide recommendations to the Water Resources
Council, which will then issue amended Guidelines informed by stakeholder input.
Opportunities
for Public Input
The initial public comment period on
the Draft Guidelines for Implementing Executive Order 13690 closed on May 6,
2015 (see Figure 1). However, there will
be additional opportunities for interested parties to suggest changes to the
manner in which the new Standard is being implemented: first, when agencies
modify existing policy through a rulemaking process requiring public comment;
second, as the FFRMS is formally reassessed on an annual basis by the MitFLG; and third, through less formal communications with
agencies as they continually assess opportunities to enhance or modify the
Standard and how it is being applied.
Each opportunity is explored below.
1.
Formal rulemaking: EO 13690 tasks the Water Resources Council with issuing amended
Guidelines to provide direction to agencies on the implementation of Executive Order
11988 consistent with the new Standard. After
the revised Guidelines are issued by the Water Resources Council, Federal
agencies will use the Guidelines to update policies, procedures and regulations
for implementing the Executive Orders. The agency and program-specific updates
are anticipated to provide for additional public engagement. EO 13690 states that agencies will have
flexibility in implementing the new Standard and will incorporate input from the public and stakeholders on their
specific programs and policies (emphasis added).
Specifically, within 30 days after the Water Resources
Council issues amended Guidelines, each
agency is required under EO 13690 to “submit an implementation plan to the National Security Council staff that contains milestones and a timeline for
implementation of this order and the Standard, by the agency as it applies to
the agency's processes and mission.“ In
many cases, the agency implementation plan will include formalized rulemaking
that may be subject to additional public input (assuming the changes represent
major revisions to existing procedures).
With respect to this policy revision, EO 13690 states, “to the extent
permitted by law, each agency shall, in consultation with the Water Resources
Council, Federal Interagency Floodplain Management Task Force, Federal
Emergency Management Agency, and Council on Environmental Quality, issue or
amend existing regulations and procedures to comply with this order, and update
those regulations and procedures as warranted.”
2.
Annual reassessment: EO 13690 directs the MitFLG, in consultation with the FIFMTF and after seeking stakeholder input, to
reassess the Standard annually to determine if updates are warranted and then
to provide any recommendations to the Water Resources Council (emphasis added). The Water Resources Council is in turn
directed to issue an update to the Standard at least every five years.
3.
Continuous reassessment: EO 13690 directs Federal departments and agencies
implementing the FFRMS, to continually identify implementation challenges as
well as opportunities to enhance or modify the Standard, in order to “ensure
that the FFRMS continues to meet its stated objectives.” The Federal departments and agencies are also
directed to “collect feedback on implementation from relevant programs and
offices, identify potential gaps in the process, and outline areas for improvement
with the Standard,” and to provide that information to the MitFLG as part of
the annual reassessment of the Standard mentioned in item number 2, above. Ongoing
stakeholder dialogue with Federal agencies as they implement the new
Standard will inform this ongoing assessment process.
Figure 1. FFRMS and Implementing Guidelines
Development Process (Source: FEMA)
References
Among other things, EO 11988 described "Federal
Actions" to which the FFRMS applies as any Federal activity including:
“(1) acquiring, managing, and disposing of Federal lands and facilities; (2)
providing Federally undertaken, financed or assisted construction and improvements;
and (3) conducting Federal activities and programs affecting land use,
including but not limited to, water and related land use resource planning,
regulating, and licensing activities.”
The MitFLG was formed in 2013 to coordinate
mitigation efforts across the Federal government and to assess the
effectiveness of mitigation capabilities as they are developed and deployed
across the U.S. The MitFLG includes local, state and tribal representation, as
well as members from the following Federal organizations:
- Department of
Agriculture
- Department of
Commerce (NOAA and FEMA)
- Department of
Defense (Corps of Engineers)
- Department of
Energy
- Environmental
Protection Agency
- General Services
Administration
- Department of
Health and Human Services
- Department of
Homeland Security
- Department of
Housing and Urban Development
- Department of the
Interior
- Department of
Justice
- Small Business
Administration
- Department of
Transportation
