The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released the final rule for the Federal Flood Risk Management Standards (FFRMS) on Wednesday.
The FFRMS is a flexible federal standard that requires agencies to develop resilience and flood protection plans for projects and buildings that receive federal funding, including building dimensions necessary to protect buildings from flood risk. In the final rule, FEMA will also cover applicable federal costs of implementing the standard. The standard also applies to projects with flood safety measures, such as structure elevations.
The standards require participants to consider “current, foreseeable and future flood threats,” a Department of Homeland Security official said in a conference call with reporters.
Another official said the standards would allow structures to be built taller by more feet, expanding floodplains, and also allow for consideration of future flood threats rather than relying solely on risks that exist today.
“Taking proactive, effective steps to build resilience before disasters occur can protect lives, property, critical infrastructure, and taxpayer dollars,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. “Federal flood risk management standards ensure that FEMA-funded projects meet their obligations. We cannot remain passive as climate change threatens the safety and security of the American people and our homeland.”
Flooding and flood resilience have become a major priority for the Biden Administration as climate change exacerbates risks from rising sea levels and more extreme weather events. The White House and FEMA announced last week that they would provide nearly $1 billion in funding for mitigation and resilience projects through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program. A White House official on the call explicitly linked the standards to broader efforts to improve flood mitigation infrastructure using Bipartisan Infrastructure Act funding, and said they hoped the announcement would have a “cascading effect” on resilience planning.
The announcement comes just weeks after the Biden administration released the first-ever federal heat protection standards for workers as the U.S. experiences unprecedented summer heat, and just days after Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas, becoming the second-highest-ever Atlantic hurricane on record, a Category 5 hurricane, in July.
