OMB Issues Budget Summary for Reduction in Flood Hazard Mapping & Risk Analysis Program

WASHINGTON, June 17 -- The Office of Management and Budget issued the following report, "A Budget for America's Future Major Savings and Reforms", including a budget summary for the Department of Homeland Security entitled "Reduction in Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Analysis Program":

The Budget proposes to reduce the discretionary appropriation for the National Flood Insurance Program's Flood Hazard Mapping Program to instead preserve resources for the Department of Homeland Security's core missions.

The budget savings would be $163 million in fiscal 2021.

Justification

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) maintains quality flood hazard information and develops Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs or flood maps). Flood maps communicate flood risks to communities and residents, inform local floodplain management regulations, help communities set minimum floodplain and building standards, determine who is required to purchase flood insurance, and help FEMA to accurately price flood insurance.

FEMA has mapped 1.13 million stream miles covering 98 percent of the population in the United States. However, maintaining maps is an ongoing, resource-intensive effort.

With 66 percent of the mapped miles up-to-date, the mapping cycle requires not just continued financial investment, but also process and technology improvements to increase its efficiency.

The Congress has appropriated more than $789 million over the last three years, which, if combined with the 2021 request, would put FEMA on track to complete required map update by the end of 2021. FEMA also collects offsetting discretionary revenue that contributes to mapping under a different account.

FEMA now has the opportunity to assess how maps should be maintained and to evaluate the proper Federal role, as well as build off of investments that utilize additional flood risk data for their Risk Rating 2.0 initiative.

Flood hazard mapping is not solely a Federal responsibility. State and local entities should contribute data and communicate flood risk.

The Administration will continue to work to improve efficiency in the flood mapping program, including incentivizing increased State and local government investments in updating flood maps to inform land use decisions and reduce risk.

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The budget report can be viewed at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/msar_fy21.pdf

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