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Congressional Daily Record
This section captures a floor statement or debate entry. It mentions legislation such as Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act, committees such as Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, members such as John Thune.
Issued
September 30, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be discharged from S. 1564 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 1564) to amend the Homeowner Flood Insurance
Affordability Act of 2014 to address ecosystem restoration
projects, and for other purposes.
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill (S. 1564) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, was read the third time, and passed, as follows:
S. 1564
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Floodplain Enhancement and
Recovery Act”.
SEC. 2. ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION PROJECTS.
(a) In General.—Section 22 of the Homeowner Flood
Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (42 U.S.C. 4101e) is
amended to read as follows:
“SEC. 22. ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION PROJECTS.
“(a) Definition.—In this section, the term `ecosystem
restoration project' means a project proposed for the primary
purpose of manipulating the physical, chemical, or biological
characteristics of a site with the goal of—
“(1) recovering natural and beneficial functions to a
former or degraded aquatic resource or floodplain; or
“(2) enhancing, accelerating, reclaiming, or improving a
specific, natural, and beneficial function of an aquatic
resource or floodplain.
“(b) Exemption From Fees for Flood Hazard Change Requests
for Ecosystem Restoration Projects.—Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, a requester shall be exempt from
submitting a review or processing fee for a request for a
flood insurance rate map change based on an ecosystem
restoration project.
“(c) Exemption From Conditional Approval for Certain
Ecosystem Restoration Projects.—A community may permit an
ecosystem restoration project within an adopted regulatory
floodway that would result in an increase in base flood
elevations, if—
“(1) a professional engineer uses the best judgment of the
engineer to determine that the cumulative effect of the
proposed ecosystem restoration project, when combined with
all other existing development, will not increase the water
surface elevation of the base flood by more than 1 foot (or a
greater amount or metric determined appropriate by the
Administrator);
“(2) no insurable structure or any critical infrastructure
is located in an area that would be adversely impacted by the
increased base flood elevation; and
“(3) not later than 180 days after the date on which the
ecosystem restoration project is completed, the community
submits to the Administrator an analysis regarding the
changed conditions caused by the ecosystem restoration
project.
“(d) Rule of Construction.—Nothing in this section may be
construed to affect the procedure (as in effect on the day
before the date of enactment of the Floodplain Enhancement
and Recovery Act) for providing notification to a landowner
with respect to development in a regulatory floodway.”.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.—The table of
contents for the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act
of 2014 (Public Law 113-89) is amended by striking the item
relating to section 22 and inserting the following:
“Sec. 22. Ecosystem restoration projects.”.
(c) Guidance.—
(1) Definitions.—In this subsection:
(A) Administrator.—The term “Administrator” means the
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(B) Covered agencies.—The term “covered agencies” means
Federal and State natural resource agencies, as determined by
the Administrator.
(2) Issuance.—Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, and after consultation with the heads
of covered agencies, the Administrator shall issue guidance
to implement section 22 of the Homeowner Flood Insurance
Affordability Act of 2014 (42 U.S.C. 4101e), as amended by
this section.