Sponsors (4)
The bill makes it easier and cheaper to carry out floodplain and habitat restoration by broadening eligible projects and waiving certain fees, but it trades off modest increases in localized flood risk, potential revenue and administrative impacts for FEMA and local governments, and some legal ambiguity until federal guidance is issued.
Local governments, nonprofits, and communities can more easily carry out floodplain and habitat restoration because the bill broadens which projects qualify and exempts certain map-change fees, lowering upfront costs and removing a common barrier to restoration.
Homeowners and communities gain clearer, limited regulatory flexibility: projects that increase base flood elevation by up to one foot can proceed for habitat/restoration purposes without automatic penalties if no structures are harmed, enabling restoration that might otherwise be blocked by strict floodplain rules.
Federal and local accountability and coordination should improve because FEMA must consult resource agencies, issue implementation guidance within 180 days, and projects require a 180-day post-project analysis, which promotes monitoring and clearer interagency expectations.
Homeowners and nearby properties could face modestly higher flood risk because allowing up to a one-foot rise in base flood elevation for some projects may shift flood dynamics to properties not classified as insurable or critical.
Taxpayers and FEMA could bear financial strain because exempting fees for map-change requests may reduce FEMA fee revenue or increase FEMA workload without offsetting funds, effectively shifting costs to taxpayers or other programs.
Local governments and homeowners may face ambiguity and disputes over which projects qualify under the broader statutory definition, producing inconsistent application across communities and potential delays until FEMA issues guidance.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Expands fee exemptions and allows conditioned floodway restoration projects that adjust flood maps, with a 180-day post-project analysis and 180-day FEMA guidance deadline.
Official title: Amend the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 to address ecosystem restoration projects, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 1, 2025 by Patty Murray · Last progress May 1, 2025
Allows a broader class of "ecosystem restoration projects" to get fee exemptions and streamlined flood map treatment for certain flood insurance map changes, replacing a narrower habitat-restoration exemption. Communities may permit restoration activities in regulatory floodways that raise base flood elevations by up to 1 foot (or a larger amount approved by FEMA) so long as no insurable structures or critical infrastructure are harmed; communities must submit a post‑project analysis within 180 days of completion. FEMA must issue implementing guidance within 180 days of enactment.