Sponsors (9)
The bill makes sinkhole risk information widely available and keeps it updated—improving planning and scientific understanding—but creates potential economic burdens for property owners and depends on congressional funding and adequate data/resources to be effective.
Local governments, emergency managers, homeowners, and communities gain publicly accessible sinkhole risk maps that help guide planning, emergency response, land-use decisions, and reduce property damage.
Homeowners, communities, state governments, and utilities benefit from improved scientific understanding of sinkhole mechanisms (storms, drought, aquifer depletion), which can inform water management and mitigation policies.
Local and state governments get a requirement for regular map reviews (at least every 5 years), keeping risk information up to date for planning and hazard mitigation.
Homeowners and property owners in newly mapped high-risk zones may face lower property values, higher insurance costs, and local governments/communities may incur new mitigation or planning expenses.
The program's advance-appropriations requirement could delay or limit mapping work if Congress does not provide funds, reducing timely availability of hazard information.
If the USGS lacks resources or high-resolution data, maps may be incomplete or inaccurate, creating a false sense of security or leading to misdirected planning and mitigation.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a USGS program to study what causes sinkholes (including extreme storms, drought-driven water changes, aquifer depletion, and other major water-use changes) and to produce maps showing zones at higher risk of sinkhole formation. The maps must use federal 3D elevation data, be reviewed at least every five years (or more often if needed), and be published on a public website for community planners and emergency managers; the program is subject to available appropriations.
Introduced January 31, 2025 by Darren Michael Soto · Last progress July 15, 2025