[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2005 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2005

  To provide for the reviewing, updating, and maintenance of National 
       Flood Insurance Program rate maps, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 14, 2005

   Mr. Reed introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for the reviewing, updating, and maintenance of National 
       Flood Insurance Program rate maps, and for other purposes.

    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 ``National Flood Mapping Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Map.--The term ``map'' means a National Flood Insurance 
        Program rate map.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers.
            (3) Under secretary.--The term ``Under Secretary'' means 
        the Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response, 
        acting through the Director of the Federal Emergency Management 
        Agency or a successor official.

SEC. 3. IDENTIFICATION OF FLOODPRONE AREAS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1360 of the National Flood Insurance Act 
of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4101) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (2) and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(2) in cooperation with State and local mapping 
        partners--
                    ``(A) establish, update, and maintain flood-risk 
                zone data in the areas described in paragraph (1); and
                    ``(B) make estimates with respect to the rates of 
                loss caused by floods in flood-risk zones of each such 
                area.'';
            (2) in subsection (c), by striking ``to the 
        identification'' and all that follows through the end of the 
        subsection and inserting the following: ``to--
            ``(1) the identification and mapping of--
                    ``(A) flood hazard areas; and
                    ``(B) flood-risk zones; and
            ``(2) the review and updating of maps in coastal areas.''; 
        and
            (3) in subsection (g)--
                    (A) in the first sentence--
                            (i) by striking ``To promote'' and 
                        inserting the following:
            ``(1) In general.--To promote''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``and in accordance with 
                        paragraph (2)'' after ``free of charge''; and
                    (B) in the second sentence, by striking ``Any 
                receipts'' and inserting the following:
            ``(2) Requirements.--Flood insurance rate maps and related 
        information shall be made available under paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) on the website of the Federal Emergency 
                Management Agency; and
                    ``(B) in a format that--
                            ``(i) is digital; and
                            ``(ii) is geospatial data-compliant, as 
                        determined in accordance with the standards 
                        established by the Open Geospatial Consortium.
            ``(3) Deposit of receipts.--Any receipts''.
    (b) Termination Date for Technical Mapping Advisory Council.--
Section 576 of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 (42 
U.S.C. 4101 note; 108 Stat. 2280) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (2) and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(2) make recommendations to the Director with respect 
        to--
                    ``(A) performance metrics and milestones to 
                effectively and efficiently map flood risk areas in the 
                United States; and
                    ``(B) procedures for delegating mapping activities 
                to State and local government mapping partners; and''; 
                and
            (2) by striking subsection (k).

SEC. 4. NATIONAL FLOOD MAPPING PROGRAM.

    (a) Reviewing, Updating, and Maintaining Maps.--
            (1) In general.--The Under Secretary, in coordination with 
        the Technical Mapping Advisory Council established under 
        section 576 of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 
        (42 U.S.C. 4101 note; 108 Stat. 2280) (as amended by section 
        3(b)), shall establish a program under which the Under 
        Secretary shall review, update, and maintain National Flood 
        Insurance Program rate maps in accordance with this subsection.
            (2) Inclusions.--
                    (A) Covered areas.--Each map updated under this 
                subsection shall include a depiction of--
                            (i) the 500-year floodplain;
                            (ii) areas that could be inundated as a 
                        result of the failure of a levee, as determined 
                        by the Under Secretary; and
                            (iii) areas that could be inundated as a 
                        result of the failure of a dam, as identified 
                        under the National Dam Safety Program Act (33 
                        U.S.C. 467 et seq.).
                    (B) Other inclusions.--In updating maps under this 
                subsection, the Under Secretary shall include--
                            (i) any relevant information on coastal 
                        inundation from--
                                    (I) an applicable inundation map of 
                                the Corps of Engineers; and
                                    (II) data of the National Oceanic 
                                and Atmospheric Administration relating 
                                to storm surge modeling;
                            (ii) any relevant information of the 
                        Geographical Service on stream flows, watershed 
                        characteristics, and topography that is useful 
                        in the identification of flood hazard areas, as 
                        determined by the Under Secretary; and
                            (iii) a description of any hazard that 
                        might impact flooding, including, as determined 
                        by the Under Secretary--
                                    (I) land subsidence and coastal 
                                erosion areas;
                                    (II) sediment flow areas;
                                    (III) mud flow areas;
                                    (IV) ice jam areas; and
                                    (V) areas on coasts and inland that 
                                are subject to the failure of 
                                structural protective works, such as 
                                levees, dams, and floodwalls.
            (3) Standards.--In updating and maintaining maps under this 
        subsection, the Under Secretary shall establish standards to--
                    (A) ensure that maps are adequate for--
                            (i) flood risk determinations; and
                            (ii) use by State and local governments in 
                        managing development to reduce the risk of 
                        flooding; and
                    (B) facilitate the Under Secretary, in conjunction 
                with State and local governments, to identify and use 
                consistent methods of data collection and analysis in 
                developing maps for communities with similar flood 
                risks, as determined by the Under Secretary.
            (4) Hurricanes katrina and rita mapping priority.--In 
        updating and maintaining maps under this subsection, the Under 
        Secretary shall--
                    (A) give priority to the updating and maintenance 
                of maps of coastal areas affected by Hurricane Katrina 
                or Hurricane Rita to provide guidance with respect to 
                hurricane recovery efforts; and
                    (B) use the process of updating and maintaining 
                maps under subparagraph (A) as a model for updating and 
                maintaining other maps.
            (5) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Under Secretary to carry out this 
        subsection $400,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 
        2012.
    (b) Coastal Winter Storm and Hurricane Area Identification.--
            (1) In general.--For purposes of the National Flood 
        Insurance Program, the Secretary shall identify areas that are, 
        or could be, affected by a coastal winter storm or hurricane of 
        each of categories 1 through 5, as rated on the Saffir-Simpson 
        Hurricane Scale, in coastal States that are, or could be, 
        affected by hurricanes, as determined by the Secretary.
            (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Chief of Engineers to carry out this 
        subsection $9,000,000, to remain available until expended.
    (c) Review of Executive Order.--The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall review the guidance and regulations issued pursuant 
to Executive Order 11988 (42 Fed. Reg. 26951, May 25, 1977; relating to 
floodplain management) to--
            (1) determine Federal agency compliance with the Executive 
        order; and
            (2) make recommendations for restricting Federal investment 
        and assistance in floodplains, including activities relating to 
        flood damage recovery.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL LEVEE INVENTORY.

    To identify levees for the National Flood Insurance Program, the 
Secretary shall maintain and periodically publish an inventory of 
levees in the United States.
                                 <all>