1.This Act may be cited as the
Flood Insurance for Farmers Act of
2012
.
2.Floodplain
management criteria
(a)Section 1361 of the
National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4102) is amended by adding at
the end the following new subsection:
(d)Treatment of
certain structures and areas
(1)After the date of the enactment of this
subsection, the comprehensive criteria for land management and use established
pursuant to this section shall provide as follows:
(A)Treatment of
certain agricultural structuresSuch criteria may not prohibit,
limit, restrict, or condition, including requiring any floodproofing or flood
damage mitigation activities or features with respect to, the new construction
or substantial improvement of any agricultural structure in any area identified
by the Director as having special flood hazards, except to the extent provided
in section 1315(a)(2) and subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C) of this
paragraph.
(B)Treatment of
structures in certain areas protected by leveesSuch criteria, with respect only to
structures in a covered levee-protected area—
(i)may not prohibit,
limit, restrict, or condition, including requiring any floodproofing or flood
damage mitigation activities or features with respect to, the new construction
or substantial improvement of any agricultural structure; and
(ii)shall provide
that any substantial improvement made to an existing residential structure
shall have the lowest floor (including any basement) elevated to or above the
base flood level, except that for purposes of determining whether any
improvement of residential structures in such an area is substantial or not,
the term substantial damage
shall mean, for any damage caused
other than by a flood event, damage for which the cost of restoring the
structure to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed 100 percent of
the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
(C)Treatment of
existing structures in legacy communities protected by
leveesSuch criteria shall provide that a legacy community
located in a covered levee-protected area may adopt adequate land use and
control measures that provide for the repair, restoration to pre-damaged
conditions, or replacement of existing residential and non-residential
structures other than repetitive loss structures (as such term is defined in
section 1370).
(2)For
purposes of this subsection, the following definitions shall apply:
(A)The term
agricultural structure
has the meaning given such term in
section 1315(a)(2)(D).
(B)Covered
levee-protected areaThe term
covered levee-protected area
means any area that is protected by
a levee that is not accredited by the Administrator, but provides protection
with at least 1 foot of freeboard above the water surface elevation of the base
flood for such area.
(C)The term legacy community
means a
community that—
(i)has a population
of less than 2,000; and
(ii)is located in an
area for which a substantial portion of the economy, currently is and
historically was, based on agricultural production, as determined by the
Administrator.
.
(b)Exception to
existing requirements for agricultural structuresSection
1315(a)(2) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4022(a)) is
amended—
(1)in subparagraph
(A), by striking Notwithstanding
and inserting Subject to
subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 1361(d)(1) and notwithstanding
;
and
(2)in subparagraph
(B), by striking To
and inserting Subject to
subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 1361(d)(1) and to
.
3.Availability of
flood insurance coverage and chargeable ratesSection 1308 of the National Flood Insurance
Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015) is amended—
(1)in subsection (c),
in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting of this subsection
and to subsections (g) and (h)
before the comma; and
(2)by adding at the
end the following new subsection:
(g)New construction
and substantial improvement of agricultural structures in flood hazard
areasSubject to section
1315(a)(2)(B) and subsection (h) of this section, and notwithstanding any other
provision of this Act, the Director shall make flood insurance coverage
available upon request for any agricultural structure described in section
1361(d)(1)(A) that is located in any area identified by the Director as having
special flood hazards. Such coverage shall be made available at chargeable
premium rates that are based on estimated rates under section 1307(a)(2) and
are consistent with the provisions of section 1308(b)(2) applicable to such
rates.
(h)Structures in
covered levee-Protected areasThe Director shall make flood insurance
coverage available upon request for any structure that is located in an area
described in subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 1361(d)(1) and is constructed,
improved, repaired, restored, or replaced as described in such subparagraph, as
applicable. Such coverage shall be made available at chargeable premium rates
applicable to areas having a low or moderate risk of flooding (zone
X).
.
4.Task force on
legacy community flood insurance issues
(a)The Administrator of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Secretary of Agriculture shall
jointly establish a task force that shall conduct a study to analyze the
challenges faced by legacy communities located in areas designated as an area
having special flood hazards for purposes of the national flood insurance
program under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et
seq.).
(b)The task force shall consist of 15 members,
appointed jointly by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency and the Secretary of Agriculture, as follows:
(1)One individual who
is a representative of a national farm organization.
(2)One individual who is a representative of a
national financial organization.
(3)One individual who is a representative of a
national floodplain management organization.
(4)One individual who is a representative of a
national organization of flood and stormwater management agencies.
(5)One individual who is a representative of a
national agricultural commodities organization.
(6)Two individuals, each of whom is a
representative of a State affected by the issues specified in subsection
(a).
(7)Three individuals, who shall include one
representative each of the flood control associations for—
(A)the Central Valley
of California;
(B)the Mississippi
Valley; and
(C)the Missouri
Valley.
(8)Two individuals who are elected officials
of units of general local governments who represent legacy communities.
(9)Three individuals who have an interest or
expertise in the issues specified in subsection (a).
(c)The Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency and the Secretary of Agriculture shall serve as co-chairs of
the task force, or their designees.
(d)Travel expenses;
per diemMembers of the task force members shall not receive
compensation for their service on the task force, but shall receive travel
expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with
sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code.
(e)The Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency and the Secretary of Agriculture may detail, on a
reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of such agencies to the task force to
assist the task force in carrying out its duties under this section.
(f)Not
later than the expiration of the 12-month period beginning on the date of the
enactment of this Act, the task force shall submit to the Committee on
Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate a report regarding the study
conducted pursuant to subsection (a) that shall include any findings and
conclusions of the study and recommended changes to the national flood
insurance program to strengthen the economic viability and vitality of legacy
communities, including an analysis and recommendations regarding allowing
infill development and building expansion.
(g)For purposes of this section, the term legacy
community
means a community that—
(1)has a population
of less than 2,000; and
(2)is located in an
area for which a substantial portion of the economy, currently is and
historically was, based on agricultural production, as determined by the
Administrator.
(h)The
task force shall terminate upon the expiration of the 120-day period beginning
upon the submission of the report required under subsection (f).