[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 98 (Thursday, May 21, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27969-27971]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13444]


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FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY


National Flood Insurance Program; Standard Flood Hazard 
Determination Form

AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

ACTION: Notice with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency gives notice of 
certain changes to the FEMA Standard Flood Hazard Determination form, 
which form is used to ensure that buildings and mobile homes located 
within an identified Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) will be covered 
by flood insurance. We invite public comment on the changes to the 
form.

DATES: Please submit any comments in writing on or before July 20, 
1998.

ADDRESSES: Please submit any comments to the Rules Docket Clerk, Office 
of the General Counsel, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 500 C 
Street SW., room 840, Washington, DC 20472, (facsimile) (202) 646-4536, 
or (email) [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As part of our implementation of the 
National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994, FEMA published a final 
rule at 60 FR 35276, July 6, 1995, to establish a standard form for 
determining whether a building or mobile home is located in an SFHA, 
whether flood insurance is required, and whether federal flood 
insurance is available. The federal entities for lending regulation 
published a final rule (60 FR 35286, July 6, 1995) requiring use of the 
form. Use of the form by federally regulated lenders became mandatory 
on January 2, 1996. The OMB number for the current form expires on 
April 30, 1998 but OMB has extended the expiration date for an 
additional 90 days.
    During the two years that this form has been in use, many users 
have commented on the form asking FEMA to make minor changes and 
clarifications. By separate rule published today in the Federal 
Register we have removed the form from 44 CFR part 65, Appendix A.

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The form will continue in use and will continue to be available by 
written request, by fax-on-demand, and through the Internet at http://
www.fema.gov/nfip/mpurfi.htm. Removal of the form from the Code of 
Federal Regulations will enhance FEMA's ability to incorporate changes 
to the form outside of the rulemaking process, while continuing to 
provide full notice of the availability of the form to the public and 
to affected parties. By this notice we propose changes to the form and 
we request comments on the proposed changes from the public and from 
other Federal agencies.
    Our proposed changes to the form include:
    (1) a new reference to Otherwise Protected Areas (OPAs) in Section 
C, ``Federal Flood Insurance Availability.'' OPAs have restrictions on 
the sale of flood insurance similar to those on Coastal Barrier 
Resources Areas;
    (2) a minor wording change to Section D, ``Determination,'' to 
simplify the statement as follows: The parenthetical phrase (Zones 
beginning with the letters ``A'' or ``V'') would be changed to (Zones 
containing the letters ``A'' or ``V'');
    (3) numbering of the items listed in Sections A, B, and C to 
facilitate their reference in the instructions.
    (4) revision of the instructions to include some clarifications and 
to include information on the form's availability via the FEMA fax-on-
demand line and Internet site.
    We notified users informally about the proposed revision by letter 
dated January 23, 1998, including lending regulators, federal agency 
lenders, government-sponsored enterprises for housing, flood zone 
determination companies, and lender trade associations.

Collection of Information

    Title: Standard Flood Hazard Determination.
    Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved 
collection.
    OMB Number: 3067-0264.
    Form Number: Form Number 83-91, Standard Flood Hazard 
Determination.
    Abstract. Federally regulated lending institutions (or third 
party), federal agency lenders, and government-sponsored enterprises 
for housing, complete this form when making, increasing, extending, 
renewing or purchasing any loan to document the factors considered when 
determining whether flood insurance is required and whether flood 
insurance is available. The statutory requirement for these parties to 
determine whether a building or mobile home securing a loan is located 
in an area having special flood hazards and whether flood insurance is 
available was first enacted in the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 
1973. The Standard Flood Hazard Determination form was later required 
by the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 and provides a 
consistent method for documenting the required information.
    Federally regulated lending institutions, federal agency lenders, 
and government-sponsored enterprises for housing process an estimated 
12,000,000 loan applications each year that require the information. If 
they do not collect the information on the revised Standard Flood 
Hazard Determination form for each loan, then federally-backed loans 
may be inadequately insured against flood losses. Flood insurance is 
designed to decrease the financial impact of flooding on the federal 
government, on taxpayers, and on citizens in areas prone to flooding.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours. 4,000,000 hours.

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                             Number of             Frequency of       Hours per  response   Annual  burden hours
      FEMA form           respondents (A)         response  (B)               (C)                (A x B x C)    
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81-93................         12,000,000                      1                    .33              4,000,000   
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    Estimated Cost. $99,000,000 (12,000,000  x  .33  x  $25 = 
$99,000,000).

Comments

    FEMA does not collect the information contained on the Standard 
Flood Hazard Determination form. FEMA developed the form in response to 
a congressional mandate to establish a standard form for determining 
whether a building or mobile home is located in an SFHA and whether 
federal flood insurance is available. This form is considered a 
recordkeeping requirement. FEMA is soliciting written comments (a) to 
evaluate whether the proposed data collection is necessary for the 
proper performance of the agency, including whether the information has 
practical utility; (b) to evaluate the accuracy of the agency's 
estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, 
including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and (d) to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., 
permitting electronic submission of responses.

    Dated: May 14, 1998.
Michael J. Armstrong,
Associate Director for Mitigation.

    FEMA Form 81-93, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Standard 
Flood Hazard Determination, as proposed to be amended, reads as 
follows:

BILLING CODE 6718-04-P

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[FR Doc. 98-13444 Filed 5-20-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6718-04-C