[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 182 (Tuesday, September 20, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 64403-64404]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-22496]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Federal Emergency Management Agency
44 CFR Part 9
[Docket ID: FEMA-2015-0006]
RIN 1660-AA85
Updates to Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands
Regulations To Implement Executive Order 13690 and the Federal Flood
Risk Management Standard
AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS.
ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of data availability.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is issuing this
Notice of Data Availability (NODA) in connection with the proposed rule
titled, ``Updates to Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands
Regulations to Implement Executive Order 13690 and the Federal Flood
Risk Management Standard'' that was published on August 22, 2016.
Through this NODA, FEMA is making available to the public, and
soliciting comment on, a draft report, 2016 Evaluation of the Benefits
of Freeboard for Public and Nonresidential Buildings in Coastal Areas.
The draft report has been added to the docket for the proposed rule.
DATES: Comments must be received no later than October 21, 2016. Late
comments will not be accepted.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket ID: FEMA-2015-
0006, by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
[[Page 64404]]
Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Regulatory Affairs Division, Office of
Chief Counsel, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 8NE-1604, 500 C
Street SW., Washington, DC 20472-3100.
To avoid duplication, please use only one of these methods. All
comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. If
you submit a comment, identify the agency name and the Docket ID for
this rulemaking, indicate the specific section of the document to which
each comment applies, and give the reason for each comment.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristin Fontenot, Director, Office of
Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation, Federal Insurance and
Mitigation Administration, DHS/FEMA, 400 C Street SW., Suite 313,
Washington, DC 20472-3020. Phone: 202-646-2741; Email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 22, 2016, at 81 FR 57402, the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) proposed to amend its
regulations on ``Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands'' and
proposed a supplementary policy that would further clarify how FEMA
applies the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard. Through this Notice
of Data Availability (NODA), FEMA is making available to the public,
and soliciting comment on, a draft report, 2016 Evaluation of the
Benefits of Freeboard for Public and Nonresidential Buildings in
Coastal Areas that became available after publication of the proposed
rule.
As part of the rulemaking process, FEMA included in the docket a
Regulatory Evaluation to estimate the potential costs and benefits of
the proposed rule. The evaluation accompanying the proposed rule
addressed costs associated with elevating and floodproofing FEMA
Federally Funded Projects to specified freeboard levels. Cost and
benefit estimates were made using the 2008 Supplement to the 2006
Evaluation of the National Flood Insurance Program's Building Standards
(2008 report), which evaluated the costs and benefits associated with
elevating newly constructed residential structures, located in coastal
areas.
While the 2008 report was the best available data at the time, it
was limited in scope to single-family residential structures. The
proposed rule primarily affects non-residential structures owned by
local government agencies and private non-profit organizations. The
2008 report is also limited to new construction projects. Most of the
projects affected by the proposed rule would be retrofitted structures.
The draft report includes data and analysis specific to some of the
types of projects most likely to be affected by the proposed rule.
The purpose of this 2016 draft report, which is part of a broader
effort related to FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program, was to
determine if increased freeboard requirements would result in
sufficient reductions in damages to be considered cost-effective. The
results of this analysis provide some insight into the potential costs
and benefits associated with constructing nonresidential and public
buildings with higher freeboard requirements. The draft report provides
cost and benefit estimates for elevating new construction buildings, as
well as the costs and benefits of dry floodproofing both new and
existing structures. The Regulatory Evaluation for the proposed rule
discussed the differences in potential costs and benefits associated
with elevation and floodproofing of new construction and existing
buildings. However, because of a lack of data available to FEMA at the
time that FEMA published the Regulatory Evaluation, the Evaluation does
not quantify these costs separately. Additionally, the draft report
includes significant additional discussion of the effects of sea level
rise on the benefit-cost ratios of freeboard elevation. FEMA notes for
the public's awareness that similar to the 2008 report, the draft
report is limited, as riverine areas were not included in the analysis.
Moreover, the report is still in draft form and is not peer-reviewed.
FEMA welcomes comments on these and other aspects of the draft report.
In particular, FEMA requests comments on whether the draft report
contains enough information on which the public can base a conclusion
on its use to quantify benefits for the proposed rule. For example, the
study describes its methodology, outlines its basic assumptions, and
provides summary statistics and overall benefit-cost ratios, but it
does not show the inputs used for many of its calculations and
assumptions.
Because of the above-referenced differences between the 2008 report
and the draft report, FEMA welcomes comment on whether it would be more
appropriate to use the draft report to estimate the costs and benefits
in a future regulatory evaluation of a final rule on this topic. FEMA
seeks comments from the public about all aspects of the applicability
of this draft report to the rulemaking, including how the data in this
draft report may be applied in estimating costs and benefits associated
with elevating and floodproofing structures to the proposed freeboard
levels in the final rule.
For example, data and analysis from the draft report could be used
to estimate the costs and benefits associated with elevating and
floodproofing FEMA Federally Funded projects involving nonresidential
structures. The draft report includes data and analysis relevant to the
following building types in coastal areas: elementary schools,
hospitals, police stations, retail stores, and office buildings. The
analysis suggests that for the above-referenced building types,
evaluated costs could range from $1.03 to $16.29 per square foot,
depending on the type of structure.
In addition, FEMA did not monetize the benefits of the freeboard
value approach in the Regulatory Evaluation, but FEMA did provide the
cost-benefit ratios that the 2008 study described for various freeboard
levels. The draft report includes updated cost-benefit ratios that
might more accurately depict the benefits of freeboard levels for
different types of non-residential structures in coastal areas. FEMA
specifically requests comments from the public about the potential
applicability of these cost-benefit ratios and whether and how they
should be incorporated into the Regulatory Evaluation of a final rule.
List of Subjects in 44 CFR Part 9
Flood plains and Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Authority: E.O. 11988 of May 24, 1977. 3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 117;
E.O. 11990 of May 24 1977, 3 CFR, 1977 Comp. p. 121; Reorganization
Plan No. 3 of 1978, 43 FR 41943, 3 CFR, 1978 Comp., p. 329; E.O. 12127
of March 31, 1979, 44 FR 19367, 3 CFR, 1979 Comp., p. 376; E.O. 12148
of July 20, 1979, 44 FR 43239, 3 CFR, 1979 Comp., p. 412, as amended.;
E.O. 12127; E.O. 12148; 42 U.S.C. 5201.
Dated: September 14, 2016.
W. Craig Fugate,
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2016-22496 Filed 9-19-16; 8:45 am]
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