Eases Restrictions on Floodway Projects

Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act This bill eases restrictions for ecosystem restoration projects in designated floodways that meet certain risk criteria. Under current National Flood Insurance Program requirements, such projects are generally prohibited in a designated floodway if the project would increase the area’s base flood elevation. The bill establishes conditions under which a community may permit an ecosystem restoration project within a designated floodway that would result in an increase in base flood elevations. Specifically, the project may be permitted if (1) a professional engineer determines that the cumulative effect of the increase will be not more than 1 foot; (2) no insurable structure or critical infrastructure is located in an impacted area; and (3) the community submits an analysis to the Federal Emergency Management Agency on the project’s effects after the project is complete. An ecosystem restoration project is defined by the bill as a project that manipulates the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of a site with a goal of recovering, reclaiming, or improving the functions of an aquatic resource or floodplain.