I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4020 

To amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to allow the construction 

and improvement of structures used for agricultural production in 

floodplains, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2012 

Mr. GARAMENDI (for himself and Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to 

allow the construction and improvement of structures 

used for agricultural production in floodplains, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Flood Insurance for 

5 Farmers Act of 2012’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT CRITERIA. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1361 of the National 

3 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4102) is amended 

4 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN STRUCTURES AND

6 AREAS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS.—After the date of the 

8 enactment of this subsection, the comprehensive cri9 teria for land management and use established pur10 suant to this section shall provide as follows: 

11 ‘‘(A) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN AGRICUL12 TURAL STRUCTURES.—Such criteria may not 

13 prohibit, limit, restrict, or condition, including 

14 requiring any floodproofing or flood damage 

15 mitigation activities or features with respect to, 

16 the new construction or substantial improve17 ment of any agricultural structure in any area 

18 identified by the Director as having special 

19 flood hazards, except to the extent provided in 

20 section 1315(a)(2) and subject to subpara21 graphs (B) and (C) of this paragraph. 

22 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF STRUCTURES IN

23 CERTAIN AREAS PROTECTED BY LEVEES.—Such 

24 criteria, with respect only to structures in a 

25 covered levee-protected area— 


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1 ‘‘(i) may not prohibit, limit, restrict, 

2 or condition, including requiring any 

3 floodproofing or flood damage mitigation 

4 activities or features with respect to, the 

5 new construction or substantial improve6 ment of any agricultural structure; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) shall provide that any substantial 

8 improvement made to an existing residen9 tial structure shall have the lowest floor 

10 (including any basement) elevated to or 

11 above the base flood level, except that for 

12 purposes of determining whether any im13 provement of residential structures in such 

14 an area is substantial or not, the term 

15 ‘substantial damage’ shall mean, for any 

16 damage caused other than by a flood 

17 event, damage for which the cost of restor18 ing the structure to its before-damaged 

19 condition would equal or exceed 100 per20 cent of the market value of the structure 

21 before the damage occurred. 

22 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT OF EXISTING STRUC23 TURES IN LEGACY COMMUNITIES PROTECTED

24 BY LEVEES.—Such criteria shall provide that a 

25 legacy community located in a covered leveeVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:13 Feb 15, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4020.IH H4020

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1 protected area may adopt adequate land use 

2 and control measures that provide for the re3 pair, restoration to pre-damaged conditions, or 

4 replacement of existing residential and non-resi5 dential structures other than repetitive loss 

6 structures (as such term is defined in section 

7 1370). 

8 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub9 section, the following definitions shall apply: 

10 ‘‘(A) AGRICULTURAL STRUCTURE.—The 

11 term ‘agricultural structure’ has the meaning 

12 given such term in section 1315(a)(2)(D). 

13 ‘‘(B) COVERED LEVEE-PROTECTED

14 AREA.—The term ‘covered levee-protected area’ 

15 means any area that is protected by a levee that 

16 is not accredited by the Administrator, but pro17 vides protection with at least 1 foot of 

18 freeboard above the water surface elevation of 

19 the base flood for such area. 

20 ‘‘(C) LEGACY COMMUNITY.—The term ‘leg21 acy community’ means a community that— 

22 ‘‘(i) has a population of less than 

23 2,000; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) is located in an area for which a 

25 substantial portion of the economy, curVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:13 Feb 15, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4020.IH H4020

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1 rently is and historically was, based on ag2 ricultural production, as determined by the 

3 Administrator.’’. 

4 (b) EXCEPTION TO EXISTING REQUIREMENTS FOR

5 AGRICULTURAL STRUCTURES.—Section 1315(a)(2) of the 

6 National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

7 4022(a)) is amended— 

8 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘Notwith9 standing’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to subparagraphs 

10 (B) and (C) of section 1361(d)(1) and notwith11 standing’’; and 

12 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘To’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C) of 

14 section 1361(d)(1) and to’’. 

15 SEC. 3. AVAILABILITY OF FLOOD INSURANCE COVERAGE 

16 AND CHARGEABLE RATES. 

17 Section 1308 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

18 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (c), in the matter preceding 

20 paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘of this subsection and 

21 to subsections (g) and (h)’’ before the comma; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub23 section: 

24 ‘‘(g) NEW CONSTRUCTION AND SUBSTANTIAL IM25 PROVEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL STRUCTURES IN FLOOD


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1 HAZARD AREAS.—Subject to section 1315(a)(2)(B) and 

2 subsection (h) of this section, and notwithstanding any 

3 other provision of this Act, the Director shall make flood 

4 insurance coverage available upon request for any agricul5 tural structure described in section 1361(d)(1)(A) that is 

6 located in any area identified by the Director as having 

7 special flood hazards. Such coverage shall be made avail8 able at chargeable premium rates that are based on esti9 mated rates under section 1307(a)(2) and are consistent 

10 with the provisions of section 1308(b)(2) applicable to 

11 such rates. 

12 ‘‘(h) STRUCTURES IN COVERED LEVEE-PROTECTED

13 AREAS.—The Director shall make flood insurance cov14 erage available upon request for any structure that is lo15 cated in an area described in subparagraph (B) or (C) 

16 of section 1361(d)(1) and is constructed, improved, re17 paired, restored, or replaced as described in such subpara18 graph, as applicable. Such coverage shall be made avail19 able at chargeable premium rates applicable to areas hav20 ing a low or moderate risk of flooding (zone X).’’. 

21 SEC. 4. TASK FORCE ON LEGACY COMMUNITY FLOOD IN22 SURANCE ISSUES. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT; STUDY.—The Administrator of 

24 the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Sec25 retary of Agriculture shall jointly establish a task force 


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1 that shall conduct a study to analyze the challenges faced 

2 by legacy communities located in areas designated as an 

3 area having special flood hazards for purposes of the na4 tional flood insurance program under the National Flood 

5 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.). 

6 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The task force shall consist of 15 

7 members, appointed jointly by the Administrator of the 

8 Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Sec9 retary of Agriculture, as follows: 

10 (1) One individual who is a representative of a 

11 national farm organization. 

12 (2) One individual who is a representative of a 

13 national financial organization. 

14 (3) One individual who is a representative of a 

15 national floodplain management organization. 

16 (4) One individual who is a representative of a 

17 national organization of flood and stormwater man18 agement agencies. 

19 (5) One individual who is a representative of a 

20 national agricultural commodities organization. 

21 (6) Two individuals, each of whom is a rep22 resentative of a State affected by the issues specified 

23 in subsection (a). 


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1 (7) Three individuals, who shall include one 

2 representative each of the flood control associations 

3 for— 

4 (A) the Central Valley of California; 

5 (B) the Mississippi Valley; and 

6 (C) the Missouri Valley. 

7 (8) Two individuals who are elected officials of 

8 units of general local governments who represent 

9 legacy communities. 

10 (9) Three individuals who have an interest or 

11 expertise in the issues specified in subsection (a). 

12 (c) CO-CHAIRS.—The Administrator of the Federal 

13 Emergency Management Agency and the Secretary of Ag14 riculture shall serve as co-chairs of the task force, or their 

15 designees. 

16 (d) TRAVEL EXPENSES; PER DIEM.—Members of the 

17 task force members shall not receive compensation for 

18 their service on the task force, but shall receive travel ex19 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in ac20 cordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United 

21 States Code. 

22 (e) STAFF.—The Administrator of the Federal Emer23 gency Management Agency and the Secretary of Agri24 culture may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the 


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1 personnel of such agencies to the task force to assist the 

2 task force in carrying out its duties under this section. 

3 (f) REPORT.—Not later than the expiration of the 12- 

4 month period beginning on the date of the enactment of 

5 this Act, the task force shall submit to the Committee on 

6 Financial Services of the House of Representatives and 

7 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

8 of the Senate a report regarding the study conducted pur9 suant to subsection (a) that shall include any findings and 

10 conclusions of the study and recommended changes to the 

11 national flood insurance program to strengthen the eco12 nomic viability and vitality of legacy communities, includ13 ing an analysis and recommendations regarding allowing 

14 infill development and building expansion. 

15 (g) LEGACY COMMUNITIES.—For purposes of this 

16 section, the term ‘‘legacy community’’ means a community 

17 that— 

18 (1) has a population of less than 2,000; and 

19 (2) is located in an area for which a substantial 

20 portion of the economy, currently is and historically 

21 was, based on agricultural production, as determined 

22 by the Administrator. 


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1 (h) TERMINATION.—The task force shall terminate 

2 upon the expiration of the 120-day period beginning upon 

3 the submission of the report required under subsection (f). 

Æ 


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