[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 4, 2015)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 6425-6428]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02379]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2014 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 6425]]


                Executive Order 13690 of January 30, 2015

                
Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management 
                Standard and a Process for Further Soliciting and 
                Considering Stakeholder Input

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, and in order to improve the Nation's 
                resilience to current and future flood risk, I hereby 
                direct the following:

                Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the United 
                States to improve the resilience of communities and 
                Federal assets against the impacts of flooding. These 
                impacts are anticipated to increase over time due to 
                the effects of climate change and other threats. Losses 
                caused by flooding affect the environment, our economic 
                prosperity, and public health and safety, each of which 
                affects our national security.

                The Federal Government must take action, informed by 
                the best-available and actionable science, to improve 
                the Nation's preparedness and resilience against 
                flooding. Executive Order 11988 of May 24, 1977 
                (Floodplain Management), requires executive departments 
                and agencies (agencies) to avoid, to the extent 
                possible, the long- and short-term adverse impacts 
                associated with the occupancy and modification of 
                floodplains and to avoid direct or indirect support of 
                floodplain development wherever there is a practicable 
                alternative. The Federal Government has developed 
                processes for evaluating the impacts of Federal actions 
                in or affecting floodplains to implement Executive 
                Order 11988.

                As part of a national policy on resilience and risk 
                reduction consistent with my Climate Action Plan, the 
                National Security Council staff coordinated an 
                interagency effort to create a new flood risk reduction 
                standard for federally funded projects. The views of 
                Governors, mayors, and other stakeholders were 
                solicited and considered as efforts were made to 
                establish a new flood risk reduction standard for 
                federally funded projects. The result of these efforts 
                is the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard 
                (Standard), a flexible framework to increase resilience 
                against flooding and help preserve the natural values 
                of floodplains. Incorporating this Standard will ensure 
                that agencies expand management from the current base 
                flood level to a higher vertical elevation and 
                corresponding horizontal floodplain to address current 
                and future flood risk and ensure that projects funded 
                with taxpayer dollars last as long as intended.

                This order establishes the Standard and sets forth a 
                process for further solicitation and consideration of 
                public input, including from Governors, mayors, and 
                other stakeholders, prior to implementation of the 
                Standard.

                Sec. 2. Amendments to Executive Order 11988. Executive 
                Order 11988 is amended as follows:

                    (a) Section 2 is amended by inserting ``, to the 
                extent permitted by law'' after ``as follows''.
                    (b) Section 2(a)(1) is amended by striking ``This 
                Determination shall be made according to a Department 
                of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) floodplain map 
                or a more detailed map of an area, if available. If 
                such maps are not available, the agency shall make a 
                determination of the location of the floodplain based 
                on the best-available information. The Water Resources 
                Council shall issue guidance on this information not 
                later than October 1, 1977'' and inserting in lieu 
                thereof ``To determine whether the

[[Page 6426]]

                action is located in a floodplain, the agency shall use 
                one of the approaches in Section 6(c) of this Order 
                based on the best-available information and the Federal 
                Emergency Management Agency's effective Flood Insurance 
                Rate Map''.
                    (c) Section 2(a)(2) is amended by inserting the 
                following sentence after the first sentence:
                    ``Where possible, an agency shall use natural 
                systems, ecosystem processes, and nature-based 
                approaches when developing alternatives for 
                consideration.''.
                    (d) Section 2(d) is amended by striking 
                ``Director'' and inserting ``Administrator'' in lieu 
                thereof.
                    (e) Section 3(a) is amended by inserting the 
                following sentence after the first sentence:
                    ``The regulations and procedures must also be 
                consistent with the Federal Flood Risk Management 
                Standard (FFRMS).''.
                    (f) Section 3(a) is further amended by inserting 
                ``and FFRMS'' after ``Flood Insurance Program''.
                    (g) Section 3(b) is amended by striking ``base 
                flood level'' and inserting ``elevation of the 
                floodplain as defined in Section 6(c) of this Order'' 
                in lieu thereof.
                    (h) Section 4 is revised to read as follows:
                    ``In addition to any responsibilities under this 
                Order and Sections 102, 202, and 205 of the Flood 
                Disaster Protection Act of 1973, as amended (42 U.S.C. 
                4012a, 4106, and 4128), agencies which guarantee, 
                approve, regulate, or insure any financial transaction 
                which is related to an area located in an area subject 
                to the base flood shall, prior to completing action on 
                such transaction, inform any private parties 
                participating in the transaction of the hazards of 
                locating structures in the area subject to the base 
                flood.''.

(i) Section 6(c) is amended by striking ``, including at a minimum, that 
area subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given 
year'' and inserting in lieu thereof:

                    ``. The floodplain shall be established using one 
                of the following approaches:
                    ``(1) Unless an exception is made under paragraph 
                (2), the floodplain shall be:

``(i) the elevation and flood hazard area that result from using a climate-
informed science approach that uses the best-available, actionable 
hydrologic and hydraulic data and methods that integrate current and future 
changes in flooding based on climate science. This approach will also 
include an emphasis on whether the action is a critical action as one of 
the factors to be considered when conducting the analysis;

``(ii) the elevation and flood hazard area that result from using the 
freeboard value, reached by adding an additional 2 feet to the base flood 
elevation for non-critical actions and by adding an additional 3 feet to 
the base flood elevation for critical actions;

``(iii) the area subject to flooding by the 0.2 percent annual chance 
flood; or

``(iv) the elevation and flood hazard area that result from using any other 
method identified in an update to the FFRMS.

                    ``(2) The head of an agency may except an agency 
                action from paragraph (1) where it is in the interest 
                of national security, where the agency action is an 
                emergency action, where application to a Federal 
                facility or structure is demonstrably inappropriate, or 
                where the agency action is a mission-critical 
                requirement related to a national security interest or 
                an emergency action. When an agency action is excepted 
                from paragraph (1) because it is in the interest of 
                national security, it is an emergency action, or

[[Page 6427]]

                it is a mission-critical requirement related to a 
                national security interest or an emergency action, the 
                agency head shall rely on the area of land subject to 
                the base flood''.
                    (j) Section 6 is further amended by adding the 
                following new subsection (d) at the end:
                    ``(d) The term 'critical action' shall mean any 
                activity for which even a slight chance of flooding 
                would be too great.''.
                    (k) Section 8 is revised to read as follows:
                    ``Nothing in this Order shall apply to assistance 
                provided for emergency work essential to save lives and 
                protect property and public health and safety, 
                performed pursuant to Sections 403 and 502 of the 
                Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
                Assistance Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 5170b and 5192).''.

                Sec. 3. Agency Action. (a) Prior to any action to 
                implement the Standard, additional input from 
                stakeholders shall be solicited and considered. To 
                carry out this process:

(i) the Federal Emergency Management Agency, on behalf of the Mitigation 
Framework Leadership Group, shall publish for public comment draft amended 
Floodplain Management Guidelines for Implementing Executive Order 11988 
(Guidelines) to provide guidance to agencies on the implementation of 
Executive Order 11988, as amended, consistent with the Standard;

(ii) during the comment period, the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group 
shall host public meetings with stakeholders to solicit input; and

(iii) after the comment period closes, and based on the comments received 
on the draft Guidelines during the comment period, in accordance with 
subsections (a)(i) and (ii) of this section, the Mitigation Framework 
Leadership Group shall provide recommendations to the Water Resources 
Council.

                    (b) After additional input from stakeholders has 
                been solicited and considered as set forth in 
                subsections (a)(i) and (ii) of this section and after 
                consideration of the recommendations made by the 
                Mitigation Framework Leadership Group pursuant to 
                subsection (a)(iii) of this section, the Water 
                Resources Council shall issue amended Guidelines to 
                provide guidance to agencies on the implementation of 
                Executive Order 11988, as amended, consistent with the 
                Standard.
                    (c) To the extent permitted by law, each agency 
                shall, in consultation with the Water Resources 
                Council, Federal Interagency Floodplain Management Task 
                Force, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Council 
                on Environmental Quality, issue or amend existing 
                regulations and procedures to comply with this order, 
                and update those regulations and procedures as 
                warranted. Within 30 days of the closing of the public 
                comment period for the draft amendments to the 
                Guidelines as described in subsection (a) of this 
                section, each agency shall submit an implementation 
                plan to the National Security Council staff that 
                contains milestones and a timeline for implementation 
                of this order and the Standard, by the agency as it 
                applies to the agency's processes and mission. Agencies 
                shall not issue or amend existing regulations and 
                procedures pursuant to this subsection until after the 
                Water Resources Council has issued amended Guidelines 
                pursuant to subsection (b) of this order.

                Sec. 4. Reassessment. (a) The Water Resources Council 
                shall issue any further amendments to the Guidelines as 
                warranted.

                    (b) The Mitigation Framework Leadership Group in 
                consultation with the Federal Interagency Floodplain 
                Management Task Force shall reassess the Standard 
                annually, after seeking stakeholder input, and provide 
                recommendations to the Water Resources Council to 
                update the Standard if warranted based on accurate and 
                actionable science that takes into account changes to 
                climate and other changes in flood risk. The Water 
                Resources Council shall issue an update to the Standard 
                at least every 5 years.

                Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

[[Page 6428]]

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the 
head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.
                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                    (d) The Water Resources Council shall carry out its 
                responsibilities under this order in consultation with 
                the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group.
                <GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    January 30, 2015.

[FR Doc. 2015-02379
Filed 2-3-15; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F5