II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1481 

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences 

to conduct a study on urban flooding, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 2, 2015 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to enter into an agreement with the 

National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study on 

urban flooding, 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 ‘‘Urban Flooding 

5 Awareness Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. URBAN FLOODING DEFINED. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act, the term ‘‘urban 

8 flooding’’ means the inundation of property in a built enviVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:01 Jun 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1481.IS S1481

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1 ronment, particularly in more densely populated areas, 

2 caused by rain falling on increased amounts of impervious 

3 surface and overwhelming the capacity of drainage sys4 tems, such as storm sewers. 

5 (b) INCLUSIONS.—In this Act, the term ‘‘urban flood6 ing’’ includes— 

7 (1) situations in which stormwater enters build8 ings through windows, doors, or other openings; 

9 (2) water backup through sewer pipes, showers, 

10 toilets, sinks, and floor drains; 

11 (3) seepage through walls and floors; 

12 (4) the accumulation of water on property or 

13 public rights-of-way; and 

14 (5) the overflow from water bodies, such as riv15 ers and lakes. 

16 (c) EXCLUSION.—In this Act, the term ‘‘urban flood17 ing’’ does not include flooding in undeveloped or agricul18 tural areas. 

19 SEC. 3. URBAN FLOODING STUDY. 

20 (a) AGREEMENT WITH NATIONAL ACADEMY OF

21 SCIENCES.—The Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

22 Management Agency shall enter into an agreement with 

23 the National Academy of Sciences under which the Na24 tional Academy of Sciences will conduct a study on urban 

25 flooding in accordance with the requirements of this secVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:01 Jun 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1481.IS S1481

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1 tion. The primary focus of the study shall be on urban 

2 areas outside of special flood hazard areas, as defined by 

3 the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

4 (b) CONTENTS.— 

5 (1) GENERAL REVIEW AND EVALUATION.—In 

6 conducting the study, the National Academy of 

7 Sciences shall review and evaluate the latest avail8 able research, laws, regulations, policies, best prac9 tices, procedures, and institutional knowledge re10 garding urban flooding. 

11 (2) SPECIFIC ISSUE AREAS.—The study shall 

12 include, at a minimum, an examination of the fol13 lowing: 

14 (A) The prevalence and costs associated 

15 with urban flooding events across the United 

16 States, with a focus on the largest metropolitan 

17 areas and any clear trends in frequency and se18 verity over the past 2 decades. 

19 (B) The adequacy of existing federally pro20 vided flood risk information and the most cost 

21 effective methods and products to identify, map, 

22 or otherwise characterize the risk of property 

23 damage from urban flooding on a property-by24 property basis, whether or not a property is in 

25 or adjacent to a 1-percent (100-year) flood 


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1 plain, and the potential for training and certi2 fying local experts in flood risk characterization 

3 as a service to property purchasers and owners 

4 and their communities. 

5 (C) The causes of urban flooding and its 

6 apparent increase over the past 20 years, in7 cluding the impacts of— 

8 (i) global climate change; 

9 (ii) increasing urbanization and the 

10 associated increase in impervious surfaces; 

11 and 

12 (iii) undersized, deteriorating, and 

13 otherwise ineffective stormwater infrastruc14 ture. 

15 (D) The most cost-effective strategies, 

16 practices, technologies, policies, standards, or 

17 rules used to reduce the impacts of urban flood18 ing, with a focus on decentralized, easy-to-in19 stall, and low-cost approaches, such as non20 structural and natural infrastructure on public 

21 and private property. The examination under 

22 this subparagraph shall include an assessment 

23 of opportunities for implementing innovative 

24 strategies and practices on government-con25 trolled land, such as Federal, State, and local 


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1 roads, parking lots, alleys, sidewalks, buildings, 

2 recreational areas, and open space. 

3 (E) The role of the Federal Government 

4 and State governments, as conveners, funders, 

5 and advocates, in spurring market innovations 

6 based on public-private-nonprofit partnerships. 

7 Such innovations may include smart home tech8 nologies for improved flood warning systems 

9 connected to high-resolution weather forecast 

10 data and Internet- and cellular-based commu11 nications systems. 

12 (F) The most sustainable and effective 

13 methods for funding flood risk and flood dam14 age reduction at all levels of government, in15 cluding— 

16 (i) the potential for establishing a 

17 State revolving fund program for flood pre18 vention projects similar to the revolving 

19 fund programs under the Federal Water 

20 Pollution Control Act and the Safe Drink21 ing Water Act; 

22 (ii) stormwater fee programs using 

23 impervious surface as the basis for fee 

24 rates and providing credits for the installaVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:01 Jun 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1481.IS S1481

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1 tion of flood prevention or other 

2 stormwater management features; 

3 (iii) grant programs; and 

4 (iv) public-private partnerships. 

5 (G) Information and education strategies 

6 and practices, including nontraditional ap7 proaches such as the use of community colleges 

8 and social media, for community leaders, gov9 ernment staff, and property owners on— 

10 (i) flood risks; 

11 (ii) flood risk reduction strategies and 

12 practices; and 

13 (iii) the availability and effectiveness 

14 of different types of flood insurance poli15 cies. 

16 (H) The relevance of the National Flood 

17 Insurance Program and Community Rating 

18 System to urban flooding areas outside tradi19 tional flood plains, and strategies for improving 

20 compliance, broadening coverage, and increas21 ing participation under the programs. 

22 (I) Strategies for protecting communities 

23 in the lower elevations of a watershed or drain24 age area from the flooding impacts of developVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:01 Jun 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1481.IS S1481

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1 ment in upstream communities, including a re2 view of— 

3 (i) potential standards for watershed4 wide flood protection planning; and 

5 (ii) cost-effective and equitable legal 

6 options for a downstream community when 

7 upstream communities act in a way that 

8 increases flooding downstream. 

9 (J) Cost-effective strategies for reducing 

10 infiltration/inflow into combined and separate 

11 sewer systems. 

12 (K) Opportunities to increase coordination 

13 between stormwater management programming 

14 under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

15 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) and flood risk man16 agement and mitigation programming under 

17 various laws, including the Robert T. Stafford 

18 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) and the National 

20 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 

21 et seq.). 

22 (c) CONSULTATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

24 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall carry 

25 out this section in consultation with the Secretary of 


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1 the Army (acting through the Chief of Engineers), 

2 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 

3 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

4 Agency, the Director of the United States Geological 

5 Survey, the Chief of the Natural Resources Con6 servation Service, the Small Business Administra7 tion, State, regional, and local stormwater manage8 ment agencies, State insurance commissioners, and 

9 such other interested parties as the Administrator of 

10 the Federal Emergency Management Agency con11 siders appropriate. 

12 (2) COOPERATION.—The head of each Federal 

13 agency referred to in paragraph (1) shall cooperate 

14 with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

15 Management Agency in carrying out this section as 

16 requested by the Administrator. 

17 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than Decem18 ber 31, 2016, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

19 Management Agency shall submit to the Committee on Fi20 nancial Services and the Committee on Appropriations of 

21 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

22 Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee 

23 on Appropriations of the Senate a report containing the 

24 findings of the National Academy of Sciences based on 

25 the results of the study, including recommendations for 


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1 implementation of strategies, practices, and technologies 

2 relating to urban flooding by Congress and the executive 

3 branch. 

Æ 


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