I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5521 

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

to enter into an agreement with the National Research Council to conduct a study on urban flooding, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014 

Mr. QUIGLEY (for himself and Mr. KING of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

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

National Research Council 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 2014’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. URBAN FLOODING DEFINED. 

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

3 flooding’’ means the inundation of property in a built envi4 ronment, particularly in more densely populated areas, 

5 caused by rain falling on increased amounts of impervious 

6 surface and overwhelming the capacity of drainage sys7 tems, such as storm sewers. 

8 (b) INCLUSIONS.—In this Act, the term ‘‘urban flood9 ing’’ includes— 

10 (1) situations in which stormwater enters build11 ings through windows, doors, or other openings; 

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

13 toilets, sinks, and floor drains; 

14 (3) seepage through walls and floors; 

15 (4) the accumulation of water on property or 

16 public rights-of-way; and 

17 (5) the overflow from water bodies, such as riv18 ers and lakes. 

19 (c) EXCLUSION.—In this Act, the term ‘‘urban flood20 ing’’ does not include flooding in undeveloped or agricul21 tural areas. 

22 SEC. 3. URBAN FLOODING STUDY. 

23 (a) AGREEMENT WITH NATIONAL RESEARCH COUN24 CIL.—The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man25 agement Agency shall enter into an agreement with the 

26 National Research Council under which the National ReVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Sep 24, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5521.IH H5521

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1 search Council will conduct a study on urban flooding in 

2 accordance with the requirements of this section. 

3 (b) CONTENTS.— 

4 (1) GENERAL REVIEW AND EVALUATION.—In 

5 conducting the study, the National Research Council 

6 shall review and evaluate the latest available re7 search, laws, regulations, policies, best practices, 

8 procedures, and institutional knowledge regarding 

9 urban flooding. 

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

11 include, at a minimum, an examination of the fol12 lowing: 

13 (A) The prevalence and costs associated 

14 with urban flooding events across the United 

15 States, with a focus on the largest metropolitan 

16 areas and any clear trends in frequency and se17 verity over the past 2 decades. 

18 (B) The adequacy of existing federally pro19 vided flood risk information and the most cost20 effective methods and products to identify, map, 

21 or otherwise characterize the risk of property 

22 damage from urban flooding on a property-by23 property basis, whether or not a property is in 

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

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1 fying local experts in flood risk characterization 

2 as a service to property purchasers and owners 

3 and their communities. 

4 (C) The causes of urban flooding and its 

5 apparent increase over the past 20 years, in6 cluding the impacts of— 

7 (i) global climate change; 

8 (ii) increasing urbanization and the 

9 associated increase in impervious surfaces; 

10 and 

11 (iii) undersized, deteriorating and oth12 erwise ineffective stormwater infrastruc13 ture. 

14 (D) The most cost-effective strategies, 

15 practices, and technologies used to reduce the 

16 impacts of urban flooding, with a focus on de17 centralized, easy-to-install, and low-cost ap18 proaches, such as nonstructural and natural in19 frastructure on public and private property. 

20 The examination under this subparagraph shall 

21 include an assessment of opportunities for im22 plementing innovative strategies and practices 

23 on government-controlled land, such as Federal, 

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1 walks, buildings, recreational areas, and open 

2 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 

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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 social media, for 

8 community leaders, government staff, and prop9 erty 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 broad20 ening coverage and increasing participation 

21 under the programs. 

22 (I) Strategies for protecting downstream 

23 communities from the flooding impacts of devel24 opment in upstream communities, including a 

25 review of— 


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1 (i) potential standards for watershed2 wide flood protection planning; and 

3 (ii) the potential establishment of 

4 streamlined legal processes for victims of 

5 flood damage, to avoid the need for expen6 sive litigation. 

7 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator of the Fed8 eral Emergency Management Agency shall carry out this 

9 section in consultation with the Secretary of the Army 

10 (acting through the Chief of Engineers), the Secretary of 

11 Housing and Urban Development, the Administrator of 

12 the Environmental Protection Agency, and State, regional, 

13 and local stormwater management agencies, and such 

14 other interested parties as the Administrator of the Fed15 eral Emergency Management Agency considers appro16 priate. 

17 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 years 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

19 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall sub20 mit to the Committee on Financial Services and the Com21 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives 

22 and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af23 fairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate 

24 a report containing the findings of the National Research 

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1 ommendations for implementation of strategies, practices, 

2 and technologies relating to urban flooding by Congress 

3 and the executive branch. 

Æ 


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