Document ID: FEMA-2021-0024-0114
Agency: fema
Document Type: Notice
Title: Request for Information on the National Flood Insurance Program’s Floodplain Management Standards for Land Management and Use, and an Assessment of the Program’s Impact on Threatened and Endangered Species and Their Habitats; Public Meeting; Extension of Comment Period
Posted Date: 2021-11-22T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 222 (Monday, November 22, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66329-66330]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25336]

[[Page 66329]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Federal Emergency Management Agency

[Docket ID FEMA-2021-0024]

Request for Information on the National Flood Insurance Program's 
Floodplain Management Standards for Land Management and Use, and an 
Assessment of the Program's Impact on Threatened and Endangered Species 
and Their Habitats; Public Meeting; Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland 
Security.

ACTION: Announcement of additional public meeting; extension of comment 
period.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is extending 
the public comment period for its request for information published 
October 12, 2021, and will hold an additional virtual public meeting 
via web conference to solicit feedback on the request for information 
The October request for information sought input from the public on the 
floodplain management standards that communities should adopt to result 
in safer, stronger, and more resilient communities. It also sought 
input on how the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) can better 
promote protection of and minimize any adverse impact to, threatened 
and endangered species, and their habitats.

DATES: Written comments on the request for information published at 86 
FR 56713 (Oct. 12, 2021) may be submitted until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time 
(ET) on Thursday, January 27, 2022.
    FEMA will hold an additional public meeting on Wednesday, December 
15, 2021, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. Depending on the number of 
speakers, the meeting may end before the time indicated, following the 
last call for comments.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held via web conference. Members 
of the public may register to attend the meeting online at the 
following link: https://www.fema.gov/event/public-comment-period-national-flood-insurance-programs-minimum-floodplain-management.
    If you would like to speak at the meeting, please indicate that on 
the registration form. If there is time remaining in the meeting after 
all registered speakers have finished, FEMA will invite comments from 
others in attendance. Also, Spanish language interpretation services 
will be made available for this meeting.
    Reasonable accommodations are available for people with 
disabilities. To request a reasonable accommodation, contact the person 
listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section below as soon as 
possible. Last minute requests will be accepted but may not be possible 
to fulfill.
    Written comments on the request for information must be submitted 
via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. 
Search for FEMA-2021-0024-0001 and follow the instructions for 
submitting comments.
    All written comments received, including any personal information 
provided, may be posted without alteration at https://www.regulations.gov. All comments on the request for information made 
during the meetings will be posted to the rulemaking docket on https://www.regulations.gov.
    For access to the docket and to read comments received by FEMA, go 
to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID FEMA-2021-0024-
0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rachel Sears, Supervisory Emergency 
Management Specialist, Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, 
Federal Emergency Management Agency, [email protected], 
202-646-4105.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 12, 2021, FEMA published a 
Request for Information (RFI) on the National Flood Insurance Program's 
(NFIP) Floodplain Management Standards for Land Management and Use, and 
an Assessment of the Program's Impact on Threatened and Endangered 
Species and Their Habitats.\1\ That RFI asked for public input on the 
floodplain management standards that communities should adopt to result 
in safer, stronger, and more resilient communities. It also sought 
input on how the NFIP can better promote protection of and minimize any 
adverse impact to threatened and endangered species, and their 
habitats.
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    \1\ 86 FR 56713.
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    In support of FEMA's role in setting the NFIP floodplain management 
standards for land management and use and the agency's desire to 
strengthen the NFIP's protection of threatened and endangered species 
and their habitat, the agency is seeking input from the public on the 
floodplain management standards that communities should adopt to result 
in safer, stronger, and more resilient communities and to promote 
protection of listed species and their critical habitats. Specifically, 
FEMA is seeking input through a series of questions in the RFI on 
opportunities for the agency to improve the minimum floodplain 
management standards for land management and use which better align the 
NFIP with the current understanding of flood risk and flood risk 
reduction approaches. See, 86 FR 56713. Current FEMA floodplain 
management standards for flood-prone area regulations have not been 
revised since they were implemented in 1976. The agency is considering 
revision to these regulations based on its current understanding of 
flood risk and flood risk reduction approaches and is now taking a 
thorough review of the floodplain management standards, along with 
prior published studies and reports, to determine how these standards 
can best meet FEMA and stakeholder needs.\2\
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    \2\ See generally ``National Flood Insurance Program: Evaluation 
Studies'' found at http://www.fema.gov/flood-insurance/rules-legislation/2006-evaluation (last accessed November 4, 2021) and 
``Building Codes Save: A Nationwide Study of Loss Prevention'' found 
at http://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-management/building-science/building-codes-save-study (last accessed November 4, 2021) 
among others.
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    FEMA is also re-evaluating the implementation of the NFIP under the 
Endangered Species Act at the national level to complete a revised 
Biological Evaluation \3\ re-examining how NFIP actions influence land 
development decisions; the potential for such actions to have adverse 
effects on listed species and critical habitats; and to identify 
program changes to mitigate adverse effects to avoid jeopardy to listed 
species and/or critical habitats. Public feedback will help FEMA with 
this process.
    FEMA is holding an additional public meeting and extending the 
comment period for an additional 45 days until January 27, 2022, to 
ensure all interested parties have sufficient opportunity to provide 
comments on FEMA programs. As the RFI seeks information regarding a 
series of questions, the public may wish to review the RFI in advance 
of the meeting. The RFI is found at 86 FR 56713. FEMA will carefully 
consider all relevant comments received during the meeting, and during 
the rest of the RFI's comment period. All comments or remarks provided 
on the request for information during the meeting will be

[[Page 66330]]

recorded and posted to the rulemaking docket on https://www.regulations.gov.
    The purpose of this additional public meeting is to seek feedback 
on the agency's request for information on the NFIP Floodplain 
Management Standards for Land Management and Use, and an Assessment of 
the Program's Impact on Threatened and Endangered Species and their 
Habitats published October 12, 2021. Individuals cannot apply for FEMA 
assistance by submitting a comment in the Federal Register or at these 
public meetings. If you are an individual who has been impacted by a 
disaster and you are seeking assistance from FEMA, please visit https://www.fema.gov/assistance/individual or call the FEMA Helpline (1-800-
621-3362/TTY (800) 462-7585) to apply or receive information on a 
pending request.

Deanne Criswell,
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2021-25336 Filed 11-19-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-47-P