Urban Flooding Awareness Act of 2014

Bill: 113-hr-5521
Sponsor: Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5]
Introduced: 2014-09-17 in the House
Policy area: Emergency Management
Subjects: Advanced technology and technological innovations
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Congressional oversight
Environmental technology
Floods and storm protection
Government studies and investigations
Hydrology and hydrography
Public-private cooperation
State and local finance
Urban and suburban affairs and development

Summary:
action_date: 2014-09-17
text: 
Urban Flooding Awareness Act of 2014 - Directs the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to enter into an agreement with the National Research Council to conduct a study on urban flooding.
 
Defines &quot;urban flooding&quot; as the inundation of property in a built environment, particularly in more densely populated areas, caused by rain falling on increased amounts of impervious surface and overwhelming the capacity of drainage systems.
 
Directs the Council to evaluate the latest research, laws, regulations, policies, best practices, procedures, and institutional knowledge regarding urban flooding. Requires the Council's study to include an examination of:
 
 
the prevalence of and costs associated with urban flooding events across the United States, with a focus on the largest metropolitan areas and trends in frequency and severity over the past two decades;
 
the adequacy of federally provided flood risk information and the most cost-effective methods and products to characterize the risk of property damage from urban flooding on a property-by-property basis;
 
 the potential for training and certifying local experts in flood risk characterization as a service to property purchasers and owners;
 
the causes of urban flooding and its apparent increase over the past 20 years;
 
the most cost-effective strategies, practices, and technologies used to reduce the impacts of urban flooding; 
 
the role of the federal government and state governments in spurring market innovations based on public-private-nonprofit partnerships; 
 
the most sustainable and effective methods for funding flood risk and flood damage reduction at all levels of government;
 
the relevance of the National Flood Insurance Program and Community Rating System to urban flooding areas outside traditional flood plains and strategies for broadening coverage and increasing participation under the Program; and
 
strategies for protecting downstream communities from the flooding impacts of development in upstream communities.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-09-18
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.
action_date: 2014-09-17
text: 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.
action_date: 2014-09-17
text: 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.
action_date: 2014-09-17
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2014-09-17
text: Introduced in House