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Washington
–
U.S.
Senators
Tim
Scott
(R-SC)
and
Brian
Schatz
(D-HI)
have
introduced
the
Repeatedly
Flooded
Communities
Preparation
Act,
which
will
ensure
better
protection
for
communities
that
have
been
repeatedly
flooded.
These
repetitive
loss
properties
contribute
to
nearly
half
of
the
National
Flood
Insurance
Programs’
(NFIP)
$25
billion
debt
and
make
up
nearly
30
percent
of
the
claims
it
pays,
while
representing
just
one
percent
of
total
NFIP
policies.
The
Repeatedly
Flooded
Communities
Preparation
Act
asks
local
leaders
to
proactively
mitigate
against
flood
risk
rather
than
taxpayers
paying
to
rebuild
the
same
properties
over
and
over
again.
“I’ll
never
forget
going
door-to-door
in
Sumter,
Horry
County
and
other
areas
of
South
Carolina
after
the
2015
floods
and
seeing
firsthand
the
real-life
devastation
faced
by
so
many
of
our
families,”
Scott
said.
“As
someone
who
grew
up
on
the
coast,
I
know
how
critical
the
NFIP
is
to
families
throughout
South
Carolina.
Our
legislation
would
help
tackle
the
NFIP’s
debt
problems
while
better
preparing
communities
to
weather
disasters
before
they
strike,
cutting
costs,
and
freeing
up
resources
to
be
used
on
needed
relief
efforts.”
“There
is
no
doubt
that
we
have
increased
flooding
in
our
coastal
cities,”
Schatz
said.
“Our
bill
builds
on
the
momentum
growing
in
states
and
cities
to
fight
the
new
reality
of
accelerating
sea
level
rise.
We
need
to
do
all
we
can
to
prepare
our
communities
and
our
economy
to
weather
the
storm.”
As
it
stands,
there
are
no
requirements
for
municipalities
or
counties
with
a
significant
number
of
repetitive
loss
properties
to
change
their
land
use
management
plans
or
public
infrastructure
investments
to
minimize
flood
risk.
This
is
a
growing
problem
for
both
the
residents
of
these
communities
and
the
financial
soundness
of
the
NFIP.
Specifically,
the
bill
will:
- Require
communities
with
over
50
repetitive
loss
properties,
defined
as
properties
that
have
flooded
at
least
twice
in
a
10-year
time
period
with
claims
of
$1000
or
more,
to
review
and
analyze
data
on
properties
and
infrastructure
that
flood
repeatedly
to
determine
the
specific
areas
that
should
be
priorities
for
voluntary
buyouts,
drainage
improvements,
or
other
mitigation.
- Ask
communities
to
develop
and
implement
plans
for
lowering
flood
risk
in
these
problem
areas.
The
legislation
gives
local
community
leaders
discretion
to
determine
the
type
of
corrective
action.
- Set
deadlines
for
FEMA
to
develop
criteria
to
govern
these
repeat
loss
plans
and
determine
any
appropriate
sanctions
for
failure
to
act.
- Require
FEMA
to
report
to
Congress
every
two
years
on
the
progress
of
mitigating
in
heavy-risk
areas.
Scott
and
Schatz
both
serve
on
the
committee
of
jurisdiction,
the
Senate
Banking,
Housing
and
Urban
Affairs
Committee.
Their
legislation
has
support
from
various
constituent,
industry,
consumer,
and
environmental
organizations,
including
the
Municipal
Association
of
South
Carolina,
South
Carolina
Manufacturers
Alliance,
National
Taxpayers
Union
(NTU),
Natural
Resources
Defense
Council
(NRDC),
Sierra
Club,
National
Association
of
Realtors
(NAR),
and
most
importantly,
hundreds
of
South
Carolinians
who
wrote
Sen.
Scott
in
favor
of
this
update
to
the
NFIP.
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