Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act

This bill, titled the Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act, amends the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 to specifically address ecosystem restoration projects. It defines an ecosystem restoration project as one designed to recover or enhance the natural and beneficial functions of aquatic resources or floodplains through physical, chemical, or biological manipulation. A key provision of the bill exempts requesters from paying review or processing fees for flood insurance rate map changes that are based on an ecosystem restoration project. Furthermore, it allows communities to permit these projects within adopted regulatory floodways, even if they result in a slight increase in base flood elevations. This conditional approval is granted if a professional engineer determines the cumulative effect will not raise the base flood elevation by more than one foot, and no insurable structures or critical infrastructure are adversely impacted. The bill also mandates that the community submit an analysis of changed conditions to the Administrator within 180 days of project completion. Finally, it requires the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in consultation with federal and state natural resource agencies, to issue guidance within 180 days to implement these new provisions.