Floodplain Bill Waives Fees for River Restoration, Allows Up to 1-Foot Flood Level Rise in Floodways

The Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act is all about making it easier to restore natural floodplains and wetlands. It amends existing law to clearly define an "ecosystem restoration project" as work done to bring back or boost natural functions in areas like floodplains. The bill’s main purpose is to cut through some red tape for these projects, but it introduces a major change to how flood risk is managed in the process.

The Good News: Less Paperwork for Restoration

If you're involved in a project that genuinely restores a wetland or floodplain—say, reconnecting an old oxbow lake to a river—this bill is designed to help you out. Specifically, it waives all review and processing fees for requesting a change to the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) if that change is a direct result of an ecosystem restoration project. This is a clear win for environmental groups and communities trying to fund these complex projects, as it removes one administrative hurdle and cost. The idea is to incentivize projects that improve natural flood defenses.

The Big Catch: Flexing the Floodway Rules

Here’s where things get complicated and potentially risky. The bill creates a special exception for restoration projects planned inside an official regulatory floodway. Floodways are the channels reserved to carry floodwaters, and regulations are usually strict about anything that could raise the Base Flood Elevation (BFE)—the expected height of floodwaters. Under this bill, communities can now approve a restoration project even if it causes the BFE to rise, provided three strict conditions are met.

First, a professional engineer has to use their “best judgment” to certify that the BFE won’t rise by more than one foot when you combine the project’s effect with all existing development. Second, no insured structure or critical infrastructure (like a hospital or power plant) can be negatively affected by that potential rise. Finally, the community must report the exact changes to FEMA within 180 days of the project finishing. This provision grants significant regulatory flexibility, but allowing any BFE increase in a floodway is a major policy shift that relies heavily on an engineer's estimate.

Who Bears the Risk of the Extra Foot?

This one-foot allowance in the BFE is the provision that directly impacts homeowners and businesses near these restoration sites. If you own property adjacent to a floodway where a new ecosystem project is approved, your local BFE could legally increase by up to 12 inches. While the bill attempts to protect existing structures from being “negatively affected,” any increase in the official flood level inherently increases the risk of flooding for properties in that area, potentially leading to higher flood insurance premiums or increased risk of damage. The challenge here is that the assessment of that risk relies on the engineer’s subjective judgment regarding the one-foot cap, which could be difficult to verify in practice.

The Clock is Ticking for FEMA

To manage this new flexibility, the bill mandates that the Administrator of FEMA must collaborate with Federal and State natural resource agencies to issue new guidance within 180 days of the Act becoming law. This guidance is crucial because it needs to spell out exactly how communities should apply these new rules, particularly the process for certifying that a project won't raise the BFE by more than a foot and ensuring critical infrastructure is protected. Without clear, robust guidance, implementing these changes could lead to inconsistent application and unintended consequences regarding flood risk management.