HUD Withdraws Proposed Rule for Floodplain Management and Resilience

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a notice in which it announced that it is withdrawing a proposed rule aimed at improving floodplain management and building standards in the context of climate change: Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands; Minimum Property Standards for Flood Hazard Exposure; Building to the Federal Flood Risk Management Standards, 81 Fed. Reg. 74967 (Oct. 28, 2016).

The proposed rule would have implemented Executive Order 13690 on establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard by introducing standards for construction in floodplains aimed at mitigating future flood risk in the context of a changing climate. For example, the proposed rule would have required new construction projects situated in flood-prone areas to be elevated or flood-proofed between 2 and 3 feet above the 100-year floodplain.