Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 30903, Apr. 23, 2024.

(a)(1) The purpose of Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management, is “to avoid to the extent possible the long and short-term adverse impacts associated with the occupancy and modification of floodplains and to avoid direct or indirect support of floodplain development wherever there is a practicable alternative.”

(2) The purpose of Executive Order 11990, Protection of Wetlands, is “to avoid to the extent possible the long- and short-term adverse impacts associated with the destruction or modification of wetlands and to avoid direct or indirect support of new construction in wetlands wherever there is a practicable alternative.”

(3) This part implements the requirements of Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management, and Executive Order 11990, Protection of Wetlands, and employs the principles of the Unified National Program for Floodplain Management. These regulations apply to all HUD (or responsible entity) actions that are subject to potential harm by location in floodplains or wetlands. Covered actions include the proposed acquisition, construction, demolition, improvement, disposition, financing, and use of properties located in floodplains or wetlands for which approval is required either from HUD, under any applicable HUD program, or from a responsible entity authorized by 24 CFR part 58.

(4) This part does not prohibit approval of such actions (except for certain actions in Coastal High Hazard Areas), but provides a consistent means for implementing the Department's interpretation of the Executive Orders in the project approval decisionmaking processes of HUD and of responsible entities subject to 24 CFR part 58. The implementation of Executive Orders 11988 and 11990 under this part shall be conducted by HUD for Department-administered programs subject to environmental review under 24 CFR part 50 and by authorized responsible entities that are responsible for environmental review under 24 CFR part 58.

(5) Nonstructural alternatives to floodplain development and the destruction of wetlands are both favored and encouraged to reduce the loss of life and property caused by floods, and to restore the natural resources and functions of floodplains and wetlands. Nonstructural alternatives should be discussed in the decisionmaking process where practicable.

(b)(1) Under section 202(a) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, 42 U.S.C. 4106(a), proposed HUD financial assistance (including mortgage insurance) for acquisition or construction purposes in any “area having special flood hazards” (a flood zone designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)) shall not be approved in communities identified by FEMA as eligible for flood insurance but which are not participating in the National Flood Insurance Program. This prohibition only applies to proposed HUD financial assistance in a FEMA-designated area of special flood hazard one year after the community has been formally notified by FEMA of the designation of the affected area. This prohibition is not applicable to HUD financial assistance in the form of formula grants to states, including financial assistance under the State-administered CDBG Program (24 CFR part 570, subpart I) and the State-administered Rental Rehabilitation Program (24 CFR 511.51), Emergency Shelter Grant amounts allocated to States (24 CFR parts 575 and 576), and HOME funds provided to a state under Title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12701-12839).

(2) Under section 582 of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 5154a), HUD disaster assistance that is made available in a special flood hazard area may not be used to make a payment (including any loan assistance payment) to a person for repair, replacement, or restoration of damage to any personal, residential, or commercial property if:

(i) The person had previously received Federal flood disaster assistance conditioned on obtaining and maintaining flood insurance; and

(ii) The person failed to obtain and maintain the flood insurance.

(c) Except with respect to actions listed in § 55.12(c), no HUD financial assistance (including mortgage insurance) may be approved after May 23, 1994 with respect to:

(1) Any action other than a functionally dependent use or floodplain function restoration activity, located in a floodway;

(2) Any critical action located in a coastal high hazard area; or

(3) Any noncritical action located in a Coastal High Hazard Area, unless the action is a functionally dependent use, existing construction (including improvements), or reconstruction following destruction caused by a disaster. If the action is not a functionally dependent use, the action must be designed for location in a Coastal High Hazard Area. An action will be considered designed for a Coastal High Hazard Area if:

(i) In the case of reconstruction following destruction caused by a disaster or substantial improvement, the work meets the current standards for V zones in FEMA regulations (44 CFR 60.3(e)) and, if applicable, the Minimum Property Standards for such construction in 24 CFR 200.926d(c)(4)(iii); or

(ii) In the case of existing construction (including any minor improvements):

(A) The work met FEMA elevation and construction standards for a coastal high hazard area (or if such a zone or such standards were not designated, the 100-year floodplain) applicable at the time the original improvements were constructed; or

(B) If the original improvements were constructed before FEMA standards for the 100-year floodplain became effective or before FEMA designated the location of the action as within the 100-year floodplain, the work would meet at least the earliest FEMA standards for construction in the 100-year floodplain.

[59 FR 19107, Apr. 21, 1994, as amended at 78 FR 68728, Nov. 15, 2013]

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 30904, Apr. 23, 2024.

(a) With the exception of those terms defined in paragraph (b) of this section, the terms used in this part shall follow the definitions contained in section 6 of Executive Order 11988, section 7 of Executive Order 11990, and the Floodplain Management Guidelines for Implementing Executive Order 11988 (43 FR 6030, February 10, 1978), issued by the Water Resources Council; the terms “special flood hazard area,” “criteria,” and “Regular Program” shall follow the definitions contained in FEMA regulations at 44 CFR 59.1; and the terms “Letter of Map Revision” and “Letter of Map Amendment” shall refer to letters issued by FEMA, as provided in 44 CFR part 65 and 44 CFR part 70, respectively.

(b) For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:

(1) Coastal high hazard area means the area subject to high velocity waters, including but not limited to hurricane wave wash or tsunamis. The area is designated on a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) or Flood Insurance Study (FIS) under FEMA regulations. FIRMs and FISs are also relied upon for the designation of “100-year floodplains” (§ 55.2(b)(9)), “500-year floodplains” (§ 55.2(b)(4)), and “floodways” (§ 55.2(b)(5)). When FEMA provides interim flood hazard data, such as Advisory Base Flood Elevations (ABFE) or preliminary maps and studies, HUD or the responsible entity shall use the latest of these sources. If FEMA information is unavailable or insufficiently detailed, other Federal, state, or local data may be used as “best available information” in accordance with Executive Order 11988. However, a base flood elevation from an interim or preliminary or non-FEMA source cannot be used if it is lower than the current FIRM and FIS.

(2) Compensatory mitigation means the restoration (reestablishment or rehabilitation), establishment (creation), enhancement, and/or, in certain circumstances, preservation of aquatic resources for the purposes of offsetting unavoidable adverse impacts that remain after all appropriate and practicable avoidance and minimization have been achieved.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

(i) Permittee-responsible mitigation: On-site or off-site mitigation undertaken by the holder of a wetlands permit under section 404 of the Clean Water Act (or an authorized agent or contractor), for which the permittee retains full responsibility;

(ii) Mitigation banking: A permittee's purchase of credits from a wetlands mitigation bank, comprising wetlands that have been set aside to compensate for conversions of other wetlands; the mitigation obligation is transferred to the sponsor of the mitigation bank; and

(iii) In-lieu fee mitigation: A permittee's provision of funds to an in-lieu fee sponsor (public agency or nonprofit organization) that builds and maintains a mitigation site, often after the permitted adverse wetland impacts have occurred; the mitigation obligation is transferred to the in-lieu fee sponsor.

(3)(i) Critical action means any activity for which even a slight chance of flooding would be too great, because such flooding might result in loss of life, injury to persons, or damage to property. Critical actions include activities that create, maintain or extend the useful life of those structures or facilities that:

(A) Produce, use or store highly volatile, flammable, explosive, toxic or water-reactive materials;

(B) Provide essential and irreplaceable records or utility or emergency services that may become lost or inoperative during flood and storm events (e.g., data storage centers, generating plants, principal utility lines, emergency operations centers including fire and police stations, and roadways providing sole egress from flood-prone areas); or

(C) Are likely to contain occupants who may not be sufficiently mobile to avoid loss of life or injury during flood or storm events, e.g., persons who reside in hospitals, nursing homes, convalescent homes, intermediate care facilities, board and care facilities, and retirement service centers. Housing for independent living for the elderly is not considered a critical action.

(ii) Critical actions shall not be approved in floodways or coastal high hazard areas.

(4) 500-year floodplain means the minimum floodplain of concern for Critical Actions and is the area subject to inundation from a flood having a 0.2 percent chance of occurring in any given year. (See § 55.2(b)(1) for appropriate data sources.)

(5) Floodway means that portion of the floodplain which is effective in carrying flow, where the flood hazard is generally the greatest, and where water depths and velocities are the highest. The term “floodway” as used here is consistent with “regulatory floodways” as identified by FEMA. (See § 55.2(b)(1) for appropriate data sources.)

(6) Functionally dependent use means a land use that must necessarily be conducted in close proximity to water (e.g., a dam, marina, port facility, water-front park, and many types of bridges).

(7) High hazard area means a floodway or a coastal high hazard area.

(8) New construction includes draining, dredging, channelizing, filling, diking, impounding, and related activities and any structures or facilities begun after the effective date of Executive Order 11990. (See section 7(b) of Executive Order 11990.)

(9) 100-year floodplain means the floodplain of concern for this part and is the area subject to inundation from a flood having a one percent or greater chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. (See § 55.2(b)(1) for appropriate data sources.)

(10)(i) Substantial improvement means either:

(A) Any repair, reconstruction, modernization or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure either:

(1) Before the improvement or repair is started; or

(2) If the structure has been damaged, and is being restored, before the damage occurred; or

(B) Any repair, reconstruction, modernization or improvement of a structure that results in an increase of more than twenty percent in the number of dwelling units in a residential project or in the average peak number of customers and employees likely to be on-site at any one time for a commercial or industrial project.

(ii) Substantial improvement may not be defined to include either:

(A) Any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing state or local health, sanitary or safety code specifications that is solely necessary to assure safe living conditions, or

(B) Any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historical Places or on a State Inventory of Historic Places.

(iii) Structural repairs, reconstruction, or improvements not meeting this definition are considered “minor improvements”.

(11) Wetlands means those areas that are inundated by surface or ground water with a frequency sufficient to support, and under normal circumstances does or would support, a prevalence of vegetative or aquatic life that requires saturated or seasonally saturated soil conditions for growth and reproduction. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas such as sloughs, potholes, wet meadows, river overflows, mud flats, and natural ponds. This definition includes those wetland areas separated from their natural supply of water as a result of activities such as the construction of structural flood protection methods or solid-fill road beds and activities such as mineral extraction and navigation improvements. This definition includes both wetlands subject to and those not subject to section 404 of the Clean Water Act as well as constructed wetlands. The following process shall be followed in making the wetlands determination:

(i) HUD or, for programs subject to 24 CFR part 58, the responsible entity, shall make a determination whether the action is new construction that is located in a wetland. These actions are subject to processing under the § 55.20 decisionmaking process for the protection of wetlands.

(ii) As primary screening, HUD or the responsible entity shall verify whether the project area is located in proximity to wetlands identified on the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI). If so, HUD or the responsible entity should make a reasonable attempt to consult with the Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), for information concerning the location, boundaries, scale, and classification of wetlands within the area. If an NWI map indicates the presence of wetlands, FWS staff, if available, must find that no wetland is present in order for the action to proceed without further processing. Where FWS staff is unavailable to resolve any NWI map ambiguity or controversy, an appropriate wetlands professional must find that no wetland is present in order for the action to proceed without § 55.20 processing.

(iii) As secondary screening used in conjunction with NWI maps, HUD or the responsible entity is encouraged to use the Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) National Soil Survey (NSS) and any state and local information concerning the location, boundaries, scale, and classification of wetlands within the action area.

(iv) Any challenges from the public or other interested parties to the wetlands determinations made under this part must be made in writing to HUD (or the responsible entity authorized under 24 CFR part 58) during the commenting period and must be substantiated with verifiable scientific information. Commenters may request a reasonable extension of the time for the commenting period for the purpose of substantiating any objections with verifiable scientific information. HUD or the responsible entity shall consult FWS staff, if available, on the validity of the challenger's scientific information prior to making a final wetlands determination.

[59 FR 19107, Apr. 21, 1994, as amended at 78 FR 68729, Nov. 15, 2013]

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 30905, Apr. 23, 2024.

(a)(1) The Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development (CPD) shall oversee:

(i) The Department's implementation of Executive Orders 11988 and 11990 and this part in all HUD programs; and

(ii) The implementation activities of HUD program managers and, for HUD financial assistance subject to 24 CFR part 58, of grant recipients and responsible entities.

(2) In performing these responsibilities, the Assistant Secretary for CPD shall make pertinent policy determinations in cooperation with appropriate program offices and provide necessary assistance, training, publications, and procedural guidance.

(b) Other HUD Assistant Secretaries, the General Counsel, and the President of the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) shall:

(1) Ensure compliance with this part for all actions under their jurisdiction that are proposed to be conducted, supported, or permitted in a floodplain or wetland;

(2) Ensure that actions approved by HUD or responsible entities are monitored and that any prescribed mitigation is implemented;

(3) Ensure that the offices under their jurisdiction have the technical resources to implement the requirements of this part; and

(4) Incorporate in departmental regulations, handbooks, and project and site standards those criteria, standards, and procedures necessary to comply with the requirements of this part.

(c) Responsible Entity Certifying Officer. Certifying Officers of responsible entities administering or reviewing activities subject to 24 CFR part 58 shall comply with this part in carrying out HUD-assisted programs. Certifying Officers of responsible entities subject to 24 CFR part 58 shall monitor approved actions and ensure that any prescribed mitigation is implemented.

(d) Recipient. Recipients subject to 24 CFR part 58 shall monitor approved actions and ensure that any prescribed mitigation is implemented. Recipients shall:

(1) Supply HUD (or the responsible entity authorized by 24 CFR part 58) with all available, relevant information necessary for HUD (or the responsible entity) to perform the compliance required by this part; and

(2) Implement mitigating measures required by HUD (or the responsible entity authorized by 24 CFR part 58) under this part or select alternate eligible property.

[59 FR 19107, Apr. 21, 1994, as amended at78 FR 68730, Nov. 15, 2013]