Collapse to view only § 55.14 - xxx
- § 55.7 - xxx
- § 55.8 - xxx
- § 55.9 - xxx
- § 55.10 - Environmental review procedures under 24 CFR parts 50 and 58.
- § 55.11 - Applicability of Subpart C decisionmaking process.
- § 55.12 - Inapplicability of 24 CFR part 55 to certain categories of proposed actions.
- § 55.13 - xxx
- § 55.14 - xxx
§ 55.7 - xxx
§ 55.8 - xxx
§ 55.9 - xxx
§ 55.10 - Environmental review procedures under 24 CFR parts 50 and 58.
(a) Where an environmental review is required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and 24 CFR part 50 or part 58, compliance with this part shall be completed before the completion of an environmental assessment (EA), including a finding of no significant impact (FONSI), or an environmental impact statement (EIS), in accordance with the decision points listed in 24 CFR 50.17(a) through (h), or before the preparation of an EA under 24 CFR 58.40 or an EIS under 24 CFR 58.37. For types of proposed actions that are categorically excluded from NEPA requirements under 24 CFR part 50 (or part 58), compliance with this part shall be completed before the Department's initial approval (or approval by a responsible entity authorized by 24 CFR part 58) of proposed actions in a floodplain or wetland.
(b) The categorical exclusion of certain proposed actions from environmental review requirements under NEPA and 24 CFR parts 50 and 58 (see 24 CFR 50.20 and 58.35(a)) does not exclude those actions from compliance with this part.
§ 55.11 - Applicability of Subpart C decisionmaking process.
(a) Before reaching the decision points described in § 55.10(a), HUD (for Department-administered programs) or the responsible entity (for HUD financial assistance subject to 24 CFR part 58) shall determine whether Executive Order 11988, Executive Order 11990, and this part apply to the proposed action.
(b) If Executive Order 11988 or Executive Order 11990 and this part apply, the approval of a proposed action or initial commitment shall be made in accordance with this part. The primary purpose of Executive Order 11988 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.” The primary purpose of Executive Order 11990 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.”
(c) The following table indicates the applicability, by location and type of action, of the decisionmaking process for implementing Executive Order 11988 and Executive Order 11990 under subpart C of this part.
TABLE 1
| Type of proposed action (new reviewable action or an amendment) 1 | Type of proposed action | Floodways | Coastal high hazard areas | Wetlands or 100-year floodplain outside coastal high hazard area and floodways | Nonwetlands area outside of the 100-year and within the 500-year floodplain | Critical Actions as defined in § 55.12(b)(2) | Critical actions not allowed. | Critical actions not allowed. | Allowed if the proposed critical action is processed under § 55.20. 2 | Allowed if the proposed critical action is processed under § 55.20. 2 | Noncritical actions not excluded under § 55.12(b) or (c) | Allowed only if the proposed non-critical action is a functionally dependent use and processed under § 55.20. 2 | Allowed only if the proposed noncritical action is processed under § 55.20 2 and is (1) a functionally dependent use, (2) existing construction (including improvements), or (3) 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 under § 55.1(c)(3) | Allowed if proposed noncritical action is processed under § 55.20. 2 | Any noncritical action is allowed without processing under this part. |
|---|
1 Under Executive Order 11990, the decisionmaking process in § 55.20 only applies to Federal assistance for new construction in wetlands locations.
2 Or those paragraphs of § 55.20 that are applicable to an action listed in § 55.12(a).
§ 55.12 - Inapplicability of 24 CFR part 55 to certain categories of proposed actions.
(a) The decisionmaking steps in § 55.20(b), (c), and (g) (steps 2, 3, and 7) do not apply to the following categories of proposed actions:
(1) HUD's or the recipient's actions involving the disposition of acquired multifamily housing projects or “bulk sales” of HUD-acquired (or under part 58 of recipients') one- to four-family properties in communities that are in the Regular Program of National Flood Insurance Program and in good standing (i.e., not suspended from program eligibility or placed on probation under 44 CFR 59.24). For programs subject to part 58, this paragraph applies only to recipients' disposition activities that are subject to review under part 58.
(2) HUD's actions under the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1701) for the purchase or refinancing of existing multifamily housing projects, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, board and care facilities, and intermediate care facilities, in communities that are in good standing under the NFIP.
(3) HUD's or the recipient's actions under any HUD program involving the repair, rehabilitation, modernization, weatherization, or improvement of existing multifamily housing projects, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, board and care facilities, intermediate care facilities, and one- to four-family properties, in communities that are in the Regular Program of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and are in good standing, provided that the number of units is not increased more than 20 percent, the action does not involve a conversion from nonresidential to residential land use, the action does not meet the thresholds for “substantial improvement” under § 55.2(b)(10), and the footprint of the structure and paved areas is not significantly increased.
(4) HUD's or the recipient's actions under any HUD program involving the repair, rehabilitation, modernization, weatherization, or improvement of existing nonresidential buildings and structures, in communities that are in the Regular Program of the NFIP and are in good standing, provided that the action does not meet the thresholds for “substantial improvement” under § 55.2(b)(10) and that the footprint of the structure and paved areas is not significantly increased.
(b) The decisionmaking process in § 55.20 shall not apply to the following categories of proposed actions:
(1) HUD's mortgage insurance actions and other financial assistance for the purchasing, mortgaging or refinancing of existing one- to four-family properties in communities that are in the Regular Program of the NFIP and in good standing (i.e., not suspended from program eligibility or placed on probation under 44 CFR 59.24), where the action is not a critical action and the property is not located in a floodway or Coastal High Hazard Area;
(2) Financial assistance for minor repairs or improvements on one- to four-family properties that do not meet the thresholds for “substantial improvement” under § 55.2(b)(10);
(3) HUD or a recipient's actions involving the disposition of individual HUD-acquired, one- to four-family properties;
(4) HUD guarantees under the Loan Guarantee Recovery Fund Program (24 CFR part 573) of loans that refinance existing loans and mortgages, where any new construction or rehabilitation financed by the existing loan or mortgage has been completed prior to the filing of an application under the program, and the refinancing will not allow further construction or rehabilitation, nor result in any physical impacts or changes except for routine maintenance; and
(5) The approval of financial assistance to lease an existing structure located within the floodplain, but only if;
(i) The structure is located outside the floodway or Coastal High Hazard Area, and is in a community that is in the Regular Program of the NFIP and in good standing (i.e., not suspended from program eligibility or placed on probation under 44 CFR 59.24);
(ii) The project is not a critical action; and
(iii) The entire structure is or will be fully insured or insured to the maximum under the NFIP for at least the term of the lease.
(c) This part shall not apply to the following categories of proposed HUD actions:
(1) HUD-assisted activities described in 24 CFR 58.34 and 58.35(b);
(2) HUD-assisted activities described in 24 CFR 50.19, except as otherwise indicated in § 50.19;
(3) The approval of financial assistance for restoring and preserving the natural and beneficial functions and values of floodplains and wetlands, including through acquisition of such floodplain and wetland property, but only if:
(i) The property is cleared of all existing structures and related improvements;
(ii) The property is dedicated for permanent use for flood control, wetland protection, park land, or open space; and
(iii) A permanent covenant or comparable restriction is placed on the property's continued use to preserve the floodplain or wetland from future development.
(4) An action involving a repossession, receivership, foreclosure, or similar acquisition of property to protect or enforce HUD's financial interests under previously approved loans, grants, mortgage insurance, or other HUD assistance;
(5) Policy-level actions described at 24 CFR 50.16 that do not involve site-based decisions;
(6) A minor amendment to a previously approved action with no additional adverse impact on or from a floodplain or wetland;
(7) HUD's or the responsible entity's approval of a project site, an incidental portion of which is situated in an adjacent floodplain, including the floodway or Coastal High Hazard Area, or wetland, but only if:
(i) The proposed construction and landscaping activities (except for minor grubbing, clearing of debris, pruning, sodding, seeding, or other similar activities) do not occupy or modify the 100-year floodplain (or the 500-year floodplain for critical actions) or the wetland;
(ii) Appropriate provision is made for site drainage that would not have an adverse effect on the wetland; and
(iii) A permanent covenant or comparable restriction is placed on the property's continued use to preserve the floodplain or wetland;
(8) HUD's or the responsible entity's approval of financial assistance for a project on any nonwetland site in a floodplain for which FEMA has issued:
(i) A final Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA), final Letter of Map Revision (LOMR), or final Letter of Map Revision Based on Fill (LOMR-F) that removed the property from a FEMA-designated floodplain location; or
(ii) A conditional LOMA, conditional LOMR, or conditional LOMR-F if HUD or the responsible entity's approval is subject to the requirements and conditions of the conditional LOMA or conditional LOMR;
(9) Issuance or use of Housing Vouchers, Certificates under the Section 8 Existing Housing Program, or other forms of rental subsidy where HUD, the awarding community, or the public housing agency that administers the contract awards rental subsidies that are not project-based (i.e., do not involve site-specific subsidies);
(10) Special projects directed to the removal of material and architectural barriers that restrict the mobility of and accessibility to elderly and persons with disabilities;
(11) The approval of financial assistance for acquisition, leasing, construction, rehabilitation, repair, maintenance, or operation of ships and other waterborne vessels that will be used for transportation or cruises and will not be permanently moored.