Building Resilience: FEMA’s Building Codes Policies and Considerations for Congress
Congressional research reportOct 17, 2023
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Building Resilience: FEMA’s Building Codes
Policies and Considerations for Congress
Updated October 17, 2023
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
R47612
SUMMARY
Building Resilience: FEMA’s Building Codes
Policies and Considerations for Congress
The built environment plays a critical role in determining the severity of a natural hazard’s
impact on a community. How many lives are lost, how long a recovery takes, and how many
dollars would be needed if rebuilding often depends upon the structural integrity of the buildings
struck by the tornado, hurricane, fire, earthquake, flood, or other natural disaster. For this reason,
experts and agencies promoting hazard resiliency often focus on the development, adoption, and
enforcement of hazard-resilient building codes and design standards.
In recent years, Congress has increasingly acknowledged how buildings and building codes may
determine the expense and severity of a disaster. Yet the federal government exercises little direct
control over building codes. In general, subfederal governments exercise authority over how
building codes are developed, adopted, and enforced.
R47612
October 17, 2023
Diane P. Horn
Specialist in Flood
Insurance and Emergency
Management
Erica A. Lee
Analyst in Emergency
Management and Disaster
Recovery
Congress has authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to utilize a range of policy tools that may
promote a resilient built environment and enforcement of hazard-resistant building codes despite the limitations on federal
authorities. Under both long-standing and recently enacted statutory authorities, FEMA may provide funding to states and
localities to adopt and enforce hazard-resilient building codes, require that federally funded reconstruction efforts adhere to
recent hazard-resistant building codes, and restrict federal funding to rebuild in certain hazard-prone areas. FEMA has, in
turn, recently taken a range of actions to promote the adoption and enforcement of hazard-resistant building codes across the
country, and monitored the weakening or absence of building codes at the subfederal level.
FEMA’s authorities with respect to building codes have generated a number of policy discussions. Issues facing the 118 th
Congress include determining the proper role of the federal government in building code and land use policy, how to develop
hazard-resistant building codes in an age of climate change, and how to ensure that code requirements align with FEMA’s
goals to promote equitable disaster recovery and ensure the fair treatment of survivors.
Congress has seen significant legislation introduced in recent years to address the causes and consequences of climate
change—including appropriations and new authorities that enhance FEMA’s building code policies and related activities.
Several recent hearings dedicated to FEMA oversight have centered on the agency’s response to the hazards that climate
change may intensify or make more frequent. In addition, FEMA itself has made climate adaptation a top priority in its
FY2022-26 Strategic Plan. Congress’s potential enhancement of these authorities and oversight of existing authorities could
strengthen FEMA’s role in promoting hazard-resistant building code compliance or, conversely, modify or limit FEMA’s
work in this policy area. This report summarizes this background, discusses FEMA’s role in building code adoption and
compliance, and offers relevant considerations for Congress.
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Building Resilience: FEMA’s Building Codes Policies and Considerations for Congress
Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
Value of Building Codes ........................................................................................................... 2
Building Codes and FEMA: Background........................................................................................ 4
State, Local, Federal, and Nonfederal Roles ............................................................................. 4
Role of the International Code Council and Code-Development Organizations ................ 4
Federal Role ........................................................................................................................ 4
State and Local Roles.......................................................................................................... 5
Building Codes Adoption and Enforcement Shortfalls ....................................................... 5
Developing Hazard-Resistant Codes in an Age of Climate Change ......................................... 6
Reliance on Historic Hazard Data....................................................................................... 6
Incorporating Climate Risk into Building Standards .......................................................... 7
Federal Authorities and Limitations ................................................................................................ 8
Land Use Planning and Hazard Zones ...................................................................................... 9
FEMA’s Authorities and Land Use Planning .......................................................................... 10
Mitigation Plans ................................................................................................................ 10
Community Disaster Resilience Zones .............................................................................. 11
The Federal Flood Risk Management Standard ................................................................ 12
National Flood Insurance Program Requirements Related to Planning and
Building Codes .............................................................................................................. 14
FEMA: Code Requirements for Funded Projects .......................................................................... 15
Code Requirements: Authorities, Developments, and Variations across Programs ................ 15
Building Code Development, Adoption, Enforcement: FEMA Assistance and Incentives ........... 16
Public Assistance..................................................................................................................... 16
Hazard Mitigation Assistance.................................................................................................. 20
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program .................................................................................... 20
Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund Program ................................................. 20
Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant Program ..................................................................... 21
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities ......................................................... 21
National Flood Insurance Program ......................................................................................... 24
Additional FEMA Technical Assistance.................................................................................. 26
FEMA: Building Codes Advocacy and Leadership ...................................................................... 26
Research and Development ..................................................................................................... 26
Multiagency Coordination ...................................................................................................... 27
Public Awareness..................................................................................................................... 27
Monitoring Building Code Adoption ...................................................................................... 27
Considerations for Congress.......................................................................................................... 28
Building Codes and Equity ..................................................................................................... 28
Streamlining and Standardizing Post-Disaster Federal Building Codes Requirements .......... 30
FEMA Assistance in Hazard Zones......................................................................................... 31
FEMA, Clean Energy, and Building Codes ............................................................................ 31
FEMA and Rebuilding for Future Conditions ......................................................................... 33
Concluding Comments .................................................................................................................. 34
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Building Resilience: FEMA’s Building Codes Policies and Considerations for Congress
Figures
Figure 1. Vertical Elevation and Horizontal Extent of the Federal Flood Risk
Management Standard Floodplain.............................................................................................. 13
Figure 2. State and Territory Building Code Status for BRIC Awards .......................................... 22
Figure 3. Building Code Adoption Portal ...................................................................................... 28
Tables
Table 1. Key FEMA Authorities Related to Building Codes and Standards ................................... 8
Table 2. FEMA Building Code Requirements by Program ........................................................... 17
Table 3. FEMA Incentives and Assistance for SLTT Building Code Work................................... 25
Appendixes
Appendix. Chronology of Recent FEMA Actions ......................................................................... 35
Contacts
Author Information........................................................................................................................ 36
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Introduction
In 1990, a representative of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) testified before
Congress that “earthquakes do not kill people, the built environment does.”1 This saying, as well
as similar sentiments, has been included in testimony since at least 1973, well before FEMA
existed.2 According to seismologists and other experts, it is not seismic shaking but “the collapse
or failure of … structures … that ... kill most of the people in an earthquake.”3 Emergency
managers and engineers have long echoed the point that the nature of the built environment often
determines the severity of a disaster no matter whether the inciting event is an earthquake,
hurricane, flood, or fire. How buildings withstand seismic shaking, high winds, floodwaters, or
falling embers may determine the number of casualties, how long the power is out, and how many
millions of dollars would be needed if rebuilding. The potential for hazards to become dangerous,
disruptive, or costly often depends on where and how people build.4
Nearly one-third of the U.S. housing stock is considered to be at high risk of a natural disaster.5
Given that Americans are estimated to spend approximately 90% of their time indoors,6
individuals are most likely to experience a hazard inside of a building. The impacts of natural
hazards are expected to increase during the useful lifetime of much existing and new U.S.
property and infrastructure,7 placing an increasing burden on federal, state, and local
governments, as well as individuals and businesses.
For these reasons, FEMA and other federal agencies have long stressed the importance of hazardresistant building codes and land use policy as a means to mitigate disaster losses. The federal
government, however, exercises limited control over such codes and policies. The authority to
adopt, administer, and enforce building codes and facilitate land use largely resides with state,
tribal, territory, and local governments (SLTTs), which do not consistently exercise these
authorities. FEMA has found most jurisdictions lack hazard-resistant codes, and 35 states
received FEMA’s lowest ranking for adopting hazard-resistant building codes.8
To encourage resilience, Congress has authorized FEMA and other federal officials to incentivize
SLTT adoption and enforcement of hazard-resistant building codes and land use policies, and to
1 Statement of Grant C. Peterson, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Congress, House Committee
on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, Subcommittee on Policy Research and Insurance, Earthquakes and
Earthquake Insurance, hearing, 101st Cong., 2nd sess., February 7, 1990, p. 82.
2 See, for example, Statement of State of California State Geologist Wesley Bruer, U.S. Congress, Senate Committee
on Commerce, Subcommittee on Oceans and Atmosphere, Earthquakes, hearings, 93rd Cong., 1st sess., April 26-27,
1973, p. 101 (hereinafter Senate Oceans and Atmosphere, Earthquakes); U.S. Congress, House Committee on
Appropriations, Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1990, hearings, 101st Cong., 1st
sess., March 2, 1989, p. 570.
3 Senate Oceans and Atmosphere, Earthquakes, p. 99.
4 See, for an exemplary discussion of this point, Ian Kelman, Disaster by Choice: How Our Actions Turn Natural
Hazards Into Catastrophes (New York: Oxford University Press, 2022).
5 CoreLogic, “Risk Redefined: CoreLogic Climate Change Catastrophe Report Emphasizes Need to Address Increasing
Frequency of Hazard Events,” January 27, 2021, https://www.corelogic.com/press-releases/risk-redefined-corelogicclimate-change-catastrophe-report-emphasizes-need-to-address-increasing-frequency-of-hazard-events/.
6 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality,”
https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/inside-story-guide-indoor-air-quality.
7 Multihazard Mitigation Council, National Institute of Building Sciences, Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves, 2017
Interim Report, Washington, DC, December 2017, p. 17, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/
fema_ms2_interim_report_2017.pdf.
8 FEMA, “2023 Building Code Adoption Tracking Overview,” March 2023, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/
documents/fema_bcat-report-about_fy2023.pdf.
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require code compliance in federally funded projects. For its part, FEMA has expanded agency
efforts to promote the use of hazard-resistant codes, design, and land use to reduce the risk of
human casualty and structural damage. May has been observed as National Building Safety
Month for several years,9 advocating the importance of building codes.
The 118th Congress faces fundamental questions regarding the built environment in the face of
more numerous, costly, and disruptive disasters.10 Where is it wise to build? How should
buildings in hazardous locations be constructed? The 118th Congress may decide how the federal
government engages with these questions, promotes a hazard-resilient built environment, and
reduces future disaster-related losses.
Terms
Building Codes—Building codes are officially adopted comprehensive specifications regulating building
construction, materials, and performance to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.11 Building codes may
reference more than one design standard.
Design Standard—A design standard is a specified criteria or standard that dictates that a provision, practice,
requirement, or limit be met;12 for example, the use of the 1% annual chance flood or the degree of protection of
a structural project.
Code Development, Adoption, Administration, Enforcement—Building code development refers to
the process of authoring, revising, and approving building codes. Adoption refers to a government’s codification
of a given set of building codes as legally required minimum standards within a given jurisdiction. Administration
and enforcement refers to permitting, certification of compliance and occupancy, fee collection, training and
employing relevant staff, inspection, monitoring of unpermitted activities, identification of corrective action, and
similar activities.
Natural hazards—FEMA defines natural hazards as environmental phenomena that have the potential to impact
societies and the human environment. Hazardous weather and climate events include severe storms, tropical
cyclones, drought, wildfires, and extreme heat or cold. Other natural hazards include avalanche, earthquake,
landslide, tsunami, and volcanic activity. FEMA distinguishes between natural hazards and natural disasters, which
the agency defines as the negative impact following an actual occurrent of a natural hazard in the event that it
significantly harms a community.13
Value of Building Codes
The federal government has allocated increasing resources to disaster relief and recovery,14 and
the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that the rising number of natural
9 See, for example, International Code Council, 2023 Building Safety Month: It Starts With You!
https://www.iccsafe.org/advocacy/building-safety-month/building-safety-month/.
10 See, for example, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Centers for Environmental
Information, “Billion-Dollars Weather and Climate Disaster,” website, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/. The
site finds that when accounting for weather/climate disasters with losses exceeding $1 billion in the United States, the
1980–2022 annual average is 8.1 events (CPI-adjusted); the annual average for the most recent five years (2018–2022)
is 18.0 events (CPI-adjusted). Overall losses also increase over time; see Adam Smith, “2021 U.S. Billion-dollar
Weather and Climate Disasters in Historical Context – Hazard and Socioeconomic Risk Mapping,” p. 6,
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/monitoring-content/billions/docs/billions-risk-mapping-2021-ams-forum.pdf.
11 Federal Emergency Management Agency, Glossary, Building Codes Toolkit, February 7, 2013, p. 1,
https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1903-25045-7477/building_codes_toolkit_glossary.pdf.
12 James M. Wright, Regulatory and Design Standards for Reducing Losses, Federal Emergency Management Agency,
Floodplain Management: Principles and Current Practices, 2021, p. 13-1, https://training.fema.gov/hiedu/aemrc/
courses/coursetreat/fm.aspx.
13 FEMA, National Risk Index, Natural Hazards, https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/natural-hazards.
14 See, for example, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Federal Disaster Assistance: Federal Departments and
Agencies Obligated at Least $277.6 Billion During Fiscal Years 2005 Through 2014, GAO-16-797, September 22,
(continued...)
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disasters and increasing reliance on the federal government for response and recovery assistance
is a key source of federal fiscal exposure.15 In the United States, as in many countries, these
increasing costs can be attributed to a combination of factors, including increased development in
areas that are susceptible to natural hazards, rising property values in hazardous areas, and
climatological and environmental changes. The role of inadequate building codes is less
frequently considered a contributor to natural disaster losses, despite long-standing information
that may support this connection. For example, although South Florida had one of the strongest
building codes in the nation in 1992, a quarter of the $16 billion in insured losses from Hurricane
Andrew were attributed to Dade County’s failure to enforce its building code.16 Subsequent
research revealed that the construction practices in place at the time were not only insufficient to
withstand the powerful winds, but had also magnified the damage.17 Thirty years later, studies of
damage from Hurricane Ian in southwest Florida found that residential buildings constructed to
the 2002 Florida Building Code or later suffered minimal observable structural damage from
either wind or storm surge, even during a historic storm surge of the magnitude induced by
Hurricane Ian.18
Experts have also pointed out how hazard-resistant building codes reduce earthquake damage. In
2010, both Chile and Haiti were hit by major earthquakes. The magnitude 7 earthquake19 in Haiti
killed an estimated 220,000 people, injured 300,000, and left 1.5 million homeless. The much
stronger magnitude 8.8 earthquake20 in Chile killed less than 800 people, most due to the resulting
tsunami, and caused relatively little structural damage.21 Some of the difference in outcomes
might be attributable to variations in seismic and site characteristics, while much of the difference
in casualties and structural damage has been attributed to the adoption and enforcement of strong
2016, https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-16-797.pdf; and CRS Report R45484, The Disaster Relief Fund: Overview and
Issues, by William L. Painter.
15
GAO, Climate Change: A Climate Migration Pilot Program Could Enhance the Nation’s Resilience and Reduce
Federal Fiscal Exposure, GAO-20-488, July 6, 2020, pp. 1-2, https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-20-488.pdf.
16 Multi-hazard Mitigation Council, National Institute of Building Sciences, Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves, 2017
Report, Washington, DC, p. 80, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/fema_ms2_interim_report_2017.pdf.
17 Paul Fronstin and Alphonse G. Holtmann, “The determinants of Residential Property Damage Caused by Hurricane
Andrew,” Southern Economic Journal, vol. 61, no. 2 (October 1994), pp. 387-397; and Edward L. Keith and John D.
Rose, “Hurricane Andrew - Structural Performance of Buildings in South Florida,” Journal of Performance of
Constructed Facilities, vol. 8, no. 3 (August 1994), pp. 178-191.
18 David O. Prevatt, David B. Roueche, and Kurtis R. Gurley, Survey and Investigation of Buildings Damaged by
Category III, IV, and V Hurricanes in FY 20223-2023 - Hurricane Ian, Engineering School of Sustainable
Infrastructure and Environment, Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, University of Florida, Report No. 02-23
for Florida Department of Buisness and Professional Regulation, Gainesville, FL, June 13, 2023, pp. 20, 34,
https://www.floridabuilding.org/fbc/commission/FBC_0623/PrevattHurricane_Ian_Building_Damage_Observation_in_FY_2022-2023_Final. See also Jeff Zbar, How Newer-Construction
Homes Fared in Florida’s Hurricane Season, Urban Land, March 17, 2023, https://urbanland.uli.org/public/buildingfor-resilience-how-newer-construction-homes-fared-in-floridas-hurricane-season/; and Scott Neuman, One Florida
Community Build to Weather Hurricanes Endured Ian With Barely a Scratch, NPR, October 6, 2022,
https://www.npr.org/2022/10/05/1126900340/florida-community-designed-weather-hurricane-ian-babcock-ranch-solar.
19 The Moment Magnitude, M , is an indicator of the amount of energy released during an earthquake. The M scale is
W
W
logarithmic, with an increase of one step corresponding to a tenfold increase in the measured amplitude of the ground
motion of the earthquake, and 32 times more energy release. In other words, an M W 8.0 earthquake releases 32 times
more energy than an MW 7.0 earthquake. For more information on how earthquakes are measured, see CRS Report
RL33861, Earthquakes: Risk, Detection, Warning, and Research, by Peter Folger.
20 A magnitude 8.8 earthquake releases 500 times as much energy as a magnitude 7 earthquake. See United States
Geological Survey, “How Much Bigger?” Calculator, https://earthquake.usgs.gov/education/calculator.php.
21 International Tsunami Information Center, 27 February 2021, MW 8.8, Off Central Chile, http://itic.ioc-unesco.org/
index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1667:27-february-2010-mw-88-off-central-chile.
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building codes in Chile, in contrast to the virtually nonexistent and poorly enforced building
codes in Haiti.22
The National Institute of Building Sciences also emphasized the importance of building codes in
a widely cited study which found that adopting the most recent building code could save $11 for
every dollar invested in hazard-resistant codes and standards, and above-code design could save
$4 for each dollar invested. The study also found that adopting the 2015 International Code
Council building codes added about 1% in costs relative to 1990 standards.23
Building Codes and FEMA: Background
State, Local, Federal, and Nonfederal Roles
Role of the International Code Council and Code-Development Organizations
In 1994, the three groups publishing model codes merged to form the International Code Council
(ICC), 24 which published the first International Building Code in 1995.25 The ICC continues to
develop and publish model codes and guides to building practices that are now adopted, adapted,
and enforced at the state, territorial and local level.26 The ICC’s “family” of I-Codes includes
codes for different types of dwellings (e.g., residential, new, existing structures), and was most
recently updated in 2021.27
Federal Role
In the last decades of the twentieth century, the federal government—including FEMA—helped
to develop and promote hazard-resistant building codes promulgated by the ICC and other codedeveloping organizations like the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).28
The federal government continues to collaborate with the ICC and similar organizations to help
develop, revise, and promote hazard-resistant model building codes.29 The ICC updates I-Codes
on a three-year cycle and includes hearings and opportunities for public comment.
22 See, for example, Richard A. Lovett, “Why Chile Fared Better Than Haiti,” Nature, March 1, 2010,
https://www.nature.com/articles/news.2010.100; and Michael K. Lindell, “Built-in Resilience,” Nature Geoscience,
vol. 3 (October 24, 2021), pp. 739-740, https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo998.
23 National Institute of Building Sciences, Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: 2019 Report, Washington, DC, 2019, pp.
37-39, https://www.nibs.org/files/pdfs/NIBS_MMC_MitigationSaves_2019.pdf.
24 These were Building Officials & Code Administrators International, Inc., International Conference of Building
Officials, Inc., and Southern Building Code Congress, Inc. (Steve Thomas, Building Code Essentials: Based on the
2016 International Building Code, International Code Council, 2015 edition, pp. 3-4).
25 Ibid; International Code Council, “About,” https://global.iccsafe.org/about/.
26 For detailed discussion of building codes and hazard-resistant design, see CRS Report R47215, Hazard-Resilient
Buildings: Sustaining Occupancy and Function After a Natural Disaster, by Linda R. Rowan.
27 Federal Emergency Management Agency, Building Codes Fact Sheet, Building Codes Toolkit, February 5, 2013, p.
1, https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1903-25045-6866/building_codes_toolkit_fact_sheet.pdf.
28 FEMA, Building Code Strategy, March 2022, p. 41 (hereinafter FEMA, Building Codes Strategy), available at
https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_building-codes-strategy.pdf.
29 FEMA, Building Code Strategy, p. 41.
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State and Local Roles
Most states and local jurisdictions adopt model codes that are created on a national or
international level by standards-developing organizations like the ICC, and amend them where
needed prior to adoption into state laws and local ordinances. Building codes are administered at
a community level; the federal government cannot mandate the level of code enforcement in
states or communities. Some states have adopted statewide building codes that apply to virtually
every type of structure while others employ lesser degrees of regulation and code applicability.
Statewide codes sometimes allow certain individual jurisdictions (e.g., cities or a particular class
of counties) to deviate from the standard, weakening the model minimum code in response to
objections based on the cost of compliance.30
Building Codes Adoption and Enforcement Shortfalls
Nearly two-thirds of Americans live in communities that have not adopted the latest model
building codes,31 and many jurisdictions do not consistently adopt and enforce building codes—
leading to significant threats to public health and individual safety—particularly in the face of a
hazard.32 According to FEMA, 35% of localities across the country have adopted “modern
building codes without weakening the natural hazard-resistant provisions.”33 Most inhabitants are
unaware that they may live in substandard, vulnerable structures, which increases the risk of
damage and casualty.34 Further, FEMA has found that a majority of areas with natural hazard risk
in the United States have not adopted current versions of hazard-resistant building codes.35 In
many regions, low-income or otherwise socially vulnerable households are more likely to live in
areas of higher risk to natural hazards.36 In addition, the U.S. Surgeon General has found that
socially vulnerable populations, including individuals with low-incomes, identifying as racial or
ethnic minorities, and those with disabilities, are more likely to live in substandard housing.37
Often citing these risks, FEMA advocates for the adoption, strengthening, and enforcement of
SLTT building codes.38
Many jurisdictions particularly struggle to adopt and adequately enforce codes in the wake of a
disaster. Local officials may face a large number of damaged structures and a high volume of
permit applications, and there may be pressure on local officials to waive requirements that are
30 Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS), The Benefit of Statewide Building Codes, https://ibhs.org/
wp-content/uploads/2019/01/The-Benefits-of-Statewide-Building-Codes_IBHS.pdf.
31 The White House, “A Proclamation on National Building Safety Month, 2023,” press release, April 28, 2023,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/04/28/a-proclamation-on-national-buildingsafety-month-2023/.
32 See James Chauvin et al., “Building Codes: An Often Overlooked Determinant of Health,” Journal of Public Health
Policy, vol. 37, no. 2 (May 2016), pp. 136-148.
33 FEMA, Building Codes Strategy, p. 6.
34 Ibid.
35 FEMA, Building Codes Adoption Playbook, p. 3.
36 Rachel M. Gregg and Kathryn N. Braddock, Climate Change and Displacement in U.S. Communities, EcoAdapt,
April 2020, pp. 17-18, http://www.sparcchub.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Climate-Change-and-Displacement-inU.S.-Communities.pdf.
37 U.S. Surgeon General, Call to Action to Promote Healthy Homes, 2009, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/
NBK44192/pdf/Bookshelf_NBK44192.pdf.
38 The third of three primary goals driving FEMA’s Building Codes Strategy, released March 2022, is to drive public
action on building codes.
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perceived to hamper rapid reconstruction or “getting back to normal.”39 The sudden, widespread
increase in building activity, loss or displacement of workers, and other factors may lead to
personnel shortfalls. For this reason, some jurisdictions have established mutual aid agreements to
allow building departments to augment staff in times of need. FEMA encourages and tracks such
agreements.40
Developing Hazard-Resistant Codes in an Age of Climate Change
Reliance on Historic Hazard Data
In general, existing building codes and standards in the United States are designed to respond to
risks of hazards based on current and historic climate conditions. For example, the ICC codes, or
I-Codes, that FEMA often considers the “consensus-based codes” to which many FEMA-funded
projects must be rebuilt are currently updated every three years. The use of consensus-based
codes, specifications, and standards may not necessarily incorporate the latest hazard-resistant
design,41 and that design may not provide sufficient protection against extreme events or future
conditions.
Standard-developing organizations generally have not used forward-looking climate information,
relying instead on historical observations rather than incorporating long-term planning for climate
hazards or employ climate projections. Further, standards-developing organizations vary in
whether they update the climate information in design standards, building codes, and voluntary
certifications on a regular basis.42 Recent increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme
weather events attributed to climate change,43 coupled with the use of historical data, means that
the codes may more accurately reflect historical dangers than current or future risk.44
For example, the International Building Code allows for some degree of protection against sea
level rise in its elevation requirements, but the ICC recognizes that the code may need to evolve
39 See, for example, Peter Belfiore, “Over Five Years After Sandy, Town of Hempstead Homeowners Are Told They
Must Elevate,” LIHerald, June 18, 2018, https://www.liherald.com/stories/over-five-years-after-hurricane-sandy-townof-hempstead-homeowners-are-told-they-must-elevate,104307; and Derek Gilliam, “FEMA Rule Could Mean Many
Can’t Afford To Rebuild After Hurricane Ian,” Sarasota Herald-Tribune, November 22, 2022,
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/weather/hurricane/2022/11/22/fema-rule-impacting-thousands-across-southwestflorida/10711118002/.
40 FEMA, “Mutual Aid for Building Departments,” https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/
fema_mabd_overview_2022.pdf.
41 FEMA, “Consensus-Based Codes, Specifications and Standards for Public Assistance,” FEMA Recovery Interim
Policy FP-104-009-11, Version 2, December 2019, p. 10, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-05/
DRRA1235b_Consensus_BasedCodes_Specifications_and_Standards_for_Public_Assistance122019.pdf. For example,
FEMA defines a hazard-resistant building code as a “building code with provisions that provide a minimum level of
building protection against natural hazards,” and considers a community to be hazard resistant if it adopts either of the
two most recent editions of the International Code Council’s ICC codes without weakening provisions related to flood,
hurricane wind, and seismic hazards. FEMA, Building Codes Saves: A Nationwide Study, November 2020, p. xi and p.
3-4, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-11/fema_building-codes-save_study.pdf.
42 GAO, Climate Change: Improved Federal Coordination Could Facilitate Forward-Looking Climate Information in
Design Standards, Building Codes, and Certifications, GAO-17-3, November 2016, p. 14, https://www.gao.gov/
products/GAO-17-3.
43 See for example, K. Hayhoe et al., “Our Changing Climate,” in Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States:
Fourth National Climate Assessment, vol. 2., U.S. Global Change Research Program, 2018, 10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH2.
44 Global Resiliency Dialogue, Delivering Climate Responsive Resilient Building Codes and Standards, Findings from
the Global Resiliency Dialogue Survey of Building Code Stakeholders in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the
United States, November 2021, p. 18, https://www.iccsafe.org/wp-content/uploads/
Global_Resiliency_Dialogue_Second_Survey_Report-USA-Oct_2021.pdf.
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to respond to changing risk.45 Since 2015, the I-Codes have required at least one foot of freeboard
be incorporated into elevation requirements,46 designed with reference to the elevation of current
assessments of the 1%-annual-chance flood (a flood event with a 1% chance of being equaled or
exceeded in a given year).47 This risk calculation does not account for changes in water level and
hazard probability associated with climate change and extreme events. For example, one study
found that as sea level rises, by the late 21st century the historical 100-year flood would occur
annually in New England and Mid-Atlantic regions and every 1-30 years in the southeast Atlantic
and Gulf of Mexico regions.48
Incorporating Climate Risk into Building Standards
The I-Codes used throughout the United States are developed through a consensus-based process;
because changes to the I-Codes cannot be unilaterally mandated, the ICC is considering potential
strategies that align with the current format of the codes. These include an overlay document
(standard or guideline) that communities seeking to address future climate risk can adopt
alongside their code, or the development of a stand-alone standard that addresses the process that
jurisdictions can use to factor climate change into their codes. Some local jurisdictions, including
New York City and Southeast Florida, have developed design guidance that addresses climate
risk. In New York this guidance currently applies to municipal buildings but may be extended to
all buildings in the future. Local governments in Southeast Florida have developed common sea
level rise projections that can be incorporated into zoning or building code requirement.49
An example of enhanced hazard-resistant standards are the FORTIFIED Home performancebased engineering and building standards developed by the Insurance Institute for Business and
Home Safety (IBHS), a regular partner of FEMA on building-code related efforts.50 These
standards are designed to help strengthen new and existing homes through the installation of
45 International Code Council, Resilience Contributions of the International Building Code, White Paper, October 24,
2019, p. 9, https://www.iccsafe.org/wp-content/uploads/19-17804_IBC_Resilience_WhitePaper_FINAL_HIRES.pdf.
The ICC participates in the Global Resiliency Dialogue (GRD), a joint initiative with research organizations from
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. The GRD is working to inform the development of building
codes that draw on both building science and climate science to improve the resilience of buildings and communities to
intensifying risks from weather-related natural hazards. ICC, Global Resiliency Dialogue,
https://www.globalresiliency.org/.
46 FEMA defines freeboard as an additional amount of height above the Base Flood Elevation used as a factor of safety
in determining the level at which a structure’s lowest floor must be elevated or floodproofed to be in accordance with
the state or community floodplain management standards. See FEMA, “Freeboard,” https://www.fema.gov/glossary/
freeboard. The Base Flood Elevation (BFE) is defined as the water surface elevation of the base flood, which is the 1%annual-chance flood, commonly called the 100-year flood. The probability is 1% that rising water will reach BFE
heights in any given year.
47 The area that will be inundated by the 1%-annual-chance flood is known as the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA).
48 Reza Marsooli, Ning Lin, Kerry Emanuel, et al., “Climate Change Exacerbates Hurricane Flood Hazards Along US
Atlantic and Gulf Coasts in Spatially Varying Patterns,” Nature Communications, vol. 10 (August 1, 2019),
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-11755-z.
49 Global Resiliency Dialogue, The Use of Climate Data and Assessment of Extreme Weather Event Risks in Building
Codes Around the World: Survey Findings from the Global Resiliency Dialogue, January 2021, pp. 6-7,
https://www.iccsafe.org/wp-content/uploads/2119612_CORP_CANZUS_Survey_Whitepaper_RPT_FINAL_HIRES.pdf.
50 The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) is a nonprofit organization supported by property
insurers and reinsurers that conducts research to identify and promote the most effective ways to strengthen buildings
and communities against natural disasters and other causes of loss. See https://disastersafety.org/ for further
information. FEMA signed an MOU with the organization in November 2022 (FEMA, “FEMA Building Science,”
newsletter, January 24, 2023). The two entities have collaborated on previous efforts, like funding previous iterations of
Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves reports.
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specific building upgrades that reduce damage from hurricanes, hailstorms, low-level tornadoes,
and severe thunderstorms.51 Each of the FORTIFIED standards provides three optional levels to
exceed I-Code design requirements.
Federal Authorities and Limitations
Several statutes authorize the federal government to undertake actions to develop and strengthen
model building codes and promote subfederal adoption of updated codes. Table 1 lists key
authorities relevant to hazard-resistant building design, post-disaster rebuilding, and FEMA.
Table 1. Key FEMA Authorities Related to Building Codes and Standards
1968, enactment of
the National Flood
Insurance Act of
1968 (P.L. 90-488.)
Directed the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD, which administered the
National Flood Insurance Program prior to FEMA’s creation) to make federal flood
insurance available in areas where “permanent land use and control measures … have been
adopted.”52 Furthermore, rates established for the program incorporate “risks due to land
use measures, flood-proofing,… and similar measures,”53 and insurance is not available for
property in violation of state or local laws, regulations, or ordinances restricting
development in flood-prone areas. The act further authorized the Secretary of HUD (now
the FEMA Administrator) to analyze state and local land use, flood control, zoning, and
mitigation measures in flood-prone areas, and on the basis of these studies, develop criteria
to restrict development and mitigate risk in floodprone areas.54
1974, enactment of
The Disaster Relief
Act of 1974 (P.L.
93-288).
The Disaster Relief Act of 1974 authorized assistance to repair and restore disasterdamaged facilities, or alternative projects, “in conformity with current applicable codes,
specifications, and standards.”55 President Jimmy Carter created FEMA in 1979 and
delegated many of these authorities to the agency.56
1977, enactment of
Earthquake Hazards
Reduction Act of
1977 (P.L. 95-124).
The Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 established the National
Earthquake Hazards Reduction program, which aims to develop, publish, and
promote the use of model building codes to redress seismic risk. 57 The 1990
reauthorization directed FEMA to promote implementation of seismic building
codes by nonfederal governments and in building code development
organizations.58
1982, OMB
publishes Circular
A-119
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-119 required federal agency to
comply with building codes and standards and encouraged federal agency participation in
their development. Subsequently, Congress codified these authorities in the National
Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-113). OMB updated the
circular in 2016.
1988, enactment of
Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and
Emergency
Assistance Act
The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act superseded the
Disaster Relief Act of 1974, authorizing assistance to repair and restore disaster-damaged
facilities, or alternative projects, “in conformity with current applicable codes,
specifications, and standards.”59 FEMA administers this assistance as the “Public Assistance”
program.
51 The IBHS has not developed FORTIFIED standards for floods.
52 Sec. 1305(c)(2) of P.L. 90-488.
53 Sec. 1308(b)(1) of P.L. 90-488.
54 Sec. 1361(a)-(c) of P.L. 90-488.
55 Sec. 402(e)-(f) of P.L. 93-288.
56 Executive Order 12148, Federal Emergency Management (1979), 44 Federal Register 43239, July 20, 1979.
57 P.L. 95-124; FEMA, Building Codes Strategy, p. 41.
58 Sec. 5(b) of P.L. 101-614.
59 Sec. 402(e)-(f) of P.L. 93-288.
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2000, enactment of
the Disaster
Mitigation Act of
2000.
The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA) revised the Stafford Act to require funded
projects to be executed “in accordance with applicable standards of safety, decency, and
sanitation and in conformity with applicable codes, specifications, and standards.”60
Additionally, DMA requires entities receiving assistance to demonstrate compliance.
2004, enactment of
the National
Windstorm
Reduction Act of
2004
The National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act established the National Windstorm
Impact Reduction Program and directed FEMA to work with national building code
organizations to develop relevant codes.61 In 2015, Congress reauthorized the National
Windstorm Impact Reduction Act and required FEMA to coordinate with the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and building code organizations to promote
implementation of results and report related spending.62
2018, enactment of
the Bipartisan
Budget Act of 2018
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 authorized the President to increase the federal cost
share for funds provided to rebuild or replace eligible nonprofit and public buildings in
order to incentivize resilience, including by recognizing an affected state or tribe’s adoption
and enforcement of the latest published editions of consensus-based codes and standards.63
2018, enactment of
the Disaster
Recovery Reform
Act, Division D of
P.L. 115-254
The Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA; Division D of P.L. 115- 254) amended
the Stafford Act and authorized significant new investments in pre-disaster mitigation,
enhancing FEMA’s authorities to require compliance with more rigorous building codes and
standards in federally funded projects, and authorizing FEMA to provide assistance for
subfederal building code adoption and enforcement.64
Source: Compiled by CRS, using Congress.gov and FEMA, Building Codes Strategy.
Land Use Planning and Hazard Zones
Building codes define what can be built, and how, but generally do not address the question of
where to build—this must be done through land use planning or zoning. The federal government
does not have direct authority over local zoning and land use decisions. The regulation of land
use falls under the states’ police powers, which the Constitution reserves to the states, and the
states delegate this power down to their respective political subdivisions.65 Typically, states
delegate much of their authority for zoning and land use regulation to units of local government.66
Based on this delegated authority, local governments employ zoning ordinances and related
regulations to restrict the location, type, and characteristics of future development and use of land
under their jurisdiction.67 Zoning ordinances are the main instrument to restrict and steer the
development of land within the jurisdiction of a local government. Typically, they contain textbased and map-based parts that indicate permitted and conditional uses for lots.68
60 Sec. 104(a) of P.L. 106-390, as it amended Sec. 323 of the Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C. §5165a.
61 Sec. P.L. 108-360.
62 Sec. 3 of P.L. 114-52; FEMA, Building Codes Strategy, pp. 40-41.
63 Sec. 20606 of P.L. 115-123, as it amended Sec. 406 of the Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C. §5172.
64 For detailed discussion of DRRA, see CRS Report R45819, The Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA): A
Summary of Selected Statutory Provisions, coordinated by Elizabeth M. Webster and Bruce R. Lindsay; and CRS
Report R46776, The Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA): Implementation Updates for Select Provisions,
coordinated by Elizabeth M. Webster and Bruce R. Lindsay.
65 FEMA, “National Flood Insurance Program Nationwide Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement,” 82(66)
Federal Register 17023, April 7, 2017.
66 Harvard Law Review, “Addressing Challenges to Affordable Housing in Land Use Law: Recognizing Affordable
Housing as a Right,” Housing Law & Policy Note, February 10, 2022, p. 1107.
67 Dudley S. Hinds, Neil G. Carn, and O. Nicholas Ordway, “What Zoning Is,” in Winning at Zoning, ed. W. Hodson
Mogan and Joseph Williams (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1979), pp. 7-8.
68 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), The Governance of Land Use: Country Fact
Sheet United States, Series: OECD Regional Development Studies, May 2, 2017, p. 3, https://www.oecd.org/regional/
regional-policy/land-use-United-States.pdf.
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Planning policies can reduce risk through their control of land use and spatial configurations in
cities. Zoning plans, which govern the location, type, and intensity of new development, may
designate areas for specific purposes or to identify areas of high exposure. For example, by
strategically directing funding for road and utility infrastructure, governments can greatly
influence how and where communities develop.69 Governments may also acquire properties in
hazard-prone locations with public funds and convert them to less hazardous uses; for example,
buying out homes in the floodplain and using the land for a park. This can include acquisition (of
undeveloped land, development rights, or damaged buildings), transfer of development rights to
safer locations, building relocation, and/or demolition of individual or multiple structures.70
FEMA’s Authorities and Land Use Planning
Despite its lack of direct powers to regulate land use planning on nonfederal lands, the federal
government can exercise considerable influence through federal law; for example, the
Endangered Species Act (P.L. 93-205), the Energy Policy Act (P.L. 102-486), the Clean Water Act
(P.L. 95-217), and the National Environmental Policy Act (P.L. 91-190). Much of FEMA’s
authority over land use planning stems from its role in administering the National Flood
Insurance Program (NFIP), which is described below.
Mitigation Plans
The Stafford Act (P.L. 93-288, as amended; 42 U.S.C. §§5151 et seq.) and FEMA regulations
require SLTT governments to have a FEMA-approved mitigation plan as a condition of receiving
certain non-emergency Stafford Act assistance and FEMA mitigation grants, including assistance
through the following programs:71
•
•
•
•
•
•
Public Assistance (PA) categories C-G;72
Fire Management Assistance Grants (FMAG);73
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC);
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP);
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Post Fire (HMGP Post Fire);
Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA);
69 Jessica Grannis, Adaptation Tool Kit: Sea Level Rise and Coastal Land Use. How Governments Can Use Land-Use
Practices to Adapt to Sea-Level rise, Georgetown Climate Center, October 2011, https://www.georgetownclimate.org/
reports/adaptation-tool-kit-sea-level-rise-and-coastal-land-use.html.
70 Raymond J. Burby, Robert E. Doyle, David R. Godschalk et al., “Creating hazard resilient communities through
land-use planning,” Natural Hazards Review, vol. 1, no. 2, (2000), pp. 99-106.
71 See FEMA, Mitigation Planning and Grants, Is a Mitigation Plan Required? https://www.fema.gov/emergencymanagers/risk-management/hazard-mitigation-planning/requirements.
72 Only states, territories, and tribes (not local governments) are required to have approved mitigation plans for Public
Assistance permanent work (Categories C to G). Category C is roads and bridges, Category D is water control,
Category E is buildings and equipment, Category F is utilities, and Category G is parks, recreational, and other. See
CRS In Focus IF11529, A Brief Overview of FEMA’s Public Assistance Program, by Erica A. Lee.
73 If a state or tribal government does not have a FEMA-approved mitigation plan in accordance with 44 C.F.R.
§204.51(d)(2), it must formally submit a mitigation plan for FEMA’s review and approval within 30 days of the
FEMA-State Agreement for the FMAG program. FEMA has 45 days to review the plan. FEMA will not approve an
application for assistance under the FMAG program if the state or tribal government does not have an existing FEMAapproved mitigation plan or fails to submit one within the required timeframe. See FEMA, Fire Management
Assistance Grant Program and Policy Guide, FEMA FP-104-21-0002, June 2021, pp. 10-11, https://www.fema.gov/
sites/default/files/documents/fema_fmagppg_063121.pdf.
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•
•
Rehabilitation of High Hazard Potential Dams (HHPD); and
Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund Program (STRLF).
The mitigation plan demonstrates the SLTT government’s commitment to reduce risks from
natural hazards and serves as a guide for decisionmakers as they commit resources to reducing
the effects of natural hazards.74 States and tribes can submit enhanced hazard mitigation plans in
order to receive increased funds under HMGP. An enhanced hazard mitigation plan should
document that, to the extent allowed by SLTT law, the STT requires or encourages local
governments to use a current version of a nationally applicable model building code or standard
that addresses natural hazards as a basis for design and construction of STT-sponsored mitigation
projects.75 For states with a mandatory statewide building code, the enhanced plan must provide
evidence that the state, among other things, does not allow local governments to weaken the
hazard-resistant provisions of the state building code.76 Enhanced plans must also demonstrate
commitment to a comprehensive mitigation program through a combination of activities that may
include use of a model floodplain ordinance that includes and goes beyond the NFIP minimum
requirements and is coordinated with the state building codes.77
Community Disaster Resilience Zones
The Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-255, CDRZA), signed into law
in December 2022, amended the Stafford Act to establish a statutory structure to identify and
designate communities most at risk from natural hazards. It also authorized the President to
increase the federal cost share under Section 203 of the Stafford Act—Predisaster Hazard
Mitigation78—to 90% for CDRZA-designated communities and to use funding set aside under
Section 203(i).79
The CDRZA required FEMA to identify and designate Community Disaster Resilience Zones
(CDRZs). At a minimum, CDRZs must include the 50 census tracts assigned the highest
individual hazard risk ratings nationwide. The CDRZA also directed FEMA to ensure geographic
balance by considering designations in coastal, inland, urban, suburban, rural areas and tribal
lands, with not less than 1% of census tracts in each state assigned high individual risk ratings
designated as CDRZs. CDRZs hold their designation for a period not less than five years and
should be reviewed and updated every five years.
The CDRZA requires FEMA to maintain and update a natural hazard assessment program and
products for the public’s use that show the risk of natural hazards through use of risk ratings at the
census tract level. FEMA intends to use the National Risk Index (NRI)80 to satisfy this
74 FEMA, State Mitigation Planning Policy Guide, FP 302-094-2, April 19, 2022, p. 8, https://www.fema.gov/sites/
default/files/documents/fema_state-mitigation-planning-policy-guide_042022.pdf (hereinafter SMPPG).
75 44 C.F.R. §201.5.
76 SMPPG, p. 46.
77 Ibid., p. 45.
78 42 U.S.C. §5133.
79 42 U.S.C. §5133(i). For further information on the set-aside for pre-disaster mitigation, see CRS Report R46989,
FEMA Hazard Mitigation: A First Step Toward Climate Adaptation, by Diane P. Horn.
80 The National Risk Index (NRI) is an online mapping application that identifies communities most at risk from 18
natural hazards and maps a community’s expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience. The NRI
provides a baseline relative risk measurement for each county and census tract in the United States. Currently the NRI
does not account for future conditions or anticipated impacts due to climate change. See FEMA, National Risk Index
for Natural Hazards, March 23, 2023, https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps/products-tools/national-risk-index; and
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requirement of the CDRZA, and to use the NRI to identify the communities which are most in
need of assistance for resilience-related projects and thus to be designated as CDRZs. FEMA
issued a notice and request for information on implementation of the CDRZA,81 and expects to
designate CDRZs later in 2023.82
The Federal Flood Risk Management Standard
FEMA, along with other federal agencies, is required to comply with Executive Order (E.O.)
11988—Floodplain Management,83 and E.O. 11990—Protection of Wetlands.84 These Executive
Orders require federal actions85 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 and
indirect support of floodplain development wherever there is a practicable alternative. FEMA
implemented E.O. 11988 and E.O. 11990 in regulations in 44 C.F.R. Part 9, which requires
FEMA to use a systematic decisionmaking process to evaluate the potential effects of projects
located in, or affecting, floodplains (the eight-step process).86
In January 2015, President Obama signed Executive Order 1369087 which, among other things,
established a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) for federally funded projects
that required a higher level of flood resilience than E.O. 11988.88 Federally funded projects are
defined as actions where federal funds are used for new construction, substantial improvement, or
to address substantial damage to structures and facilities.89
FEMA, “Community Disaster Resilience Zones and the National Risk Index,” 88(102) Federal Register 34171-34179,
May 26, 2023.
81 FEMA, “Community Disaster Resilience Zones and the National Risk Index,” 88(102) Federal Register 3417134179, May 26, 2023.
82 FEMA, Community Disaster Resilience Zones, March 23, 2023, https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps/products-tools/
national-risk-index/community-disaster-resilience-zones.
83 Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management, May 24, 1977, https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/
codification/executive-order/11988.html.
84 Executive Order 11990, Protection of Wetlands, May 24, 1977, https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/
codification/executive-order/11990.html.
85 Federal actions are defined as any action or activity including: (a) acquiring, managing, and disposing of federal
lands and facilities; (b) providing federally undertaken, financed or assisted construction, and improvements; and (c)
conducting federal activities and programs affecting land use, including, but not limited to, water and land related
resources, planning, regulating, and licensing activities. See 44 C.F.R. §9.4.
86 44 C.F.R. §9.6.
87 Executive Order 13690, “Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and a Process for Further
Soliciting and Considering Stakeholder Input,” 80(23) Federal Register 6425-6428, January 30, 2015.
88 In August 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13807 in an effort to streamline federal infrastructure
approval. Among other actions, E.O. 13807 revoked E.O. 13690. In January 2021, President Biden revoked E.O. 13807
as part of Executive Order 13990, which had the effect of reinstating E.O. 13690, including the FFRMS. In May 2021,
President Biden’s Executive Order 14030 confirmed that guidelines for implementing E.O. 13690 were never revoked
and thus remain in effect. Executive Order 13807, “Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental
Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure Projects,” 82(163) Federal Register 40436-40469, August 24, 2017;
Executive Order 13990, “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate
Crisis,” 86(14) Federal Register 7037-7042, January 25, 2021; Executive Order 14030, “Climate-Related Financial
Risk,” 86(99) Federal Register 27967-27971, May 25, 2021.
89 FEMA, Guidelines for Implementing Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management, and Executive Order 13690,
Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and a Process for Further Soliciting and Considering
Stakeholder Input, October 8, 2018, p. 16, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_implementingguidelines-EO11988-13690_10082015.pdf (hereinafter Guidelines for Establishing a FFRMS). Note that the FEMA
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Figure 1.Vertical Elevation and Horizontal Extent of the Federal Flood Risk
Management Standard Floodplain
Source: CRS, adapted from FEMA, Guidelines for Establishing a FFRMS, p. 51.
Notes: The FFRMS floodplain is the 500-year floodplain, or the area inundated by the 0.2% annual-chance flood.
The current floodplain (the SFHA) is the area inundated by the 1% annual-chance flood.
E.O. 13690 modified the requirements of E.O. 11988, largely by redefining the floodplain at the
foundation of federal floodplain management policy. Rather than relying on the Base Flood
Elevation (BFE) floodplain,90 E.O. 13690 provided that the floodplain be determined by one of
three methods:
1. the freeboard value approach;91
2. the 0.2% annual-chance (500-year) flood approach;92 or
3. the climate-informed science approach.93
FEMA has produced policy guidance for partial implementation of the FFRMS for certain
programs by requiring the use of the FFRMS freeboard approach for certain noncritical actions
guidelines do not require the use of the NFIP definitions of substantial damage and substantial improvement (footnote
144).
90 The Base Flood Elevation (BFE) is defined as the water surface elevation of the base flood, which is the 1%-annualchance flood.
91 The floodplain obtained through the freeboard value approach in the FFRMS is defined as the elevation and flood
hazard area that result from adding an additional two feet to BFE for noncritical actions and adding an additional three
feet to BFE for critical actions, which are defined as any activity for which even a slight chance of flooding would be
too great. FEMA’s Guidelines for Establishing a FFRMS provides additional guidance to assist agencies in determining
whether an action is critical.
92 The 500-year floodplain is defined as the area subject to flooding by the 0.2%-annual-chance flood.
93 Defined as the elevation and flood hazard area that result from using a climate-informed science approach that uses
the best-available, actionable hydrologic and hydraulic data and methods that integrate current and future changes in
flooding based on climate science. For additional information on the methods of calculating the FFRMS floodplain, see
National Climate Task Force, Federal Flood Risk Management Standard Climate-Informed Science Approach (CISA)
State of the Science Report, Report by the FFRMS Science Subgroup of the Flood Resilience Interagency Working
Group, Washington, DC, March 22, 2023, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Federal-FloodRisk-Management-Standard-Climate-Informed-Science-Approach-CISA-State-of-the-Science-Report.pdf.
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involving structures in the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA).94 The interim policy applies to
structures in the SFHA that receive funding from any FEMA program (Individual Assistance,
Public Assistance, and Hazard Mitigation Assistance) but does not address the expansion of the
horizontal floodplain or the application of the FFRMS to critical actions. FEMA intends to fully
implement the FFRMS by rulemaking; full implementation of the FFRMS will require an update
to 44 C.F.R. Part 9.95
National Flood Insurance Program Requirements Related to Planning and
Building Codes
The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (NFIA)96 requires participating communities to adopt
the minimum NFIP requirements through zoning, floodplain ordinances, and/or building codes.
However, FEMA’s view is the agency has no direct involvement in the administration of local
floodplain management ordinances or in the permitting process for development in the
floodplain.97 Instead, FEMA sets minimum standards that communities must adopt in order to
participate in the NFIP. The NFIA authorizes FEMA to develop criteria designed to encourage,
where necessary, the adoption of adequate state and local measures which, to the maximum event
feasible, will
1. constrict the development of land which is exposed to flood damage where
appropriate;
2. guide the development of proposed construction away from locations which are
threatened by flood hazards;
3. assist in restricting damage caused by floods; and
4. otherwise improve the long-range land management and use of flood-prone
areas.98
In order to accomplish these goals, FEMA has set forth minimum floodplain management
standards in federal regulations.99 These standards only have the force of law because they are
adopted and enforced by a SLTT government. Communities are required to adopt these minimum
floodplain management standards in order to participate in the NFIP.100 FEMA’s land use criteria,
once adopted by the community, take precedence over any less restrictive or conflicting local
laws, ordinances, or codes for floodplain management.101 However, NFIP-participating
communities are permitted and encouraged to adopt higher standards than the minimum set forth
in regulation. FEMA has determined that the flood provisions in the 2021 I-Codes meet or exceed
94 The Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) is defined by FEMA as an area with a 1% or greater risk of flooding every
year.
95 FEMA, Partial Implementation of the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard for Hazard Mitigation Assistance
Programs, FEMA Policy 206-21-003-0001, Washington, DC, December 9, 2022, p. 1, https://www.fema.gov/sites/
default/files/documents/fema_policy-fp-206-21-003-0001-implementation-ffrms-hma-program_122022.pdf.
96 Title XIII of P.L. 90-448, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §4001 et seq.
97 FEMA, “National Flood Insurance Program Nationwide Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement,” 82(66)
Federal Register 17024, April 7, 2017.
98 42 U.S.C. §4102(c).
99 See 44 C.F.R. Part 60, particularly 44 C.F.R. §60.3.
100 42 U.S.C. §4022(a)(1).
101 44 C.F.R. §60.1(b).
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the minimum NFIP standards.102 NFIP minimum standards apply to all new construction in the
SFHA, and requirements for structures in SFHAs cannot be suspended or waived.
In addition to providing flood insurance and requiring communities to reduce flood damage
through floodplain management, the NFIP identifies and maps the nation’s floodplains. Maps
depicting flood hazard information, known as Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), are used to
promote awareness of flood hazards and determine the appropriate minimum floodplain
management criteria for flood hazard areas.103 While FEMA is generally responsible for the
development of flood maps, the community itself must pass the map into its local or state law for
the map to be effective (i.e., in force). FIRMs are used for both building code and floodplain
management requirements in SFHAs.104
FEMA: Code Requirements for Funded Projects
Code Requirements: Authorities, Developments, and Variations
across Programs
The Stafford Act, the National Flood Insurance Act, federal regulations, and FEMA policy
generally require recipients of federal assistance to comply with applicable building codes when
conducting federally funded construction projects. Each FEMA grant program includes different
code compliance requirements. For example, a city may rebuild some structures under the PA
program and in line with the required International Building Code (IBC), while repairs to other
projects may be completed under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), which only
requires compliance with local codes.
These variations have generated criticism. ASCE has urged FEMA to be consistent in the
minimum standards it applies across all of its programs.105 Congress examined this issue at a
House hearing where several participants advocated the adoption and enforcement of statewide
building codes and standardizing requirements across all programs that fund mitigation
measures.106 FEMA’s 2022 Building Codes Strategy announced that the agency’s first goal was to
align building code policies across FEMA programs.107
Some of FEMA’s authorities relevant to building codes are currently in flux, pending
implementation of provisions enacted in recent legislation, including the Disaster Recovery
102 FEMA, Comparing National Flood Insurance Program Requirements to 2021 International Codes/ American
Society of Civil Engineers Standard ASCE 24-14, May 27, 2022, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/
fema_checklist-nfip-2021-i-codes-asce-24-14.pdf.
103 With the introduction of the NFIP’s new pricing system, Risk Rating 2.0, flood maps are no longer used to set flood
insurance premiums. For further information, see CRS Report R45999, National Flood Insurance Program: The
Current Rating Structure and Risk Rating 2.0, by Diane P. Horn.
104
See, for example, FEMA, Comparison of Select NFIP and 2018 I-Code Requirements for Special Flood Hazard
Areas, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/fema_quick-ref-guide-nfip-2018-icodes-reqs-flood-areas.pdf.
Note that although the I-Codes have been updated to the 2021 version, NFIP requirements have not been updated.
105 American Society of Civil Engineers, Re: Joint Comments in Response to FEMA’s Proposed Policy to Implement
Hazard Mitigation Assistance: Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, Letter to FEMA Office of Response
and Recovery, May 11, 2020, p. 5, https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ASCEStatement-to-FEMA-on-BRIC-Guidance-5-11-20-FINAL.pdf.
106 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Economic Development,
Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, Disaster Preparedness: DRRA Implementation and FEMA Readiness,
hearing, 116th Cong., 1st sess., May 22, 2019, H.Rept. 116-18 (Washington: GPO, 2019).
107 FEMA, Building Codes Strategy, pp. 14-20.
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Reform Act (DRRA, P.L. 115-254). Many of DRRA’s changes enhanced FEMA’s authorities to
require compliance with consensus-based standards that may exceed locally adopted codes. Table
2 summarizes requirements by FEMA program.
Building Code Development, Adoption,
Enforcement: FEMA Assistance and Incentives
Several FEMA programs provide financial and technical assistance to nonfederal governments for
building code adoption, enforcement, and development—not just assistance to rebuild individual
structures (as summarized in Table 3). Such assistance may be particularly valuable in postdisaster contexts, when many facilities are undergoing rebuilding simultaneously and
governments may be overwhelmed with permitting, inspections, and their own rebuilding
projects. Governments may be able to receive support for enforcing codes and standards in a wide
range of facilities, including those ineligible for other FEMA assistance (e.g., for-profit entities).
In August 2022, FEMA released a playbook for jurisdictions adopting and enforcing building
codes that included an overview of relevant FEMA assistance.108 Significant updates to these
requirements are forthcoming, such as the adoption of the ASCE 7-22 Flood Supplement 2, which
includes new provisions that protect against 500-year flood events and introduces a new
requirement for relative sea level change as it relates to an individual structure.109
Public Assistance
DRRA amended the Stafford Act to authorize assistance for SLTT governments to administer and
enforce building codes.110 In 2019, FEMA released guidance that partially implemented these
new authorities, primarily through the Public Assistance program. Under that policy, which
remains active, FEMA may provide assistance to fund building code enforcement on disasterdamaged facilities within 180 days of the related Stafford Act declaration.111
108 For example, FEMA may provide assistance to cover the costs of hiring, training, and supervising building code
staff, reviewing and processing applications for building permits, and inspecting structures under construction for
compliance (apart from the costs incurred while executing the actual reconstruction).
109 American Society of Civil Engineers, New Addition to the ASCE/SEI 7-22 Standard Protects Buildings from a 500Year Flood Event, May 25, 2023, https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/society-news/
article/2023/05/25/asce-7-flood-loads-supplement.
110 DRRA Sections 1206(a)-(b), as they amend Stafford Act Sections 402 and 406; FEMA, “Building Code and
Floodplain Management Administration and Enforcement,” FEMA Policy FP 204-079-01, p. 6, https://www.fema.gov/
sites/default/files/documents/fema_building-code-floodplain-management-drra-1206_policy_10-15-2020_0.pdf.
111 FEMA, “Building Code and Floodplain Management Administration and Enforcement,” FEMA Policy FP 204-07901, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_building-code-floodplain-management-drra1206_policy_10-15-2020_0.pdf.
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Table 2. FEMA Building Code Requirements by Program
For eligible funded projects
Program Name
Individual
Assistance (IA) –
Individuals and
Households
Program (IHP)
Key Authoritiesa
Building Code Requirements
•
44 C.F.R. Part 9
Regulations require, at minimum:
•
44 C.F.R. §206117(b)(1)(ii)(c)
• FEMA-provided direct housing assistance to comply with applicable local and/or state codes and ordinances and federal
floodplain management regulations.
•
44 C.F.R. §§206117(b)(1)-(4)
•
FEMA Policy FP206-21-0003
• FEMA-funded permanent or semi-permanent housing construction to conform to applicable local and/or state building code or
industry standards and federal environmental laws and regulations.
FEMA guidance:
• Allows FEMA to provide home repair assistance to cover eligible costs of code compliance.a
• Requires compliance with interim FFRMS for structures in Special Hazard Flood Zones (SHFZs).
Public Assistance
(PA) for Repair,
Restoration, and
Replacement
•
•
Hazard Mitigation
Grant Program
(HMGP)
CRS-17
Stafford Act,
Sections 323 and
406(e), 42
U.S.C. §5165a
and §5172(e)
44 C.F.R.
§§206.226(d) and
206.400-402
•
44 C.F.R. §§9.4,
9.6 & 9.11(d)
•
Americans with
Disabilities Act,
42 U.S.C.
§12101 et seq.
and related
regulations at 28
C.F.R. §35.151
•
Stafford Act
Sections 323 and
404, 42 U.S.C.
§5165a and
§5170c
Statute requires, at minimum:
• FEMA to estimate awards so that repair and replacement projects comply with “the latest published editions of relevant
consensus-based codes, specifications, and standards that incorporate the latest hazard-resistant designs” for disasters after
August 1, 2017.b
• FEMA to estimate awards so that repair and replacement projects “meet the definition of resilient.” FEMA has not yet issued
the definition.
• Funded projects comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Regulations additionally require:
• Funded projects to comply with codes that include minimum requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
and National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP).
• Funded projects to comply with Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management, Executive Order 12699, Seismic Safety of
Federal and Federally Assisted or Regulated New Building Construction, and any other applicable executive orders.
FEMA implements these authorities with guidance and policies that include additional requirements and specifications, including
that structures in SFHAs comply with interim FFRMS guidance and future final rulemaking.
FEMA guidance requires, to establish minimum design and construction requirements for structure elevation, dry floodproofing,
and mitigation reconstruction:
•
The use of American Society of Civil Engineers Flood Resistant Design and Construction (ASCE) 24-14, or the latest edition.
Program Name
Flood Mitigation
Assistance (FMA)
Key Authoritiesa
•
44 C.F.R. §206
•
FEMA Policy FP206-21-0003
Building Code Requirements
•
The use of the FFRMS freeboard value approach (see footnote 89) to establish the minimum flood protection elevation for
(1) any major disaster declaration on or after August 27, 2021; (2) HMGP assistance approved under the COVID-19 disaster
declarations; and (3) Fire Management Assistance Grants issued or published on or after August 27, 2021.
•
All structure elevation, mitigation reconstruction, and dry floodproofing, and all projects where HMA is used for new
construction, substantial improvement, or to address substantial damage to structures must meet the minimum standards of
FEMA’s partial implementation of the FFRMS.c
National Flood
Insurance Act, 42
U.S.C. §4104(c), and
FEMA Policy FP-20621-0003
FEMA guidance requires, to establish minimum design and construction requirements for structure elevation, dry floodproofing,
and mitigation reconstruction:
Building Resilient
Communities and
Infrastructure
(BRIC)
Stafford Act Sections
323 & 203, 42 U.S.C.
§5165a and §5133,
and FEMA Policy FP206-21-0003
FEMA guidance requires, to establish minimum design and construction requirements for structure elevation, dry floodproofing,
and mitigation reconstruction:
Safeguarding
Tomorrow
Revolving Loan
Fund Program
(STRLF)
Stafford Act Sections
323 & 205, 42 U.S.C.
§5165a & §5135,
FEMA Policy FP-20621-0003
The FY2023 Notice of Funding Opportunityd requires that recipients of loans for new construction or substantial improvement
must comply with FEMA Policy FP-206-21-0003.
National Flood
Insurance Program
(NFIP)
42 U.S.C. §4102(c)
and 44 C.F.R. §60.3
Regulations require, at minimum, that communities:
•
The use of ASCE 24-14, or the latest edition.
•
The minimum standards of FEMA’s partial implementation of the FFRMS.
•
The use of ASCE 24-14, or the latest edition.
•
The minimum standards of FEMA’s partial implementation of the FFRMS.
•
Require permits for development in SFHAs.
•
Require elevation of the lowest floor of all new residential buildings in the SFHA to be at or above BFE.
•
Restrict development in the regulatory floodway to prevent increasing the risk of flooding.
•
Require certain construction materials and methods that minimize future flood damage.
•
Enforce NFIP minimum standards on buildings that are substantially improved or substantially damaged, as defined in
regulations, regardless of the cause of the damage.e
•
Review all applications for development in SFHAs and enforce flood management regulations and building codes.
Sources: Compiled by CRS using FEMA guidance and regulations as well as authorizing statutes as cited. Authorities listed here include key statutory provisions,
regulations, and policies. Due to the volume of policies that apply to various FEMA grant programs, CRS could not list all applicable policies.
a. FEMA, Individual Assistance Program and Policy Guide, FP- 104-009-03, May 2021, p. 90.
b. Stafford Act 406(e), as amended by Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA) Section 1235(b), 42 U.S.C. §5172(e).
CRS-18
c.
d.
e.
CRS-19
FEMA, Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program and Policy Guide, March 23, 2023, p. 88, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_hma-program-policyguide_032023.pdf (hereinafter FEMA, HMAPPG).
FEMA, Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Program, Notice of Funding Opportunity Fiscal Year 2023, https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/storm-rlf.
44 C.F.R. §59.1 defines substantial improvement as any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or
exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure before the “start of construction” of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred
“substantial damage,” regardless of the actual repair work performed. Floodplain management requirements for new construction apply to substantial
improvements. 44 C.F.R. §59.1 defines substantial damage as damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its beforedamaged condition would equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred. Note that these requirements are not restricted
to damage caused by flooding; a property in an SFHA damaged by fire would still trigger the substantial damage requirement.
Building Resilience: FEMA’s Building Codes Policies and Considerations for Congress
Hazard Mitigation Assistance
Requirements related to building codes for Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) programs (i.e.,
the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, the Flood Mitigation Grant Program, the Safeguarding
Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund Program, and Building Resilient Infrastructure and
Communities) are only mentioned in HMA guidance. All mitigation reconstruction activities112
must be completed in accordance with the latest published editions of the International Codes and
FFRMS requirements. FEMA is to use the latest published edition of ASCE-24 or its equivalent
as the minimum design criteria for all HMA-assisted mitigation reconstruction projects in flood
hazard areas.
Close-out113 requirements for all HMA grants include comments and documentation to support
that the project was completed in compliance with all required permits and building codes and
standards (if applicable).114 However, there is no explicit requirement for proof of compliance
with building code requirements, in contrast to PA, where noncompliance can result in potential
denial or de-obligation of PA funding for a facility.115
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) is authorized by Stafford Act Section 404—
Hazard Mitigation,116 with the objective of ensuring that the opportunity to take critical mitigation
measures is not lost during the reconstruction process following a disaster. There is no mention of
building code requirements for HMGP in Stafford Act Section 404, nor in HMGP regulations.117
Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund Program
Hazard mitigation loans are available through the Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund
Program (STRLF).118 The STRLF program was created by the STORM Act (Safeguarding
Tomorrow through Ongoing Risk Mitigation Act, P.L. 116-284), which amended the Stafford Act
by authorizing FEMA to enter into agreements with eligible entities to establish hazard mitigation
revolving loan funds.119 Funds made available through the STORM Act may be used to assist
homeowners, businesses, certain nonprofit organizations, and communities to reduce risk in order
to decrease the loss of life and property, the cost of flood insurance, and federal disaster
112 Mitigation reconstruction is the construction of an improved, elevated structure that conforms to the latest building
codes on the same site where an existing structure and/or foundation has been partially or completely demolished or
destroyed. See FEMA, HMAPPG, p. 75.
113 Close-out is the end of the grant process, when the award recipient must submit the final financial and programmatic
reports. See Grants.Gov, Grants 101, Post Award Phase, https://www.grants.gov/learn-grants/grants-101/post-awardphase.html.
114 FEMA, HMAPPG, p. 193.
115 FEMA, “Consensus-Based Codes, Specifications and Standards for Public Assistance,” FEMA Recovery Interim
Policy FP-104-009-11, Version 2, December 2019, p. 6, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-05/
DRRA1235b_Consensus_BasedCodes_Specifications_and_Standards_for_Public_Assistance122019.pdf.
116 42 U.S.C. §5170c.
117 44 C.F.R. §206 Subpart N—Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
118 42 U.S.C. §5135.
119 A revolving loan fund (RLF) is a self-replenishing financial mechanism that starts with a base level of capital, often
consisting of grants from the federal government or a state, or private investment. RLFs can make loans targeted to
specific types of borrowers or for specific types of activities, and are designed to use loan repayments to recapitalize
the fund and therefore make additional loans. This may create an ongoing source of funding and potentially reduce the
need for annual appropriations.
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Building Resilience: FEMA’s Building Codes Policies and Considerations for Congress
payments. The program is intended to provide states with funding that will help them carry out
their own hazard mitigation projects.120 Eligible entities include states and territories, and the
tribal governments that received a major disaster declaration pursuant to Section 401 of the
Stafford Act.121 As a new program with its first funding round in FY2023, the STRLF is not
mentioned in FEMA guidance or regulations.
Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant Program
The Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant program is another pre-disaster mitigation funding
program operated by FEMA. The FMA program is funded entirely through revenue collected by
the NFIP,122 and FMA grants are only available to communities that participate in the NFIP,123 to
assist in efforts to reduce or eliminate flood damage to buildings and structures insurable under
the NFIP, particularly repetitive loss124 and severe repetitive loss125 properties. There is no
mention of building code requirements for FMA in the National Flood Insurance Act or in FMA
regulations other than NFIP minimum standards.126
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities
DRRA Section 1234 amended Section 203 of the Stafford Act—Predisaster Hazard Mitigation127
to allow use of pre-disaster mitigation funding to establish and carry out enforcement activities
and implement the latest version of consensus-based codes.128 Section 1234 also expanded the
criteria to be considered in awarding pre-disaster mitigation funds, including the extent to which
the applicants have adopted hazard-resistant building codes and design standards.129 FEMA
introduced a new program, Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC),130 in
FY2020 to replace the Predisaster Mitigation Grant Program (PDM).131 In each of the first three
years of BRIC, one of FEMA’s main priorities has been to increase funding to applicants that
facilitate the adoption and enforcement of the latest published editions of building codes. As of
June 2023, the majority of states and territories did not qualify for the BRIC building code point
allotment (see Figure 2).
120 Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, S.Rept. 116-249, August 10, 2020, p. 3,
https://www.congress.gov/congressional-report/116th-congress/senate-report/249.
121 42 U.S.C. §5170.
122 The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58) appropriated $3.5 billion for the FMA program, with $700
million for each of FY2022 to FY2026. This represents the first time that funding has been appropriated for FMA.
123 42 U.S.C. §4104c.
124 42 U.S.C. §4121(a)(7) defines repetitive loss structure as a structure covered by a contract for flood insurance that
(1) has incurred flood-related damage on two occasions, in which the cost of repair, on the average, equaled or
exceeded 25% of the value of the structure at the time of each such flood event; and (2) at the time of the second
incidence of flood-related damage, the contract for flood insurance contains increased cost of compliance coverage.
125 Severe repetitive loss properties are those that have incurred four or more claim payments exceeding $5,000 each,
with a cumulative amount of such payments over $20,000; or at least two claims with a cumulative total exceeding the
value of the property. See 42 U.S.C. §4014(h) and 44 C.F.R. §79.2(h).
126 44 C.F.R. Part 77—Flood Mitigation Grants.
127 42 U.S.C. §5133.
128 42 U.S.C. §5133(e)(1)(B)(iv).
129 42 U.S.C. §5133(g)(4).
130 FEMA, Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC), https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/
building-resilient-infrastructure-communities.
131 42 U.S.C. §5133.
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Figure 2. State and Territory Building Code Status for BRIC Awards
As of June 1, 2023
Source: Figure provided by FEMA Congressional Affairs Staff, June 26, 2023.
CRS-22
Building Resilience: FEMA’s Building Codes Policies and Considerations for Congress
FEMA intends to increase its emphasis on building code criteria in future BRIC grant cycles.132 In
FY2022, building code-related activities accounted for up to 40 points of the total 100-point
BRIC technical evaluation criteria score.133 Concerns have been expressed that communities in
states without building codes may be at a disadvantage for competitive awards.134 For example, a
community that has adopted the latest codes could be considered noncompliant if it is in a state
that does not meet the BRIC technical evaluation criteria135 for building codes.136 In addition,
concerns have been expressed that BRIC technical criteria recognize resilience efforts narrowly
and give preference to communities with certain mitigation practices, particularly those within
states, territories, and tribes that have adopted recent versions of the ICC codes, while ignoring
other categories of mitigation, like state floodplain management practices that go above NFIP
minimum standards.137 FEMA responded to some of these concerns in the FY2023 Notice of
Funding Opportunity, offering points under the technical criteria for locally adopted building
codes and alternative higher standards, such as additional freeboard.138
For FY2023, FEMA has designated additional Building Codes Plus Up funding for BRIC. An
additional $2 million is available to each state or territory to carry out eligible building code
adoption and enforcement activities, for a total of an additional $112 million. An additional $25
million is available to tribes to carry out eligible building code adoption and enforcement
activities. In both cases this applies to both ICC code- and energy code-related activities.139
BRIC Direct Technical Assistance
FEMA introduced a new form of assistance for the BRIC program, known as non-financial Direct
Technical Assistance (DTA),140 which is intended to help communities build capacity and develop
applications to support underserved populations.141 The establishment, adoption, and enforcement
132 Ibid., p. 3.
133 Ibid., pp. 3-6.
134 See, for example, Anna Weber, Building Resilience, BRIC by BRIC: Fall 2022 Update, September 23, 2022,
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/anna-weber/building-resilience-bric-bric-fall-2022-update; and Kevin Manuele and Mark
Haggerty, How FEMA Can Build Rural Resilience Through Disaster Preparedness, Center for American Progress,
October 6, 2022, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/how-fema-can-build-rural-resilience-through-disasterpreparedness/.
135 FEMA, BRIC Technical Evaluation Criteria, August 2022, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/
fema_fy22-bric-technical-evaluation-criteria-psm.pdf.
136 Noreen Clancy, Melissa L. Finucane, Jordan R. Fischbach, et al., The Building Resilient Infrastructure and
Communities Mitigation Grant Program: Incorporating Hazard Risk and Social Equity into Decisionmaking
Processes, RAND Corporation, RR-A1258-1, 2022, p. 28, https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA12581.html.
137 See, for example, Senator Tammy Baldwin, “Senators Baldwin, Hoeven Call on FEMA to Distribute Funds to
Inland States for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure,” press release, September 15, 2022, https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/
news/press-releases/senators-baldwin-hoeven-call-on-fema-to-distribute-funds-to-inland-states-for-climate-resilientinfrastructure; and Headwater Economics, Capacity-Limited States Still Struggle to Access FEMA BRIC Grants,
August 4, 2022, https://headwaterseconomics.org/equity/capacity-limited-fema-bric-grants/.
138 Department of Homeland Security, Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Fiscal Year 2023, Building Resilient
Infrastructure and Communities, Washington, DC, October 12, 2023, p. 38, https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/
notice-funding-opportunities/fy2023-nofo.
139 Ibid., p. 44.
140 FEMA, BRIC Direct Technical Assistance, September 2022, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/
fema_fy22-bric-technical-assistance-psm.pdf.
141 In FY2022 BRIC applications, applications for Direct Technical Assistance were (1) are noted in E.O. 14008; (2)
have demonstrated that the community, or areas within the community, have a Centers for Disease Control Social
(continued...)
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Building Resilience: FEMA’s Building Codes Policies and Considerations for Congress
of building codes are eligible capability- and capacity-building activities for DTA.142 FEMA
selected eight communities to receive DTA in FY2020, 20 communities in FY2021, and 46
communities in FY2022.143 FEMA intends to select 80 communities for DTA in FY2023.144
Applications for DTA in FY2022 were oversubscribed, with 109 communities applying.145
National Flood Insurance Program
DRRA Section 1206(a) amended Stafford Act Section 402—General Federal Assistance146 to
allow state and local governments to use general federal assistance funds for the administration
and enforcement of building codes and floodplain management ordinances, including inspections
for substantial damage compliance.147 If a building in an SFHA is determined to be substantially
damaged, it must be brought into compliance with local floodplain management standards. Local
communities can require the building to be rebuilt to current floodplain management
requirements even if the property previously did not need to do so. FEMA does not make a
determination of substantial damage; this is the responsibility of the local government, generally
by a building department official or floodplain manager. Particularly following a major flood,
communities may be required to assess a large number of properties at the same time, and, as a
result, additional resources may be needed. This provision affords an additional source of funding
to support communities in carrying out such activities.
The NFIP Community Rating System (CRS) is a voluntary incentive-based program that rewards
communities for adopting floodplain management practices to a higher standard than the NFIP
minimum standards by providing reduced-cost flood insurance premiums to policyholders in the
community.148 The CRS program, as authorized by law, is intended to incentivize the reduction of
flood and erosion risk, for example through community adoption of hazard-resistant building
codes to exceed the minimum NFIP requirements, as well as the adoption of more effective
Vulnerability Index (SVI) score equal to or greater than 0.6; (3) qualify as an economically disadvantaged rural
community; (4) have shown a compelling need; or (5) have not received a grant award under PDM, BRIC, HMGP, or
FMA within the last five years. The SVI uses United States Census Data to determine the social vulnerability of every
census tract, ranked on 15 social factors. SVI scores range from 0 to 1, with 1 representing the highest level of social
vulnerability. For example, a SVI ranking of 0.6 means that 60% of census tracts in the nation are less vulnerable than
the tract of interest. Category (4) includes communities with disadvantaged populations as referenced in E.O. 14008
that (1) have had multiple major disaster declarations within the past five years; (2) have limited funds; or (3) have
strong community engagement but need technical assistance.
142 FEMA, Mitigation Assistance: Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, FEMA Policy FP-104-008-05,
December 1, 2022, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_bric-policy-fp-00805_program_policy.pdf.
143 FEMA, Fiscal Year 2022 Building Resilience Infrastructure and Communities Direct Technical Assistance
Selections, May 19, 2023, https://www.fema.gov/fact-sheet/fiscal-year-2022-building-resilient-infrastructure-andcommunities-direct-technical.
144 Department of Homeland Security, Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Fiscal Year 2023, Building Resilient
Infrastructure and Communities, Washington, DC, October 12, 2023, https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/noticefunding-opportunities/fy2023-nofo.
145 Email from FEMA Congressional Affairs Staff, February 10, 2023.
146 42 U.S.C. §5170a.
147 44 C.F.R. §59.1 defines substantial damage as damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of
restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure
before the damage occurred. 44 C.F.R. §59.1 defines substantial improvement as any reconstruction, rehabilitation,
addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the
structure before the start of construction of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred
“substantial damage,” regardless of the actual repair work performed. Floodplain management requirements for new
construction apply to substantial improvements.
148 42 U.S.C. §4022(b)(1).
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Building Resilience: FEMA’s Building Codes Policies and Considerations for Congress
measures to protect natural and beneficial floodplain functions.149 FEMA awards points that
increase a community’s “class” rating in the CRS on a scale of one to ten, with one being the
highest ranking. As CRS ratings increase, residents of the community receive increasing
discounts on their NFIP premiums. FEMA implemented new guidance for the CRS on January 1,
2021, which for the first time includes prerequisites related to building codes. To qualify for class
8 (for which residents receive a 10% discount on their premiums), the community must adopt and
enforce throughout its SFHA at least a one-foot freeboard requirement for all residential buildings
constructed, substantially improved, and/or reconstructed due to substantial damage. The
freeboard standard must be applied to all residential buildings, whether single-family, multifamily, or manufactured. This prerequisite can be met through the enforcement of local
ordinances or building codes, and/or state building codes.150
Table 3. FEMA Incentives and Assistance for SLTT Building Code Work
Eligible Code Activities
Program
Authorities
Adoption
Enforcement
Development
Public
Assistance
Stafford Act
§§402(5) and
406(a)(2)(D)151
HMGP
Stafford Act
§404
X
X
X
Codes and standards activities eligible for
assistance include but are not limited to:
(1) evaluation of the adoption and/or
implementation of codes to reduce risk;
(2) enhancement of existing adopted
codes to incorporate more current
requirements or higher standards; (3)
development of professional workforce
capabilities through technical assistance
and training; (4) evaluation of the
adoption and/or implementation of land
use and zoning ordinances; and (5) postdisaster code enforcement (which is a
recovery activity).
BRIC
Stafford Act
§203
X
X
X
Activities (1) to (4) listed under HMGP.
FMA
National Flood
Insurance Act
§4104c
STRLF
Stafford Act
§205
X
Notes
FEMA policy limits assistance to work
pertaining to disaster-damaged structures
within 180 days of relevant declaration.
SLTTs are encouraged, but not required
to align with planning mechanisms such as
economic development, housing,
comprehensive plans, transportation
plans, building codes, and floodplain
ordinances.
X
X
X
Specified in FY2023 Notice of Funding
Opportunity; the STRLF is not yet
included in FEMA guidance or regulations.
149 42 U.S.C. §4022(b)(1).
150 FEMA, Addendum to the 2017 CRS Coordinators’ Manual, Washington, DC, January 2021, p. A-11,
https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_community-rating-system_coordinator-manual_addendum2021.pdf.
151 42 U.S.C. §§5170a and 5172(a)(2)(D).
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Eligible Code Activities
NFIP/ CRS
National Flood
Insurance Act
§4022(b)(2)
X
X
Communities that adopt hazard-resistant
codes are eligible for reduced flood
insurance premiums.
Sources: Compiled by CRS from statutes, HMAPPG, and Addendum to the 2017 Community Rating System
Coordinators’ Manual.
Additional FEMA Technical Assistance
FEMA also provides technical expertise to jurisdictions through Mitigation Assessment Teams
(MATs). These teams deploy to areas affected by disasters, analyze structural damage, and
develop recommendations for local construction methods and building code improvements.152
FEMA has recently taken action to broaden its own capacity to promote the adoption,
administration and enforcement of modern building codes, hiring Regional Specialists in Building
Codes in all 10 FEMA Regions.
FEMA: Building Codes Advocacy and Leadership
Since its founding, FEMA has assumed an active role in the development and promotion of
hazard-resistant building codes, including the activities summarized in the sections below.
Research and Development
Several statutes direct FEMA to collaborate with other federal agencies such as the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and private code development organizations like
the ICC to develop hazard-resistant building codes and standards.153 Additionally, FEMA has
assumed a leading role in researching the benefits of building codes, and raising awareness about
code adoption and enforcement. In 2011, the agency initiated a four-party study on the value of
avoided disaster-related physical damages attributed to the use of modern building codes.154 The
most recent part of this study was published in November 2020, Building Codes Save.155 The
report concluded that about half of the buildings struck by a disaster after 2000 avoided losses as
a result of accordance with I-Codes for an estimated aggregate saving of $1.6 billion annually.156
The study projected that I-Code savings would increase to $3.2 annually by 2040, for cumulative
savings of $132 billion.157
FEMA has also helped research, promote, and identify financial and technical support for the use
of “nature-based solutions.” Nature-based solutions refer to building methods that integrate
environmental features and processes into the build environment rather than rely on entirely
152 FEMA, Building Codes Save, ES-2.
153 Section 3 of P.L. 114-52; FEMA; Sec. 5(b)2(A)(iii) of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977, as amended;
42 U.S.C. §7704(b)2(A)(iii).
154 Related losses (e.g., avoided displacement of workers) were not included in the study.
155 FEMA, Building Codes Save: A Nationwide Study, November 2020, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/202011/fema_building-codes-save_study.pdf.
156 Ibid., ES-6.
157 Ibid.
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artificial, “gray” infrastructure (e.g., “green roofs” fitted with planting medium and vegetation
that reduce rain runoff and energy costs).158
Multiagency Coordination
FEMA leads several multiagency efforts to promote the use of hazard-resistant codes across
federal programs and facilities, including the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group
(MitFLG).159 MitFLG was established through Presidential Policy Directive 8, as directed by the
Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (PKEMRA, P.L. 109-295), and
includes representatives from more than 15 federal agencies as well as SLTT government
representatives that collaborate to increase resiliency to hazards in communities across the
country.160 MitFLG’s efforts include the development of a range of guidance, plans, and executive
orders relevant to hazard mitigation, including the 2019 publication of the National Mitigation
Investment Strategy (NIMS).161 NIMS identifies and tries to coordinate state, local, private, and
federal support for mitigation measures and guide implementation. MitFLG reviewed over 100
agency programs that fund construction or repair of facilities to ensure each program requires
adherence to consensus-based codes.162
FEMA is also working to increase federal personnel with expertise in developing and
implementing codes and standards. For example, FEMA’s Building Codes Strategy called for the
creation of building codes specialists in each FEMA region, and FEMA has reported that each
region will have the position filled by the end of FY2023.163
Public Awareness
FEMA has also supported efforts to raise awareness regarding the importance of building codes.
One recent example is the No Codes, No Confidence campaign developed by the nonprofit
consumer advocate Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH). With financial support from the
Department of Homeland Security, and in partnership with FEMA and ICC, among others, No
Codes, No Confidence developed events, videos, and other materials to inform individuals about
building codes in their own community, and whether their residences are built to modern, hazardresistant designs.164
Monitoring Building Code Adoption
FEMA tracks building code adoption status for SLTTs (an effort called Building Code Adoption
Tracking, or BCAT). FEMA tracks state or territory requirements for building code adoption, the
158 FEMA, Building Community Resilience with Nature-Based Solutions: A Guide for Local Communities, June 2021,
https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_riskmap-nature-based-solutions-guide_2021.pdf. For
background, see CRS Report R46328, Flood Risk Reduction from Natural and Nature-Based Features: Army Corps of
Engineers Authorities, by Nicole T. Carter and Eva Lipiec.
159 FEMA, Mitigation Framework Leadership Group, website, https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nationalpreparedness/frameworks/mitigation/mitflg.
160 Ibid.
161 MitFLG, Department of Homeland Security, National Investment Mitigation Strategy, August 2019,
https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-10/fema_national-mitigation-investment-strategy.pdf.
162 FEMA, “Creating a ‘Codealition’: Bold Plans for Using Building Codes to Strengthen Resilience,” presentation
with Natural Hazards Center, September 13, 2022, https://hazards.colorado.edu/training/webinars/creating-acodealition-bold-plans-for-using-building-codes-to-strengthen-resilience.
163 FEMA, “Building Science: May Update,” May 2023. Email from Building Science Listserv.
164 FLASH, No Code. No Confidence, https://inspecttoprotect.org/.
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status of code adoption, and known amendments weakening adopted building codes.165 The
BCAT portal provides users an interactive map that tracks hazards and relevant building code
adoption information (see Figure 3).166Additionally, FEMA publishes fact sheets analyzing
building code adoption trends (e.g., the percentage of jurisdictions with hazard-resistant building
codes within a state or territory).167
Figure 3. Building Code Adoption Portal
Detail, January 9, 2023
Source: FEMA, Building Code Adoption Portal, https://stantec.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?
appid=a053ac48343c4217ab4184bc8759c350.
Considerations for Congress
Building Codes and Equity
Socially vulnerable individuals and communities experience particular hazard risks due to
substandard building codes.168 They are more likely to live in poor-quality housing, which is more
165 FEMA, Nationwide Building Code Adoption Tracking, https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-
management/building-science/bcat.
166 FEMA, Building Code Adoption Portal, https://stantec.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=
a053ac48343c4217ab4184bc8759c350.
167 FEMA, “Annual Fact Sheets: BCAT & Mutual Aid for Building Departments,” https://www.fema.gov/emergencymanagers/risk-management/building-science/bcat/fact-sheets.
168 See, for example, Wesley Highfield, Walter Gillis Peacock, and Shannon Van Zandt, “Mitigation Planning: Why
Hazard Exposure, Structural Vulnerability, and Social Vulnerability Matter,” Journal of the American Planning
Association, vol. 34, no. 3 (2014), pp. 287-300, 2014; and Yang Zhang and Walter Gillis Peacock, “Planning for
Housing Recovery? Lessons Learned from Hurricane Andrew,” Journal of the American Planning Association, vol. 76,
no. 1 (2010), pp. 5-24. This report adopts FEMA’s definition of social vulnerability in the context of emergency
management, meaning “the susceptibility of social groups to the adverse impacts of natural hazards, including
disproportionate death, injury, loss, or disruption of livelihood.” (FEMA, National Risk Index: Primer, November
2020, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-11/ fema_national-risk-index_primer.pdf.) Per the U.S. Centers for
(continued...)
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vulnerable to disaster-related damages. Furthermore, socially vulnerable populations are more
likely to experience financial hardship related to a disaster, yet are less likely to be able to cover
emergency costs. Communities with fewer resources may also suffer disproportionate effects of
climate change.169
Despite this, SLTTs representing low-income and socially vulnerable populations may have fewer
resources to develop, update, and enforce strong, hazard-resistant building codes. Local
governments with smaller budgets may not be able to maintain sufficient staff with applicable
expertise to enforce building codes. The ICC and partner organizations have recognized the
burdens that certain communities face in developing, administering, and enforcing codes so as to
ensure safe and hazard-resistant buildings.
Older buildings oftentimes do not meet current building codes. Many building codes primarily
regulate new construction or existing buildings under repair, reconstruction, new ownership, or
those subject to certain permitting requirements (for example, “property maintenance” permits).
In other circumstances, the code requirements for existing buildings are those which were in
effect when the structure was designed and constructed. The ICC notes that existing buildings
must generally meet the International Fire Code and International Property Maintenance Code
even when otherwise subjected to the code existing at the time of original construction.170
Congress may consider options to increase support for individuals and communities struggling to
implement hazard-resistant building codes, for example, by providing additional financial or
direct assistance (e.g., deployed or embedded federal personnel). Congress could consider
directing FEMA to fully implement authorities from the Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA)
that authorized assistance for building code enforcement for non-disaster damaged buildings,
without time restrictions.171 Congress could consider increasing the proportion of funding for
DTA in BRIC. As of February 10, 2023, FEMA had obligated $3,158,832 for DTA in FY2020 and
FY2021,172 out of a total of $1.5 billion available for BRIC in those two years. Congress could
also consider making DTA available for other FEMA-funded programs, or monitor the
implementation of other federal programs supporting building code adoption.173 Alternatively,
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), higher levels of social vulnerability (including poverty, limited English
proficiency, disability, and minority status) within a disaster-affected community may correspond to fewer resources
available to reduce and mitigate suffering and loss, and for this reason, warrant federal or other assistance. (U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “CDC SVI Documentation 2018,” CDC SVI 2018
Documentation—1/31/2020, January 31, 2020, https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/placeandhealth/svi/documentation/
SVI_documentation_2018.html.)
169 See, for example, Jay, A., D.R. Reidmiller, C.W. Avery, D. Barrie, B.J. DeAngelo, A. Dave, M. Dzaugis, M.
Kolian, K.L.M. Lewis, K. Reeves, and D. Winner, 2018, “Overview,” in Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United
States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II, Reidmiller, D.R. et al., (eds.), U.S. Global Change Research
Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 33-71, doi: 10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH1.
170 Building Safety Journal staff, 2018 Existing Building Code Essentials, International Code Council, February 2,
2022, https://www.iccsafe.org/building-safety-journal/bsj-technical/existing-building-code-essentials-introduction/. See
also ICC, 2024 International Existing Building Code, Section 1401.2, August 2023, https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/
IEBC2024P1/chapter-14-relocated-or-moved-buildings#IEBC2024P1_Ch14_Sec1401.
171 Some industry advocates raised concern that FEMA interpreted its authorities under the relevant provision (Sec.
1206(a)) too narrowly, for example, by restricting implementation to 180 days to work related to disaster-damaged
facilities, or by not providing PA for the design and adoption of new building codes. American Society of Civil
Engineers (ASCE) et al., Joint Comments in Response to FEMA’s Draft Policy to Implement DRRA Sec. 1206, p. 5,
https://www.ashrae.org/file%20library/about/government%20affairs/public%20policy%20resources/joint-commentson-drra-sec-1206-implementation-.pdf.
172 Email from FEMA Congressional Affairs Staff, February 10, 2023.
173 See, for example, Assistance for Latest and Zero Building Energy Code Adoption, Sec. 50131 of the Inflation
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Congress could consider means of supporting or monitoring a recent proposal by FEMA whereby
communities pool and share trained nonfederal building code professionals following disasters as
a form of mutual aid.174 Such options could mitigate the potential burdens that new, strict codes
may impose on low-income and other vulnerable individuals and communities that may not have
the financial resources to fund compliance measures, or may lose access to noncompliant housing
and other facilities.
Streamlining and Standardizing Post-Disaster Federal Building
Codes Requirements
Under current statute, regulations, and policy, different Stafford Act programs require compliance
with different building codes and standards, as summarized above. Such inconsistency creates
confusion or haphazard standards within the same community. Recently, FEMA has worked with
other agencies to remedy such inconsistencies. The first goal of FEMA’s 2022 Building Codes
Strategy is to integrate building codes and standards across FEMA programs, including by using a
consistent set of codes.
Should Congress seek to codify such policies, it could consider modifying FEMA’s statutory
authorities to require compliance with a clearly identified set of consensus-based codes and
standards across all FEMA-funded programs. Congress could additionally consider explicitly
requiring federally funded projects to meet or exceed applicable higher local standards.
Alternatively, Congress may consider codifying certain building code requirements that currently
exist only in regulations or policy. For example, Congress could consider expanding and
codifying the application of the Federal Flood Risk Mitigation Standard (FFMRS) that currently
depends on an Executive Order.175 Bills to do so were introduced in the 116th and 117th
Congresses.176 Doing so may eliminate the risk of termination and policy changes across
administrations.177 Congress could also consider applying the FFRMS for all federally funded
projects in the SFHA, or for all facilities which have received disaster assistance for flooding, or
for all federal housing lending.
Reduction Act, as discussed in U.S. Department of Energy, “New Federal Funding and Technical Assistance
Opportunities for Building Energy Codes,” presentation, National Energy Codes Conference, May 204, 2023,
https://www.energycodes.gov/sites/default/files/2023-05/2023_NECC_New_Federal_Funding.pdf.
174 General Services Administration, “10x announces new projects chosen for FY22 Phase 1 funding,” May 11, 2022,
https://10x.gsa.gov/posts/2022-selected-projects/.
175 Executive Order 13690, “Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and a Process for Further
Soliciting and Considering Stakeholder Input,” 80 Federal Register 6425-6428, January 30, 2015.
176 For example, S. 1688, Federal Flood Risk Management Act of 2021, in the 117 th Congress; and S. 5022, Federal
Flood Risk Management Act of 2020, in the 116 th Congress.
177 In August 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13807 in an effort to streamline federal infrastructure
approval. Among other actions, E.O. 13807 revoked the Obama Administration E.O. 13690. In January 2021, President
Biden revoked the Trump Administration E.O. 13807 as part of Executive Order 13990, which had the effect of
reinstating the Obama Administration E.O. 13690, including the FFRMS. In May 2021, President Biden’s Executive
Order 14030 confirmed that guidelines for implementing E.O. 13690 were never revoked and thus remain in effect. See
Executive Order 13690, “Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and a Process for Further Soliciting
and Considering Stakeholder Input,” 80 Federal Register 6425-6428, January 30, 2015; Executive Order 13807,
“Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure
Projects,” 82 Federal Register 40463, August 24, 2017; Executive Order 13990, “Protecting Public Health and the
Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis,” 86 Federal Register 7037, January 25, 2021; and
Executive Order 14030, “Climate-Related Financial Risk,” 86 Federal Register 27967-27971, May 20, 2021.
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FEMA Assistance in Hazard Zones
Some scholars and oversight entities, including the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), have
raised concerns that the federal government may incentivize building or rebuilding in hazard
zones by providing assistance to facilities in hazard-prone areas.178 Statutory limitations on such
assistance could reduce the risk of increasing hazard-prone development that may contribute to
disaster casualties and losses.179
Congress may wish to consider proposals to restrict or eliminate federal assistance for rebuilding
in high-risk hazard zones beyond existing limitations on assistance180 for rebuilding in Special
Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) by specifying that such projects do not meet a defined resilience
standard.181 The Stafford Act already authorizes a reduction in the federal cost share for PAfunded projects that have experienced repetitive losses over the past 10 years, or where the owner
has “failed to implement appropriate mitigation measures to address the hazard that caused the
damage to the facility.”182 Similar reductions could be put in place to discourage rebuilding in
high-risk areas.
However, such proposals are not without risk. Restricting assistance could significantly burden
communities that are predominantly or entirely located in hazard-prone areas, or could potentially
exacerbate affordable housing shortages by discouraging development.183 Some entire counties,
for example, are in SFHAs, so reducing assistance in these areas could impede community
recovery following an incident, or prove infeasible. Additionally, FEMA’s implementation of such
authorities could jeopardize insurance eligibility or affordability of certain properties or
communities, with potential negative consequences.
FEMA, Clean Energy, and Building Codes
Historically, FEMA has not covered the cost of certain energy-related improvements, such as
smart grid technology or the marginal cost of low-carbon materials, to facilities eligible for
Stafford Act assistance, citing limitations on statutory authority to fund improvements (vs. repair)
of disaster-damaged structures.184 P.L. 117-169, often referred to as the Inflation Reduction Act of
178 See, for example, Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Expected Costs of Damage from Hurricane Winds and
Storm-Related Flooding, April 2019, pp. 27-28, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2019-04/55019ExpectedCostsFromWindStorm.pdf; and Sadie Frank et al., “Inviting Danger: How Federal Disaster, Insurance and
Infrastructure Policies are Magnifying the Harm of Climate Change,” Brookings Institution Report, March 24, 2021,
https://www.brookings.edu/research/inviting-danger-how-federal-disaster-insurance-and-infrastructure-policies-aremagnifying-the-harm-of-climate-change/.
179 Carolyn Kousky, “Managing shoreline retreat: a US perspective,” Climatic Change, vol. 124 (2014), pp. 9-20,
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-014-1106-3; Alice Hill, “Reducing Disaster Costs by Building Better,”
Council on Foreign Relations, April 2, 2020, https://www.cfr.org/report/reducing-disaster-costs-building-better.
180 See Stafford Act, Section 406(c)(1)(C), 42 U.S.C. §5172(c)(1)(C).
181
Stafford Act, Sec. 406(c)(1)(C), 42 U.S.C. §5172(c)(1)(C). See proposal in Council on Foreign Relations, Reducing
Disaster Costs by Building Better, April 2, 2020, https://www.cfr.org/report/reducing-disaster-costs-building-better.
182 Stafford Act Sec. 406(b)(2)(B), 42 U.S.C. §5172(b)(2)(B).
183 Elizabeth Maly, Tamiyo Kondo, and Michiko Banba, “Post-disaster Land Use Management after Hurricane Katrina
and Superstorm Sandy in the United States,” chapter 6 in Michiko Banba and Rajib Shaw, eds., Land Use Management
in Disaster Risk Reduction: Practice and Cases from a Global Perspective (Kobe, Japan: Springer, 2017). On
restricting development in hazard zones, see, for example, “Eric Biber and Moira O'Neill, “Building to Burn?
Permitting Exurban Housing Development in High Fire Hazard Zones,” Ecology Law Quarterly, vol. 48, no. 4 (2021),
pp. 943-980.
184 For example, GAO reported that in Puerto Rico, enhanced grid resilience measures including “smart grid technology
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2022, enhanced FEMA’s relevant authorities. Section 70006 authorized FEMA to provide
financial assistance through BRIC, HMGP, and PA until September 30, 2026, to cover “costs
associated with low-carbon materials” and “incentives that encourage low-carbon and net-zero
energy projects.”185
This broadly written authority affords significant discretion to the FEMA Administrator. While it
does not require FEMA to take any specific action, it allows the Administrator to provide
financial assistance for a potentially broad range of costs in federally funded mitigation and
reconstruction projects. In March 2023, FEMA released a memorandum implementing the
authorities, including by defining low-carbon materials.186
Congress may monitor how many applicants pursue such assistance, how many projects are
approved, what energy standards may be identified as eligible for assistance,187 and how the
FEMA Administrator chooses to incentivize net-zero energy projects.
Separately, some of FEMA’s recent code-related proposals have generated criticism from building
industry representatives.188 In fall 2022, FEMA proposed increasing the risk categories of certain
energy generation facilities, thus requiring more hazard-resistant design, given that the loss of
function of such facilities could result in power outages and represent a substantial hazard to
communities.189 Several hundred industry organizations campaigned against the proposal on the
basis that it would discourage clean energy development by increasing the cost of clean energy
projects “without achieving its intended benefit of grid resiliency and reliability.”190 According to
industry reports, the ICC ultimately approved a “compromise” proposal that treats certain
projects, such as solar, differently than other energy generation projects.191 Congress may monitor
… are not eligible for PA funding.” GAO, Puerto Rico Electricity: FEMA and HUD Have Not Approved Long-Term
Projects and Need to Implement Recommendations to Address Uncertainties and Enhance Resilience, GAO-21-54,
November 2020, pp. 12 and 19-20, https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-21-54.pdf; Comité Diálogo Ambiental, Inc. et al.,
“Opposition to PREPA’s Motion Seeking PREB Approval of 10-Year Infrastructure Plan,” Case No. NEPR-MI-20210002, https://energia.pr.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/03/Opposition-to-PREPAS-Motion-Seeking-PrebApproval-of-10-Year-Infrastructure-Plan-with-Attachments-NEPR-MI-2021-0002-1.pdf; FEMA, “Finding of No
Significant Impact, Programmatic Environmental Assessment,” https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/
fema_oehp-fonsi-utilities-repair_06-17-21.pdf.
185 Section 70006 of P.L. 117-130.
186 Assistant Administrator of Recovery Melissa Forbes to FEMA Regional Administrators, “Implementation of
Inflation Reduction Act Section 70006(1) for FEMA Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Assistance Programs,
March 21, 2023, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_inflation-reduction-act-implementationmemo_032023.pdf.
187 See CRS Report R46719, Green Building Overview and Issues, by Corrie E. Clark for details on green building
standards that could be utilized.
188 For further background, see David Iaconangelo, “FEMA plan sparks fears of renewables slowdown,” October 12,
2022, https://www.eenews.net/articles/fema-plan-sparks-fears-of-renewables-slowdown/; and Ryan Kennedy,
“Proposed FEMA building code may hamper solar deployment,” October 7, 2022, https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/
10/07/proposed-fema-building-code-may-hamper-solar-deployment/.
189 David Bonowitz, representing FEMA-ATC Seismic Code Support Committee, et al., “Proposed Change as
Submitted,” S76-22, available at https://subscriber.politicopro.com/eenews/f/eenews/?id=00000183-c839-d231-abc3dcfb7dfc0000.
190 American Clean Power, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Distribution Wind Energy Association, et al.,
“Letter to ICC Governmental Member Voting Representatives,” October 17, 2022, available at https://www.seia.org//
sites/default/files/2022-10/Clean%20Energy%20Industry%20ICC%20S7622%20Opposition%20Letter%20October%202022_0.pdf. See also SEIA, “Oppose FEMA Code Change Proposal S7622,” September 2022, https://www.seia.org//sites/default/files/2022-10/
FEMA%20Proposal%20Factsheet%20Sept.%202022%20copy.pdf.
191 SEIA, “Compromise Code Proposal Prevails in Victory for Clean Energy,” Nov. 11, 2022, https://www.seia.org/
news/compromise-code-proposal-prevails-victory-clean-energy.
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such code compliance requirements for emerging and specialized building projects, including
those undertaken to increase renewable energy generation.
FEMA and Rebuilding for Future Conditions
As described earlier in this report, building codes often utilize historical data to determine what
forces or hazards a building should withstand (e.g., building to withstand a flood with a 1% or
greater risk of occurring in any given year). Yet the utility of such historical data for
understanding future risks may be diminishing. Climate change and changing development
patterns may significantly change the risk of certain hazards, rendering codes insufficient or
obsolete more quickly than in earlier decades. For this reason, Congress may consider the
limitations of existing building codes to require future construction to withstand the risks of the
hazards projected to occur in 10, 20, or more years.
Congress may consider requiring federally funded projects to rebuild to standards resilient to
“future conditions,” whenever possible.192 Congress could direct FEMA to incorporate
estimations of future conditions into the agency’s definition of resilience that is currently in draft
rulemaking, so that recipients of FEMA funding may build to codes and standards reflecting
anticipated conditions on a certain future date. (For example, FEMA’s 2020 National Advisory
Committee report uses 2045 as a reference date, and the Resilience Roadmap: The Urgent Need
for Climate Resilience Action recommends using 2050.193) Congress could also incentivize, rather
than require, such mitigation measures by authorizing higher federal cost shares,194 discounts on
insurance premiums, tax credits, or access to additional grants or loans.195 In a recent federal
interagency workshop to identify ways to ensure future standards incorporate climate projections,
participants recommended convening appropriate stakeholders across disciplines and identifying
the most reliable data to inform future codes and standards.196 Congress may consider how, if at
all, to support such efforts through funding or agency direction.
Congress may also direct FEMA to address climate change by requiring communities receiving
mitigation funding to implement higher standards to prepare for climate change-related impacts.
Congress could, for example, consider introducing standards comparable to the FFRMS for other
192 See, for example, Emily A. Feenstra, American Society of Civil Engineers, submitted statement to U.S. Congress,
House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, June 10, 2021, p. 3, https://www.asce.org/uploadedFiles/
Issues_and_Advocacy/Advocacy/Content_Pieces/2021-0610-asce-letter-select-climate.pdf; and Yoca Arditi-Rocha et
al., Council of Foreign Relations, Resilience Roadmap, April 2021, p. 5, (hereinafter CFR, Resilience Roadmap),
https://cdn.cfr.org/sites/default/files/pdf/resilience-roadmap-urgent-need-climate-resilience-action.pdf. For FEMA’s
discussion of future conditions, see FEMA, Future Conditions Job Aid, September 2020, https://www.fema.gov/sites/
default/files/2020-09/fema_planning-future-condition.pdf. Note that codes reflecting future conditions are not always
available. See discussion in the GAO report, Climate Change: Improved Federal Coordination Could Facilitate use of
Forward-Looking Climate Information in Design Standards, Building Codes, and Certifications, GAO-17-03,
November 2016, https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-17-3.pdf.
193 See the reference to “future events” (defined as conditions in 2045) in National Advisory Council Report to the
FEMA Administrator, November 2020, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_nac-report_112020.pdf#page8; CFR, Resilience Roadmap, p. 5.
194 See for example, Section 20606 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123) as it amends Stafford Act
Section 406(b) to authorize an increased federal share for PA to provide incentives to governments to “invest in
measures that increase readiness for, and resilience from, a major disaster,” which may include “encouraging the
adoption and enforcement of the latest published editions of relevant consensus-based codes, specifications, and
standards.”
195 Department of Homeland Security, Mitigation Framework Leadership Group, National Mitigation Investment
Strategy, Washington, DC, August 2019, p. 16, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-10/fema_nationalmitigation-investment-strategy.pdf.
196 Ibid., p. 38.
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Building Resilience: FEMA’s Building Codes Policies and Considerations for Congress
natural hazards, or requiring building codes and standards that allow for future conditions in all
federally funded projects. Alternatively, Congress could consider directing the Multi-Hazard
Mitigation Council to report on how the ICC’s codes (I-Codes) could be adopted and updated as
climate change effects accrue.
Concluding Comments
Currently, FEMA is actively exercising a wide range of authorities and policy tools to promote a
hazard-resistant built environment. Some argue the agency’s existing authorities—or capacity—
may be insufficient to help communities adopt codes in line with their anticipated disaster risk.
Those who may want the federal government to more aggressively promote structural resilience
may consider a range of policy mechanisms to fund, expand, or build upon FEMA’s existing
efforts, whether by codifying stricter code compliance requirements across federal programs or
bolstering funding for subfederal code development and enforcement. Congress may also take
note that some efforts to promote resiliency and stricter code requirements may burden hazardprone communities and increase building costs for certain industry groups. The 118th Congress
faces critical questions about how, where, and at what cost the country should build in the face of
persistent—and growing—risk of disaster.
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Appendix. Chronology of Recent FEMA Actions
Key Recent FEMA Actions Related to Building Codes
September 2016
FEMA releases guidance requiring adherence to I-Codes for certain rebuilding
projects funded by FEMA Public Assistance, regardless of local code
requirements.197
November 2020
FEMA releases Building Codes Save: A Nationwide Study quantifying the fiscal value of
losses avoided by building code adoption and enforcement.198
May 2021
FEMA releases the Building Codes Adoption Tracking Portal to the public.
June 2021
FEMA releases Building Community Resilience with Nature-Based Solutions: A Guide for
Local Communities.199
August 2021
FEMA releases the National Risk Index, an online application visualizing disaster risk
across counties (and equivalent jurisdictions) in the United States. The index aims,
in part, to support enhancement of codes and standards.200
March, 2022
FEMA publishes the agency’s Building Codes Strategy to promote the adoption and
enforcement of hazard-resistant codes throughout the country.201
June 1, 2022
President Biden announces the “National Initiative to Advance Building Codes,”
alongside FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.202 As part of this initiative, the
FEMA-led interagency Mitigation Framework Leadership Group (MitFLG) will
review programs across the government to identify opportunities to increase use
of modern building codes.203 The initiative also is to incentivize adoption of
current building codes through strategies including those outlined in FEMA’s
Building Codes Strategy.
August 2022
FEMA releases a Building Codes Adoption Playbook for subfederal governments.204
November 22, 2022
FEMA signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the Institute for Building and
Home Safety, which FEMA explains will help “suppor[t] the development,
maintenance, adoption, outreach, training and enforcement of natural hazardresistant building and construction codes.”205
197 FEMA, “Public Assistance Required Minimum Standards,” FEMA Recovery Policy FP_104-009-4, September 30,
2016, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-05/
FEMA_Public_Assistance_Minimum_Standards_Policy_signed_9-30-16.pdf.
198 FEMA, Building Codes Save: A Nationwide Study, November 2020, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/202011/fema_building-codes-save_study.pdf.
199 FEMA, Building Community Resilience with Nature-Based Solutions: A Guide for Local Communities, June 2021,
https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_riskmap-nature-based-solutions-guide_2021.pdf.
200 FEMA, National Risk Index: Technical Documentation, March 2023, p. 1-1, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/
files/documents/fema_national-risk-index_technical-documentation.pdf.
201 FEMA, Building Codes Strategy, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_building-codesstrategy.pdf.
202 White House, “Biden-Harris Administration Launches Initiative to Modernize Building Codes, Improve Climate
Resilience, and Reduce Energy Costs,” fact sheet, June 1, 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/
statements-releases/2022/06/01/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-launches-initiative-to-modernize-building-codesimprove-climate-resilience-and-reduce-energy-costs/.
203 Ibid.
204 FEMA, Building Codes Adoption Playbook: For Authorities Having Jurisdiction, FEMA P-2196, August 2022,
https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_building-codes-adoption-playbook-for-authorities-havingjurisdiction.pdf.
205 FEMA, Building Science Bulletin, January 24, 2023.
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March 2023
FEMA releases implementing guidance for Section 70006 of the Inflation
Reduction Act, which directs FEMA to provide assistance for certain FEMAfunded projects with low-carbon materials (among other criteria).206
Author Information
Diane P. Horn
Specialist in Flood Insurance and Emergency
Management
Erica A. Lee
Analyst in Emergency Management and Disaster
Recovery
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
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under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
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copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
206 Assistant Administrator of Recovery Melissa Forbes to FEMA Regional Administrators, “Implementation of
Inflation Reduction Act Section 70006(1) for FEMA Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Assistance Programs,”
March 21, 2023, https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_inflation-reduction-act-implementationmemo_032023.pdf.
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