YourVoice.Now Summary
EnvironmentRestoration projects could skip FEMA flood-map fees and, within limits, raise floodway flood levels up to 1 foot.
Environment
Today, the fee is waived only for habitat projects that use some federal or state money, like dam removal. The bill would waive it for any project meant to restore a river, wetland, or floodplain.
A town could approve such a project in a floodway without first getting a FEMA sign-off, even if flood levels go up. An engineer must find the rise is 1 foot or less. No insurable building or key public infrastructure can be in the area that floods higher.
The 1-foot limit is the default. FEMA could pick a higher limit, or a new way to measure the rise, if it sees fit.
More about this bill
Groups that restore rivers, wetlands, and floodplains would have an easier time under federal flood insurance rules. They can ask the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to update a flood map after a project. Today, they skip the fee for that review only if the project uses federal or state money. The bill would drop that money test. Any project whose main goal is to restore a river, wetland, or floodplain would qualify. A town could also allow a restoration project in a floodway (the main channel that carries floodwater) even if it raises expected flood levels. Three conditions apply. An engineer must find that the total rise is no more than 1 foot, or a larger amount FEMA allows. No insurable building or key infrastructure can sit in the area that would flood higher. The town must send FEMA a study of the changes within 180 days after the project ends. Rules for telling landowners about floodway projects would not change. FEMA would issue guidance within 180 days of the bill becoming law. The Senate passed the bill on September 30, 2026. The House has not voted on it.
Congressional Summary
Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act This bill eases restrictions for ecosystem restoration projects in designated floodways that meet certain risk criteria. Under current National Flood Insurance Program requirements, such projects are generally prohibited in a designated floodway if the project would increase the area’s base flood elevation. The bill establishes conditions under which a community may permit an ecosystem restoration project within a designated floodway that would result in an increase in base flood elevations. Specifically, the project may be permitted if (1) a professional engineer determines that the cumulative effect of the increase will be not more than 1 foot; (2) no insurable structure or critical infrastructure is located in an impacted area; and (3) the community submits an analysis to the Federal Emergency Management Agency on the project’s effects after the project is complete. An ecosystem restoration project is defined by the bill as a project that manipulates the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of a site with a goal of recovering, reclaiming, or improving the functions of an aquatic resource or floodplain.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Passed Senate
- Action Date
- 2026-09-30
- Date Added
- 2026-10-15
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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