FEMA Eases Floodplain Requirements for Federally Funded Projects, Reducing Burden on American Communities

The agency revokes implementation of the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard following Presidential Executive Order

WASHINGTON -- Today, FEMA announced that it has stopped implementing certain floodplain management requirements for federally funded projects. This action—directed by President Donald J. Trump on his first day in office—reduces administrative burdens on local communities to recover more quickly from disasters.

The Federal Flood Risk Management Standard Policy 206-24-005 (FFRMS) required certain construction projects to adopt a strict standard that addressed flood risk. Stopping implementation will reduce the total timeline to rebuild in disaster-impacted communities and eliminate additional costs previously required to adhere to these strict requirements. 

Effective March 25, 2025, FEMA-funded projects will not be subject to this standard. FEMA has stopped all implementation activities and policies are no longer in effect.

In 2015, President Barack Obama created the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and developed a process for further soliciting and considering stakeholder input with Executive Order 13690.  President Trump revoked this standard with Executive Order 13807 in 2017. In 2021, President Joseph R. Biden reinstated the FFRMS through Executive Order 14030 to address climate related financial risk. 

On Jan. 20, 2025, President Trump rescinded the FFRMS in Executive Order 14148: Initial Rescission of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.

The FFRMS requirements applied to FEMA direct actions and grant-funded actions under Grant Programs Directorate (GPD), Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA), Individual Assistance (IA) and Public Assistance (PA) involving new construction, substantial improvement and repairs to address substantial damage.
 
FEMA’s regulations at Title 44 Part 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands, remain in effect. In determining whether a proposed action for federal funding is in the floodplain, FEMA will use the 1% annual chance (100-year) floodplain and flood elevation for non-critical actions and the 0.2% annual chance (500-year) floodplain and flood elevation for critical actions (such as the construction of fire and police stations or hospitals). 

Additional information about Executive Order 14148 rescinding the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard:

Flood Maps and the National Flood Insurance Program
The Federal Flood Risk Management Standard had no effect on FEMA’s Flood Insurance Rate Maps as it does not apply to the National Flood Insurance Program's mapping process. In addition, the process of updating or creating a flood map is not impacted by this rescission. 

The FFRMS did not affect National Flood Insurance Program premium rates or inform mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements.  

Impacts of the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard Recission on FEMA Grant Projects
A Record of Environmental Consideration (REC) documents a project’s environmental review and any applicable project conditions, under FEMA grant programs. For grant recipients, the stop of Federal Flood Risk Management Standard implementation is for all projects that do not have a REC issued as of March 25, 2025, regardless of whether full or partial FFRMS implementation would have applied. 

• For new projects, FEMA will notify applicants that the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard will not apply. The 1% annual chance (100-year) floodplain (non-critical actions) and 0.2% annual chance (500-year) floodplain (critical actions) will be used to determine the floodplain for these projects.
• For pending projects where a Record of Environmental Consideration has not been issued, the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard will not apply. The 1% annual chance (100-year) floodplain (non-critical actions) and 0.2% annual chance (500-year) floodplain (critical actions) will be used to determine the floodplain for these projects.
• For projects with a completed environmental review, if FEMA has issued a Record of Environmental Consideration between 2021-2025 for a project with Federal Flood Risk Management Standard conditions, regardless of whether the project has been obligated, FEMA will take no action and require no action from recipients. If a recipient is interested in amending their project scope of work to remove Federal Flood Risk Management Standard conditions, they should contact their FEMA Regional Office.  If an amendment is requested, FEMA will conduct a new environmental review. 

For more information about the floodplain management requirements, visit FEMA’s website.