Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Standard Flood Hazard Determination Form

AGENCY:

Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public to take this opportunity to comment on a reinstatement, without change, of a previously approved information collection for which approval has expired. FEMA will submit the information collection abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget for review and clearance in accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The submission will describe the nature of the information collection, the categories of respondents, the estimated burden (i.e., the time, effort and resources used by respondents to respond) and cost, and the actual data collection instruments FEMA will use.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before January 9, 2020.

ADDRESSES:

Submit written comments on the proposed information collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget. Comments should be addressed to the Desk Officer for the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and sent via electronic mail to dhsdeskofficer@omb.eop.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection should be made to Director, Information Management Division, 500 C Street SW, Washington, DC 20472, email address FEMA-Information-Collections-Management@fema.dhs.gov or Susan Bernstein, Insurance Specialist, FIMA, Marketing and Outreach Branch, 303-701-3595.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section 1365 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (NFIA) (42 U.S.C. 4104b), as added by Section 528 of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-325, title V), requires that FEMA develop a standard hazard determination form for recording the determination of whether a structure is located within an identified Special Flood Hazard Area and whether flood insurance is available. Regulated lending institutions, federal agency lenders, the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, and the Government National Mortgage Association must complete this form for any loan made, increased, extended, renewed or purchased by these entities. The requirement for federally regulated lending institutions to determine whether a building or mobile home securing a loan is located in an area having special flood hazards and whether flood insurance is available has been in effect since the enactment of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, although the use of a standard form was not required until the enactment of the Section 1365 of the NFIA. The establishment of the Standard Flood Hazard Determination form has enabled lenders to provide consistent information.

This proposed information collection previously published in the Federal Register on April 29, 2019 at 84 FR 18069 with a 60 day public comment period. The comment period closed on June 30, 2019. No comments were received. This information collection expired on November 30, 2018. FEMA is requesting a reinstatement, without change, of a previously approved information collection for which approval has expired. The purpose of this notice is to notify the public that FEMA will submit the information collection abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget for review and clearance.

Collection of Information

Title: Standard Flood Hazard Determination Form.

Type of information collection: Reinstatement, without change, of a previously approved information collection for which approval has expired.

OMB Number: 1660-0040.

Form Titles and Numbers: FEMA Form 086-0-32, Standard Flood Hazard Determination Form.

Abstract: This form is used by regulated lending institutions, federal agency lenders, the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, and the Government National Mortgage Association. Federally regulated lending institutions complete this form when making, increasing, extending, renewing or purchasing each loan for the purpose is of determining whether flood insurance is required and available. FEMA is responsible for maintaining the form and making it available.

Affected Public: Business and other for-profit; and Individuals or Households.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 26,616,265.

Estimated Number of Responses: 26,616,265.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 8,783,367.

Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost: $214,138,487.

Estimated Respondents' Operation and Maintenance Costs: 0.

Estimated Respondents' Capital and Start-Up Costs: 0.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to the Federal Government: 0.

Comments

Comments may be submitted as indicated in the ADDRESSES caption above. Comments are solicited to (a) evaluate whether the proposed data collection is necessary for the proper performance of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.