Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands; Minimum Property Standards for Flood Hazard Exposure; Building to the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard; Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY:

Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

ACTION:

Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

SUMMARY:

On March 24, 2023, HUD published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking entitled “Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands; Minimum Property Standards for Flood Hazard Exposure; Building to the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard,” which would revise HUD's regulations governing floodplain management and the protection of wetlands to implement the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS). The proposed rule provided for a 60-day comment period, which would have ended May 23, 2023. HUD has determined that a 14-day extension of the comment period, until June 6, 2023, is appropriate. This extension will allow interested persons additional time to analyze the proposal and prepare their comments.

DATES:

The comment period for the proposed rule published on March 24, 2023, at 88 FR 17755, is extended. Comments should be received on or before June 6, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding this proposed rule to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410–0500. Communications must refer to the above docket number and title. There are two methods for submitting public comments. All submissions must refer to the above docket number and title.

1. Submission of Comments by Mail. Comments may be submitted by mail to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410–0500.

2. Electronic Submission of Comments. Interested persons may submit comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly encourages commenters to submit comments electronically. Electronic submission of comments allows the commenter maximum time to prepare and submit a comment, ensures timely receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to make them immediately available to the public. Comments submitted electronically through the www.regulations.gov website can be viewed by other commenters and interested members of the public. Commenters should follow the instructions provided on that site to submit comments electronically.

Note:

To receive consideration as public comments, comments must be submitted through one of the two methods specified above. Again, all submissions must refer to the docket number and title of the rule.

No Facsimile Comments: Facsimile (FAX) comments are not acceptable.

Public Inspection of Comments. All properly submitted comments and communications submitted to HUD will be available for public inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at the above address. Due to security measures at the HUD Headquarters building, an advance appointment to review the public comments must be scheduled by calling the Regulations Division at 202–402–3055 (this is not a toll-free number). HUD welcomes and is prepared to receive calls from individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as individuals with communication disabilities. To learn more about how to make an accessible telephone call, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs. Copies of all comments submitted are available for inspection and downloading at www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kristin L. Fontenot, Director, Office of Environment and Energy, Office of Community Planning and Development, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 7282, Washington, DC 20410–8000. For inquiry by phone or email, contact Lauren Hayes Knutson, Director, Environmental Planning Division, Office of Environment and Energy, Office of Community Planning and Development, at 202–402–4270 (this is not a toll-free number), or email to: EnvironmentalPlanningDivision@hud.gov. For questions regarding the Minimum Property Standards, contact Elissa Saunders, Director, Office of Single Family Program Development, 202–708–2121. HUD welcomes and is prepared to receive calls from individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as individuals with speech and communication disabilities. To learn more about how to make an accessible telephone call, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On March 24, 2023, at 88 FR 17755, HUD published a notice of proposed rulemaking entitled “Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands; Minimum Property Standards for Flood Hazard Exposure; Building to the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard,” proposing to revise HUD's regulations governing floodplain management and the protection of wetlands to implement the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS). Consistent with Executive Order 13690, “Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and a Process for Further Soliciting and Considering Stakeholder Input,” the rule proposes revisions to HUD's regulations to improve the resilience of HUD-assisted or financed projects to the effects of climate change and natural disasters and provide for greater flexibility in the use of HUD assistance in floodways under certain circumstances. Among other revisions, the rule would provide a process for determining the FFRMS Floodplain that would establish a preference for the climate-informed science approach (CISA), and it would revise HUD's floodplain and wetland regulations to streamline them, improve overall clarity, and modernize standards. This proposed rule would also revise HUD's Minimum Property Standards for one-to-four unit housing under HUD mortgage insurance and under low-rent public housing programs to require that the lowest floor in both newly constructed and substantially improved structures located within the 1-percent-annual-chance (100-year) floodplain be built at least 2 feet above the base flood elevation as determined by best available information, and it would revise a categorical exclusion when HUD performs environmental reviews, and update various HUD environmental regulations to permit online posting of public notices.

While the proposed rule had a 60-day comment period, HUD has received feedback from multiple commenters requesting additional time to review and provide comments on this rule. Therefore, HUD is extending the deadline for comments for an additional 14 days.