FEMA Funding for Flood Map Modernization

FEMA Funding for Flood Map Modernization

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For FY2009, President Bush requested $151 million to fully implement the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Map Modernization (MapMod) Initiative (FMMI) and to
fund the post-FMMI MapMod program. FEMA introduced the FMMI in 1997 as a strategic plan
to convert paper flood insurance rate maps (FIRMs) to digital electronic format, or DFIRMs.
DFIRMs contain more accurate spatial measurements and digital data associated with flood
hazards. DFIRMs are developed with an automated geographic information system (GIS) that
facilitates mandatory periodic updating of flood maps and assists in determining flood insurance
risk. In FY2000, Congress appropriated $5 million for a Flood Map Modernization Fund
(FMMF) to administer the FMMI. Regular appropriations for FMMI began in FY2003 under an
independent FEMA. In FY2004, the FMMI was funded by Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) appropriations. With FY2009 appropriations of $220 million, Congress has funded a total
of $1.4 billion for FMMI and Map Mod. Congress also approved supplemental spending
authority for FMMI offset by flood map service fees.
This report will be updated as events warrant.

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FY2009 Funding for the Flood Map Modernization Program ........................................................ 1
A Brief Review of FMMI Budget Authority............................................................................. 2
The President’s Budget Request ......................................................................................... 2
Congressional Appropriations............................................................................................. 2
Program Review........................................................................................................................ 3
Inspector General (IG) of DHS Review.............................................................................. 3
FMMI Mid-Course Adjustment (MCA) ............................................................................. 4
Looking Forward....................................................................................................................... 4

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Table 1. President’s Funding Requests and Appropriations for FMMF, Including the
FMMI and Map Mod, FY2003-FY2009 ...................................................................................... 1
Table B-1. FY2000-FY2002 FMMF Spending Authority............................................................... 6

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Appendix A. Acronyms ................................................................................................................... 5
Appendix B. A Brief Overview of Early FMMI Budget Authority................................................. 6

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Author Contact Information ............................................................................................................ 7

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Some in Congress have been concerned about FEMA’s inability to perform timely five-year
(digital) updates of flood maps in National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) communities.1 For
FY2009, President Bush requested $151 million to complete the Flood Map Modernization
Initiative (FMMI) and to fund the ongoing flood map modernization program (MapMod). The
request is $73 million less than the FY2008 appropriation. However, still recovering from historic
coastal and riverine flooding during the 2005 hurricane season, President Bush’s priorities for
FMMI for FY2009 included $90 million for better maps of coastal flood hazards and areas
around flood protection structures (levees) and $30 million for improving storm surge models to
more accurately determine potential extent of coastal flooding hazards (Table 1).2
Table 1. President’s Funding Requests and Appropriations for FMMF,
Including the FMMI and Map Mod, FY2003-FY2009
($ millions)
FMMI

FY2003 FY2004 FY2005 FY2006 FY2007 FY2008 FY2009
$Total
Request $300.0 $200.0 $200.0 $200.1 $198.9 $195.9 $151.0 $1,445.9
House
$200.0 $200.0 $150.0 $200.0 $198.9 $230.0 $220.0 $1,398.9
Senate
$100.0
$200.0 $200.0
$200.0 $198.9 $200.0
$185.0 $1,283.9
Conf.
$150.0 $200.0 $200.0 $200.0 $198.9 $215.0 $220.0 $1,383.9
Enacted $149.0 $198.8 $199.8 $206.8 $202.1 $223.9 $220.0 $1,400.4
Source: Compiled by CRS from FEMA’s annual budget justifications. Annual funding from House Appropriations
Committee, Senate Appropriations Committee, and conference committee reports on annual VA, HUD, and
Independent Agencies Appropriations for FY2003 and DHS Appropriations FY2004-0-FY2009.
Notes: Congress authorized appropriations from FY2003-FY2008 for the FMMI. The FMMF funds more than
just the FMMI. Enacted figures for FY2006, FY2007, and FY2008 are total FMMF funding that includes employee
salaries and benefits and other administrative costs which are limited to no more than 3% of annual FMMF
appropriations. These figures also reflect all rescissions in FEMA’s budget. Thus, funding for FMMI/Map Mod
activities for FY2006 is estimated at $204.7 million, $198.9 million for FY2007, and $217.5 million for FY2008.
For FY2009, approximately $144.4 million was requested and $213.4 million funded for continuing post-
FMMI/Map Mod activities.
FEMA officials have apprised lawmakers that the FY2009 budget decrease is somewhat
misleading because MapMod costs are expected to be leveraged to a greater degree with other
federal agencies, state and local governments, and private stakeholders, otherwise known as
FEMA Cooperating Technical Partners.3

1 As required by §575 of P.L. 103-325, the 1994 National Flood Insurance Program Reform Act (NFIPRA).
2 FEMA, Flood Map Modernization Fund, Fiscal Year 2009, Congressional Budget Submission, “Budget Request and
Supporting Information, Appropriations Overview,” pp. FEMA-FMMI-1– FEMA-FMMI-22, February 2008.
3 FEMA, Flood Map Modernization Fund, Fiscal Year 2009. See also FEMA, NFIP, “CTP Frequently Asked
Questions,” at [http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/fhm/ctp_qa1.shtm].
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In his FY2003 budget, President Bush requested $300 million for the FMMF and for FEMA to
implement the FMMI and fund associated MapMod activities.4 The FY2003 funding request for
the FMMF was the last one transmitted to the House Department of Veterans’ Affairs, HUD, and
Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee which then had funding jurisdiction for
FEMA. Since 2004, funding for the FMMI has been recommended by the House Appropriations
Subcommittee on DHS. The President’s request for the FMMI has averaged about $200 million
annually since FY2004 through FY2007 (Table 1). For a summary of FMMI spending authority
prior to appropriations (FY2000-FY2002), see Appendix B.
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For FY2003, President Bush proposed a five-year spending plan for the FMMI as part of a
government-wide initiative to implement cost-effective disaster prevention strategies. It stated
that many of the FEMA flood maps were “out-of-date and inaccurate,” and that “inadequate
funding hinders the [flood map] program.”5 It continued that “focusing flood reduction efforts on
identifying the areas at risk for flooding and steering development away from those areas ... [is] a
less-costly, long-term approach to [flood] mitigation,” and that “... modernizing flood maps
would be critical to that effort.”6 Additional spending authority of $58.5 million was requested by
President Bush for FMMI he proposed to be offset with a federal Flood Policy Fee (FPF) levied
on mortgage lenders. He justified that the anticipated collections of a FPF for FY2004-FY2007
could provide the balance of funding needed to complete the FMMI by FY2008. Had Congress
authorized FPFs in FY2003, the President would have made an initial down payment of almost
$359 million, or about 48%, of the estimated incremental costs of FMMI implementation.7
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In FY2003, Congress designated the FMMF to be the source of funding for all non-emergency
MapMod activities.8 Congress appropriated $150 million for the FMMF, or half of President’s
request (Table 1). Congress asserted that it was a reasonable appropriation given its five-year
commitment to fund the FMMI. Between FY2004 and FY2007, appropriations for FMMI tracked
with Administration requests. For FY2006, in addition to his regular funding request for the
FMMF, the President requested supplemental FMMI spending authority to be offset by flood map
service fees collected for commercial uses of DFIRMS, professional licenses, and printed and
compact disk-based DFIRMs, which Congress approved.9 FY2007 funding levels for the FMMF
were about $4 million less than those of FY2006.

4 For FY2003, President Bush also requested $50 million in spending authorized by the Stafford Act (42. U.S.C. 5121
et seq.) for conducting map modernization projects after presidentially declared flooding disasters.
5 Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, Fiscal Year 2003, Budget of the U.S.
Government, “Federal Emergency Management Agency: Status Report on Selected Programs” (Washington, DC:
GPO, 2002), pp. 315-318.
6 Id.
7 Fiscal Year 2003, Budget of the U.S. Government, “Federal Emergency Management Agency: The President’s
Proposal,” pp. 318-322. Incremental costs for FMMI from FY2003 to 2007 were estimated to be around $750 million.
8 The NFIF continued as a source of assistance for emergency flood map modernization needs.
9 A current schedule of fees is available at
(continued...)
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The DHS issued a stand-alone budget justification for FMMI for FY2008, noting that the
initiative was winding down and MapMod would supplant the FMMI.10 In effect, the
Administration requested a “last down payment” for FMMI of $195.9 million, or about $7.6
million less than $203.5 million appropriated for FY2007 (Table 1). The President noted in his
budget that despite the funding reduction, the request would account for new goals and priorities
set forth in FEMA’s FMMI Mid-Course Adjustment (MCA) issued in response to Hurricane
Katrina.11 The President noted that if his FY2008 budget were approved, no additional funding
for the FMMI would be required.12 The FEMA announced that MapMod program would continue
into a “post-FMMI phase” and, among its goals, develop a seamless “multi-purpose” national
digital flood hazard database layer. Achieving that goal, FEMA officials asserted, would benefit
future land-use and development planning, disaster mitigation planning, and homeland security.13
For FY2008, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (Div. E, DHS) increased funding for the
FMMF to $223.9 million and authorized collection of supplemental monies from state and local
governments. FEMA was directed to follow National Academy of Sciences’ Base Map Inputs for
Floodplain Mapping (January 2007) recommendations on integrating geophysical data and
imagery for flood risk assessment.14Congress approved $220 million for the FMMF in the
Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, P.L. 110-329,
Div. D (through March 6, 2009).
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During FMMI implementation, two major program reviews were taken that ultimately changed
the direction and goals of FEMA’s MapMod program.
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In 2005, when it appeared that the costs of FMMI implementation were exceeding original
estimates, Congress ordered the Inspector General (IG) of DHS to review FEMA’s management
of the FMMI and MapMod program to determine whether funding for the nation’s investment in
long-term flood map modernization was being obligated optimally.15 The outcome of the

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10 See Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, Flood Map Modernization Fund: Fiscal Year 2008, Congressional
Justification, February 2007.
11 See Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, Flood Map Modernization Mid-Course Adjustment, March 30, 2006,
pp. I-x, 1-38, and Appendices A, B.
12 For detailed estimates of the FY2008 request, see Department of Homeland Security: FEMA Flood Map
Modernization Fund: Funding Schedule, Exhibit H, “PPA Budget Justifications [FEMA - FMMI - 13],” February 2007.
13 FEMA, Flood Map Modernization—Preparing for FY2009 and Beyond, June 1, 2007.
14 See U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Appropriations, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill,
2008 to Accompany S. 1644 (S.Rept. 110-84), June 18, 2007, pp. 105-106.
15 See DHS, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Information Technology, Challenges in FEMA’s Flood Map
Modernization Program, OIG-05-44, “Mapping Plans and Priorities,” Washington, DC, September 2005, p. 5.
Congress also requested the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to perform a similar review. See General
Accounting Office (GAO), Flood Map Modernization: Program Strategy Shows Promise, but Challenges Remain,
GAO-04-417, March 2004.
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departmental review was a Multi-Year Flood Hazard Identification Plan (MHIP) that would
prioritize resources for five-year updates of flood maps annually.16 Individual projects would be
ranked according to degree of flood hazard risk and potential for loss of life and damage.
Resources would be allocated locally to meet the greatest financial needs for compliance with
NFIP. Also, a new standard for DFIRMs was mandated that would account for geophysical
processes that may have changed base flood elevations (BFEs) and flood zones depicted on
earlier flood maps.17
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As a major policy shift, FEMA decided to forego wholesale conversion of existing FIRMs to
DFIRMs and instead: (1) target federal resources to update flood maps where populations are
most vulnerable to flood risk, using Census block-based data rather than county-wide flood maps;
(2) ensure that standards for DFIRM accuracy apply to an emergency FHBM and a FHS in
unmapped communities; and (3) tie flood risk analysis to length of “stream miles” (i.e., along
riverbanks and U.S. coastal and Great Lake shores), focusing MapMod resources where flood
hazards are most likely occur.
˜˜”’—?ȱ˜› Š›?ȱ
With the FMMI now completed, the 111th Congress may consider the future direction and
effectiveness of FEMA’s MapMod program. Proponents of MapMod are concerned that FEMA
continues to be challenged with meeting schedules for rolling five-year flood map updates
mandated by law; educating the public effectively about the program and its possible fiscal
impacts on local communities; notifying authorities of intent to initiate flood map updates; and
providing financial assistance for local authorities to comply with new NFIP flood map
requirements that many stakeholders view as a “federal unfunded mandate.”

16 As stated in FEMA, NFIP, Multi-Year Flood Hazard Identification Plan (MHIP), MHIP Version 2.5, April 2007,
available at [http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/fhm/dl_mhip.shtm#1].
17 FEMA, Flood Map Modernization—Preparing for FY2009 and Beyond: Integrated Flood Data Update, Risk
Assessment, and Mitigation Planning, Draft Concept Paper, June 1, 2007.
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BFE
Base Flood Elevation
CTP
Cooperative Technical Partners
DHS
Department Of Homeland Security
DFIRM
Digital Flood Insurance Map
DRF
Disaster Relief Fund (FEMA)
FIRM
Flood Insurance Rate Map
FHS
Flood Hazard Study
FIA
Flood Insurance Agency (HUD)
FEMA
Federal Emergency Management Agency
FHBM
Flood Hazard Boundary Map
FMAGP
Flood Map Assistance Grant Program (FEMA)
FMMF
Flood Map Modernization Fund
FMMI
Flood Map Modernization Initiative (FEMA)
FPF
Flood Policy Fee
GIS
Geographic Information System
HUD
Housing and Urban Development, Department of
MapMod
Flood Map Modernization Program (FEMA)
MCA
Mid-Course Correction (FMMI/FEMA)
MHIP
Multi-Year Flood Hazard Identification Program (FEMA)
NFIF
National Flood Insurance Fund (FMMI/FEMA)
NFIP
National Flood Insurance Program
NFIPA
National Flood Insurance Program Act (1968)
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In FY2000, Congress appropriated $5 million to establish the Flood Map Modernization Fund
(FMMF) as a dedicated source of spending authority to meet administrative obligations of the
FMMI. Table B-1 shows annual spending authority for combined emergency and non-emergency
flood map modernization activities from FY2000 to FY2002.
Table B-1. FY2000-FY2002 FMMF Spending Authority
($ millions)
Source
FY2000a
FY2001b
FY2002c
Request $5.0
$32.7
$32.0
House $5.0
$30.0
$65.0
Senate $0.0
$12.0
$7.0
Finald $5.0
$32.7
$32.0
Source: Request figures were compiled by CRS from FEMA’s annual budget justifications. Spending
authorization figures are from House Appropriations Committee, Senate Appropriations Committee, and
conference committee reports on annual VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies Appropriations for FY2000-
FY2002.
a. The FY2000 request does not include spending authority of $58.5 million proposed from mortgage
transaction fees which Congress did not approve.
b. For FY2001, the President requested collections of $104.0 million in Flood Policy Fees (FPFs). Instead,
Congress authorized $30 million in disaster funds, and $2.7 million was carried over from FY2000 for FMMI
administrative costs.
c. For FY2002, $25 million in emergency funding was transferred to the FMMF from the NFIF. Another $7
million was authorized for FMMI from “flood service fees” that were anticipated to be collected for FY2001-
FY2002, and which were approved by Congress.
d. The final amount for FY2000 of $5 million was a congressional appropriation to establish the FMMF.
Under the 1968 National Flood Insurance Program Act (1968 NFIPA), Congress created a
National Flood Insurance Fund (NFIF, 42 U.S.C., Ch. III § 4107) administered by the Flood
Insurance Administration (FIA) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The FIA was responsible for surveying flood hazards areas and drafting paper flood insurance
rate maps (FIRMS) that ranked associated insurance risks. When President Jimmy Carter created
FEMA (Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1978), responsibility for the flood map program and flood
hazard studies (FHSs) authorized under the NFIF were transferred to the new agency. Other
resources for flood mapping were allocated after a presidentially declared flood disaster
emergency through FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF). The NFIF also provided resources for
preliminary flood hazard boundary maps (FHBMs) in unmapped communities during the post-
flood disaster “emergency phase” if local authorities opted to join the NFIP. FEMA saw
expansion of NFIP membership as increasing the pool of future NFIF resources.
The Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-325)
amended the NFIPA and required that flood-prone NFIP communities be eligible to receive the
fullest amount of federal flood insurance coverage available. The act also authorized the Flood
Mitigation Assistance Grant Program (FMAGP). FMAGP is a source of assistance for local non-
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emergency and mitigative MapMod needs for various cities, towns, villages, and Metropolitan
Sewerage Districts that were potentially subject to flooding to help them come into compliance
with the NFIP. Demand for federal assistance grew on the part of communities to undertake non-
emergency, preemptive map modernization activities, such as Flood Hazard Studies (FHSs) for
developing DFIRMs.

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Wayne A. Morrissey

Information Research Specialist
wmorrissey@crs.loc.gov, 7-7072

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