42 U.S.C. 4104c

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TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

section, any lender (or other person required to
use the form) who makes, increases, extends, or
renews a loan secured by improved real estate or
a mobile home may provide for the acquisition
or determination of such information to be
made by a person other than such lender (or
other person), only to the extent such person
guarantees the accuracy of the information.
(e) Reliance on previous determination
Any person increasing, extending, renewing, or
purchasing a loan secured by improved real estate or a mobile home may rely on a previous
determination of whether the building or mobile
home is located in an area having special flood
hazards (and shall not be liable for any error in
such previous determination), if the previous determination was made not more than 7 years before the date of the transaction and the basis for
the previous determination has been set forth on
a form under this section, unless—
(1) map revisions or updates pursuant to section 4101(f) of this title after such previous determination have resulted in the building or
mobile home being located in an area having
special flood hazards; or
(2) the person contacts the Director to determine when the most recent map revisions or
updates affecting such property occurred and
such revisions and updates have occurred after
such previous determination.
(f) Effective date
The regulations under this section requiring
use of the form established pursuant to this section shall be issued together with the regulations required under subsection (a) of this section and shall take effect upon the expiration of
the 180-day period beginning on such issuance.
(Pub. L. 90–448, title XIII, § 1365, as added Pub. L.
103–325, title V, § 528, Sept. 23, 1994, 108 Stat.
2264.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b)(1), was
in the original a reference to ‘‘this title’’ meaning title
XIII of Pub. L. 90–448, Aug. 1, 1968, 82 Stat. 572, known
as the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, which is
classified principally to this chapter. For complete
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title
note set out under section 4001 of this title and Tables.
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS
For transfer of all functions, personnel, assets, components, authorities, grant programs, and liabilities of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including
the functions of the Under Secretary for Federal Emergency Management relating thereto, to the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, see section 315(a)(1)
of Title 6, Domestic Security.
For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including the functions of the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency relating thereto,
to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see former section 313(1) and
sections 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set
out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.

§ 4104c. Mitigation assistance
(a) Authority
The Director shall carry out a program to provide financial assistance to States and commu-

§ 4104c

nities, using amounts made available from the
National Flood Mitigation Fund under section
4104d of this title, for planning and carrying out
activities designed to reduce the risk of flood
damage to structures covered under contracts
for flood insurance under this chapter. Such financial assistance shall be made available to
States and communities in the form of grants
under subsection (b) of this section for planning
assistance and in the form of grants under this
section for carrying out mitigation activities.
(b) Planning assistance grants
(1) In general
The Director may make grants under this
subsection to States and communities to assist in developing mitigation plans under subsection (c) of this section.
(2) Funding
Of any amounts made available from the National Flood Mitigation Fund for use under
this section in any fiscal year, the Director
may use not more than 7.5 percent of the
available funds under this section to provide
planning assistance grants under this subsection.
(3) Limitations
(A) Timing
A grant under this subsection may be
awarded to a State or community not more
than once every 5 years and each grant may
cover a period of 1 to 3 years.
(B) Single grantee amount
A grant for planning assistance may not
exceed—
(i) $150,000, to any State; or
(ii) $50,000, to any community.
(C) Cumulative State grant amount
The sum of the amounts of grants made
under this subsection in any fiscal year to
any one State and all communities located
in such State may not exceed $300,000.
(c) Eligibility for mitigation assistance
To be eligible to receive financial assistance
under this section for mitigation activities, a
State or community shall develop, and have approved by the Director, a flood risk mitigation
plan (in this section referred to as a ‘‘mitigation
plan’’), that describes the mitigation activities
to be carried out with assistance provided under
this section, is consistent with the criteria established by the Director under section 4102 of
this title, and provides protection against flood
losses to structures for which contracts for flood
insurance are available under this chapter. The
mitigation plan shall be consistent with a comprehensive strategy for mitigation activities for
the area affected by the mitigation plan, that
has been adopted by the State or community
following a public hearing.
(d) Notification of approval and grant award
(1) In general
The Director shall notify a State or community submitting a mitigation plan of the approval or disapproval of the plan not later
than 120 days after submission of the plan.

§ 4104c

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

(2) Notification of disapproval
If the Director does not approve a mitigation plan submitted under this subsection, the
Director shall notify, in writing, the State or
community submitting the plan of the reasons
for such disapproval.
(e) Eligible mitigation activities
(1) Use of amounts
Amounts provided under this section (other
than under subsection (b) of this section) may
be used only for mitigation activities specified
in a mitigation plan approved by the Director
under subsection (d) of this section. The Director shall provide assistance under this section
to the extent amounts are available in the National Flood Mitigation Fund pursuant to appropriation Acts, subject only to the absence
of approvable mitigation plans.
(2) Determination of eligible plans
The Director may approve only mitigation
plans that specify mitigation activities that
the Director determines are technically feasible and cost-effective and only such plans
that propose activities that are cost-beneficial
to the National Flood Mitigation Fund.
(3) Standard for approval
The Director shall approve mitigation plans
meeting the requirements for approval under
paragraph (1) that will be most cost-beneficial
to the National Flood Mitigation Fund. The
Director may approve only mitigation plans
that give priority for funding to such properties, or to such subsets of properties, as are
in the best interest of the National Flood Insurance Fund.
(4) Priority for mitigation assistance
In providing grants under this subsection for
mitigation activities, the Director shall give
first priority for funding to such properties, or
to such subsets of such properties as the Director may establish, that the Director determines are in the best interests of the National
Flood Insurance Fund and for which matching
amounts under subsection (f) of this section
are available.
(5) Eligible activities
The Director shall determine whether mitigation activities described in a mitigation
plan submitted under subsection (d) of this
section comply with the requirements under
paragraph (1). Such activities may include—
(A) demolition or relocation of any structure located on land that is along the shore
of a lake or other body of water and is certified by an appropriate State or local land
use authority to be subject to imminent collapse or subsidence as a result of erosion or
flooding;
(B) elevation, relocation, demolition, or
floodproofing of structures (including public
structures) located in areas having special
flood hazards or other areas of flood risk;
(C) acquisition by States and communities
of properties (including public properties) located in areas having special flood hazards
or other areas of flood risk and properties
substantially damaged by flood, for public

Page 4816

use, as the Director determines is consistent
with sound land management and use in
such area;
(D) minor physical mitigation efforts that
do not duplicate the flood prevention activities of other Federal agencies and that lessen the frequency or severity of flooding and
decrease predicted flood damages, which
shall not include major flood control
projects such as dikes, levees, seawalls,
groins, and jetties unless the Director specifically determines in approving a mitigation plan that such activities are the most
cost-effective mitigation activities for the
National Flood Mitigation Fund;
(E) beach nourishment activities;
(F) the provision of technical assistance by
States to communities and individuals to
conduct eligible mitigation activities;
(G) other activities that the Director considers appropriate and specifies in regulation; and
(H) other mitigation activities not described in subparagraphs (A) through (F) or
the regulations issued under subparagraph
(G), that are described in the mitigation
plan of a State or community.
(f) Limitations on amount of assistance
(1) Amount
The sum of the amounts of mitigation assistance provided under this section during
any 5-year period may not exceed—
(A) $10,000,000, to any State; or
(B) $3,300,000, to any community.
(2) Geographic
The sum of the amounts of mitigation assistance provided under this section during
any 5-year period to any one State and all
communities located in such State may not
exceed $20,000,000.
(3) Waiver
The Director may waive the dollar amount
limitations under paragraphs (1) and (2) for
any State or community for any 5-year period
during which a major disaster or emergency
declared by the President (pursuant to the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act [42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.])
as a result of flood conditions is in effect with
respect to areas in the State or community.
(g) Matching requirement
(1) In general
The Director may not provide mitigation assistance under this section to a State or community in an amount exceeding 3 times the
amount that the State or community certifies, as the Director shall require, that the
State or community will contribute from nonFederal funds to develop a mitigation plan
under subsection (c) of this section and to
carry out mitigation activities under the approved mitigation plan. In no case shall any
in-kind contribution by any State or community exceed one-half of the amount of non-Federal funds contributed by the State or community.
(2) Reduced community match
With respect to any 1-year period in which
assistance is made available under this sec-

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TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

tion, the Director may adjust the contribution
required under paragraph (1) by any State, and
for the communities located in that State, to
not less than 10 percent of the cost of the activities for each severe repetitive loss property
for which grant amounts are provided if, for
such year—
(A) the State has an approved State mitigation plan meeting the requirements for
hazard mitigation planning under section 322
of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5165)
that specifies how the State intends to reduce the number of severe repetitive loss
properties; and
(B) the Director determines, after consultation with the State, that the State has
taken actions to reduce the number of such
properties.
(3) Non-Federal funds
For purposes of this subsection, the term
‘‘non-Federal funds’’ includes State or local
agency funds, in-kind contributions, any salary paid to staff to carry out the mitigation
activities of the recipient, the value of the
time and services contributed by volunteers to
carry out such activities (at a rate determined
by the Director), and the value of any donated
material or building and the value of any lease
on a building.
(h) Oversight of mitigation plans
The Director shall conduct oversight of recipients of mitigation assistance under this section
to ensure that the assistance is used in compliance with the approved mitigation plans of the
recipients and that matching funds certified
under subsection (g) of this section are used in
accordance with such certification.
(i) Recapture
(1) Noncompliance with plan
If the Director determines that a State or
community that has received mitigation assistance under this section has not carried out
the mitigation activities as set forth in the
mitigation plan, the Director shall recapture
any unexpended amounts and deposit the
amounts in the National Flood Mitigation
Fund under section 4104d of this title.
(2) Failure to provide matching funds
If the Director determines that a State or
community that has received mitigation assistance under this section has not provided
matching funds in the amount certified under
subsection (g) of this section, the Director
shall recapture any unexpended amounts of
mitigation assistance exceeding 3 times the
amount of such matching funds actually provided and deposit the amounts in the National
Flood Mitigation Fund under section 4104d of
this title.
(j) Reports
Not later than 1 year after September 23, 1994,
and biennially thereafter, the Director shall
submit a report to the Congress describing the
status of mitigation activities carried out with
assistance provided under this section.
(k) ‘‘Community’’ defined
For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘community’’ means—

§ 4104c

(1) a political subdivision that (A) has zoning
and building code jurisdiction over a particular area having special flood hazards, and (B)
is participating in the national flood insurance program; or
(2) a political subdivision of a State, or other
authority, that is designated to develop and
administer a mitigation plan by political subdivisions, all of which meet the requirements
of paragraph (1).
(m) 1 Coordination with States and communities
The Director shall, in consultation and coordination with States and communities take such
actions as are appropriate to encourage and improve participation in the national flood insurance program of owners of properties, including
owners of properties that are not located in
areas having special flood hazards (the 100-year
floodplain), but are located within flood prone
areas.
(Pub. L. 90–448, title XIII, § 1366, as added Pub. L.
103–325, title V, § 553(a), Sept. 23, 1994, 108 Stat.
2270; amended Pub. L. 108–264, title I, § 103(a)–(c),
(e), (f), June 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 721, 722.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (c), was
in the original a reference to ‘‘this title’’ meaning title
XIII of Pub. L. 90–448, Aug. 1, 1968, 82 Stat. 572, known
as the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, which is
classified principally to this chapter. For complete
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title
note set out under section 4001 of this title and Tables.
The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, referred to in subsec. (f)(3), is
Pub. L. 93–288, May 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 143, as amended,
which is classified principally to chapter 68 (§ 5121 et
seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this
Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 5121 of this title and Tables.
AMENDMENTS
2004—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 108–264, § 103(f), substituted ‘‘7.5 percent of the available funds under this
section’’ for ‘‘$1,500,000’’.
Subsec. (e)(3). Pub. L. 108–264, § 103(a), inserted at end
‘‘The Director may approve only mitigation plans that
give priority for funding to such properties, or to such
subsets of properties, as are in the best interest of the
National Flood Insurance Fund.’’
Subsec. (e)(4). Pub. L. 108–264, § 103(b), added par. (4)
and struck out heading and text of former par. (4). Text
read as follows: ‘‘The Director shall make every effort
to provide mitigation assistance under this section for
mitigation plans proposing activities for repetitive loss
structures and structures that have incurred substantial damage.’’
Subsec. (g)(2), (3). Pub. L. 108–264, § 103(e), added par.
(2) and redesignated former par. (2) as (3).
Subsec. (m). Pub. L. 108–264, § 103(c), added subsec.
(m).
REGULATIONS
Pub. L. 103–325, title V, § 553(b), Sept. 23, 1994, 108
Stat. 2273, required the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to issue regulations no
later than 6 months after Sept. 23, 1994, to carry out
this section.
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS
For transfer of all functions, personnel, assets, components, authorities, grant programs, and liabilities of
1 So

in original. No subsec. (l) has been enacted.

§ 4104d

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including
the functions of the Under Secretary for Federal Emergency Management relating thereto, to the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, see section 315(a)(1)
of Title 6, Domestic Security.
For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including the functions of the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency relating thereto,
to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see former section 313(1) and
sections 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set
out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.

§ 4104d. National Flood Mitigation Fund
(a) Establishment and availability
The Director shall establish in the Treasury of
the United States a fund to be known as the National Flood Mitigation Fund, which shall be
credited with amounts described in subsection
(b) of this section and shall be available, to the
extent provided in appropriation Acts, for providing assistance under section 4104c of this
title.
(b) Credits
The National Flood Mitigation Fund shall be
credited with—
(1) in each fiscal year, amounts from the National Flood Insurance Fund not exceeding
$40,000,000, to remain available until expended;
(2) any penalties collected under section
4012a(f) of this title; and
(3) any amounts recaptured under section
4104c(i) of this title.
(c) Administrative expenses
The Director may use not more than 5 percent
of amounts made available under subsection (b)
of this section to cover salaries, expenses, and
other administrative costs incurred by the Director to make grants and provide assistance
under sections 4104c and 4030 of this title.
(d) Investment
If the Director determines that the amounts in
the National Flood Mitigation Fund are in excess of amounts needed under subsection (a) of
this section, the Director may invest any excess
amounts the Director determines advisable in
interest-bearing obligations issued or guaranteed by the United States.
(e) Report
The Director shall submit a report to the Congress not later than the expiration of the 1-year
period beginning on September 23, 1994, and not
less than once during each successive 2-year period thereafter. The report shall describe the
status of the Fund and any activities carried out
with amounts from the Fund.
(Pub. L. 90–448, title XIII, § 1367, as added Pub. L.
103–325, title V, § 554(a), Sept. 23, 1994, 108 Stat.
2273; amended Pub. L. 108–264, title I, § 103(d),
June 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 721.)
CODIFICATION
September 23, 1994, referred to in subsec. (e), was in
the original ‘‘the date of enactment of this Act’’, which
was translated as meaning the date of enactment of
Pub. L. 103–325, which enacted this section, to reflect
the probable intent of Congress.

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AMENDMENTS
2004—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L 108–264, § 103(d)(1), added
par. (1) and struck out former par. (1) which read as follows: ‘‘amounts from the National Flood Insurance
Fund, in amounts not exceeding—
‘‘(A) $10,000,000 in the fiscal year ending September
30, 1994;
‘‘(B) $15,000,000 in the fiscal year ending September
30, 1995;
‘‘(C) $20,000,000 in the fiscal year ending September
30, 1996; and
‘‘(D) $20,000,000 in each fiscal year thereafter;’’.
Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 108–264, § 103(d)(2), (3),
added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsecs. (c)
and (d) as (d) and (e), respectively.
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS
For transfer of all functions, personnel, assets, components, authorities, grant programs, and liabilities of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including
the functions of the Under Secretary for Federal Emergency Management relating thereto, to the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, see section 315(a)(1)
of Title 6, Domestic Security.
For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including the functions of the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency relating thereto,
to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see former section 313(1) and
sections 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set
out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.

§ 4105. Disaster mitigation requirements; notification to flood-prone areas
(a) Initial notification
Not later than six months following December
31, 1973, the Director shall publish information
in accordance with section 4101(1) of this title,
and shall notify the chief executive officer of
each known flood-prone community not already
participating in the national flood insurance
program of its tentative identification as a community containing one or more areas having
special flood hazards.
(b) Alternative actions of tentatively identified
communities; public hearing; opportunity for
submission of evidence; finality of administrative determination of existence or extent
of flood hazard area
After such notification, each tentatively identified community shall either (1) promptly make
proper application to participate in the national
flood insurance program or (2) within six
months submit technical data sufficient to establish to the satisfaction of the Director that
the community either is not seriously flood
prone or that such flood hazards as may have existed have been corrected by flood-works or
other flood control methods. The Director may,
in his discretion, grant a public hearing to any
community with respect to which conflicting
data exist as to the nature and extent of a flood
hazard. If the Director decides not to hold a
hearing, the community shall be given an opportunity to submit written and documentary evidence. Whether or not such hearing is granted,
the Director’s final determination as to the existence or extent of a flood hazard area in a particular community shall be deemed conclusive
for the purposes of this Act if supported by sub-