flood insurance program improvements

flood insurance program improvements Sec. 704. (a) Section 1306(b) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 is amended by striking out paragraph (2) and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “(2) in the case of any residential property for which the risk premium rate is determined in accordance with the provisions of section 1307(a)(1), additional flood insurance in excess of the limits specified in clause (i) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) shall be made available to every insured upon renewal and every applicant for insurance so as to enable such insured or applicant to receive coverage up to an amount of $150,000 under the provisions of this clause; “(3) in the case of any residential property for which the risk premium rate is determined in accordance with the provisions of section 1307(a)(1), additional flood insurance in excess of the limits specified in clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) shall be made available to every insured upon renewal and every applicant for insurance so as to enable any such insured or applicant to receive coverage up to an amount of $50,000 under the provisions of this clause; “(4) in the case of business property owned, leased, or operated by small business concerns for which the risk premium rate is determined in accordance with the provisions of section 1307 (a)(1), additional flood insurance in excess of the limits specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) shall be made available to every such owner, lessee, or operator in respect to any single structure, including any contents thereof, related to premises of small business occupants (as that term is defined by the Secretary), up to an amount equal to (i) $250,000 plus (ii) $200,000 multiplied by the number of such occupants which coverage shall be allocated among such occupants (or among the occupant or occupants and the owner) in accordance with the regulations prescribed by the Secretary pursuant to such subparagraph (B), except that the aggregate liability for the structure itself may in no case exceed $250.000; “(5) any flood insurance coverage which may be made available in excess of the limits specified in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1), shall be based only on chargeable premium rates under section 1308 which are not less than the estimated premium rates under section 1307(a)(1), and the amount of such excess coverage shall not in any case exceed an amount equal to the applicable limit so specified (or allocated) under paragraph (1)(C), (2), (3), or (4), as applicable; and “(6) the flood insurance purchase requirements of section 102 of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 do not apply to the additional flood insurance limits made available in excess of twice the limits made available under paragraph (1).”. (b) Section 1362 of such Act is amended— (1) by inserting “(a)” after “Sec. 1362.”; (2) by striking out paragraph (3) and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 91 STAT. 1146 “(3) incurred significant flood damage on not less than three previous occasions over a five-year period of time and on each occasion the cost of repair, on the average, equaled or exceeded 25 per centum of the value of the structure at the time of each flood event or was damaged substantially beyond repair by flood while so covered,”; and (3) by adding at the end thereof the following: “(b) When any real property referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) has sustained damage as a result of a single casualty of any nature under such circumstances that a statute, ordinance or regulation precludes its repair or restoration or permits repair or restoration only at a significantly increased construction cost, the Secretary may enter into negotiations with the owner of the property or interest therein for the purchase of such property for the uses and purposes of this section. “(c) Whenever, as a result of damage from any casualty, the repair, reconstruction, or substantial improvement of any single-family dwelling structure located within a regulatory floodway and insured under the flood insurance program is deemed by the Secretary to be made more effective from the standpoint of prudent flood plain management by elevation of the structure so it will not interfere with the flow of water from the base flood within such regulatory floodway, the Secretary is authorized to make a low-interest loan at a rate of interest of 2 per centum per annum, repayable in ten years, to the owner of any such structure for the purpose of so elevating the structure. There is authorized to be appropriated for purposes of implementing this subsection not to exceed $4,500,000. “(d) The Secretary is authorized to issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.”. (c) Section 1363 of such Act is amended— (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g); and (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following: “(f) When, incident to any appeal under subsection (b) or (c), the owner or lessee of real property or the community, as the case may be, incurs expense in connection with the services of surveyors, engineers, or similar services, but not including legal services, in the effecting of an appeal which is successful in whole or part, the Secretary shall reimburse such individual or community to an extent measured by the ratio of the successful portion of the appeal as compared to the entire appeal and applying such ratio to the reasonable value of all such services, but no reimbursement shall be made by the Secretary in respect to any fee or expense payment, the payment of which was agreed to be contingent upon the result of the appeal. There is authorized to be appropriated for purposes of implementing this subsection, not to exceed $250,000.”. (d) Section 201 of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following: “(e) The Secretary is authorized to establish administrative procedures whereby the identification under this section of one or more areas in the community as having special flood hazards may be appealed to the Secretary by the community or any owner or lessee of real property within the community who believes his property has been inadvertently included in a special flood hazard area by the identification. When, incident to any appeal under this subsection, the owner or lessee of real property or the community, as the case may be, incurs expense in connection with the services of surveyors, engi-91 STAT. 1147neers, or similar services, but not including legal services, in the effecting of an appeal which is successful in whole or part, the Secretary shall reimburse such individual or community to an extent measured by the ratio of the successful portion of the appeal as compared to the entire appeal and applying such ratio to the reasonable value of all such services, but no reimbursement shall be made by the Secretary in respect to any fee or expense payment, the payment of which was agreed to be contingent upon the result of the appeal. There is authorized to be appropriated for purposes of implementing this subsection not to exceed “$250,000.”.