Environmental and planning groups have petitioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to update flood maps, set tougher standards for floodplain construction, and prepare for climate change.
The groups noted that the National Flood Insurance Program, managed by FEMA, has paid more than $69 billion in flood insurance claims since 1973, with half of that total disbursed in the last dozen years. The spike in claims is part of the reason the insurance program is more than $20 billion in debt, the petition says.
Development continues on floodplains, while areas at risk of inundation expand due to sea level rise, the petition says. The problem is particularly in acute in Louisiana, Texas, and in coastal regions of the Northeast.
The group also asks for more help for homeowners seeking to cut flood risks, and for FEMA to require all new or substantially improved buildings in floodplains to be raised above the 100-year flood level.
Related Stories
| Mar 15, 2012
ANSI approves new fall protection standards
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approved two American Society of Safety Engineers' (ASSE) standards addressing fall protection.
| Mar 8, 2012
Engineering innovation provides new option for meeting seismic codes in skyscrapers
Two University of Toronto engineers have developed “viscoelastic-energy-dissipating dampers” to replace many of the heavy concrete beams used in tall structures.
| Mar 8, 2012
CSI webinar on building code compliance March 22
A March 22 webinar will provide an overview of a 28-step process during the design of a building to ensure compliance with building codes.
| Mar 8, 2012
Federal silica dust rule caught in bureaucratic limbo
A federal rule meant to protect the lungs of workers has been caught in bureaucratic purgatory for more than a year.
| Mar 8, 2012
New LEED-EBOM rating has requirements for specific project types
Several key changes are proposed for the LEED-EBOM Rating System in 2012.
| Mar 8, 2012
Green buildings more resilient than conventionally built structures
A new study by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning suggests that structures built to green standards can advance building resiliency.
| Mar 1, 2012
LEED Platinum standard likely to mean net-zero energy by 2018
As LEED standards continue to rise, the top level, LEED Platinum, will likely mean net-zero energy construction by 2018.
| Mar 1, 2012
EPA beefs up stormwater discharge rule from construction projects
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has now finalized its 2012 construction general permit (CGP) that authorizes stormwater discharges from construction projects that disturb one or more acres of land in the areas where EPA is the permitting authority.
