As we can all attest to, flooding is on the rise, and even more floods are anticipated. Accordingly, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has issued new policies requiring higher elevation levels for federally funded builds. Project plans must also use available data to proactively address the risks associated with climate change.
New Standards To Address Flood Risks
Long in the works, FEMA’s Federal Flood Risk Management Standard goes into effect in September, and impacts a broad range of public builds. Specifically, as Julie Strupp reports for Construction Dive, the new standard to protect federally funded construction in the face of heightened flooding risks directs that “new projects and infrastructure rebuilt after a disaster with FEMA funding must be elevated at least 2 feet above the area flood level, using up-to-date data and accounting for likely impacts of climate change….”
Pointing out that flood risk standards for building have become outdated, FEMA explains: “the new policy is a flexible framework that allows it to consider the best available climate science in order to make projects and communities more resilient to flooding.” Leadership at Homeland Security underscores the importance of the new construction standard for flooding, predicting: “The human and economic cost of flooding is devastating and will only grow in the years ahead as the impacts of climate change grow more intense and reach more communities….Taking forward-looking, effective steps to increase resilience before disaster strikes will save lives, property, critical infrastructure and taxpayer money.” According to FEMA the new policy will impact roughly 35,000 projects over the next 10 years:
FEMA’s new standards will increase the flood elevation and the floodplain in order to reflect both current and future flood risk. The requirement that jurisdictions account for flooding that is likely to occur in the future under climate change is new. The rule will make taxpayer-funded projects far more resilient, protecting federal investments and reducing the risk of damage and loss … .The Federal Flood Risk Management Standard would affect projects like schools, fire and police stations, sewers, roads and bridges. It applies to FEMA-funded actions involving new construction, substantial improvement or repairs to substantial damage, as well as to Hazard Mitigation Assistance projects involving structure elevation, dry floodproofing and mitigation reconstruction.
Resilience and Foreseeable Conditions
Although floods have been the most prevalent form of weather-related disaster experienced around the country, extreme heat and storms have also been wreaking havoc, prompting release of a National Climate Resilience Framework. In addition to paying attention to the new formal standards, builders are being cautioned to think broadly about “foreseeable conditions” when project planning: experts anticipate a slew of legal changes related to “the principle of foreseeability,” and point out: “Broadly, courts want to encourage good adaptive behaviors because they want society, the economy and the environment to be more resilient to expected shocks.” Relatedly, the National Institute of Building Sciences convened experts to help construction pros understand how courts think about responsibility in the face of climate change:
Courts determine liability and negligence in part by taking into account what a person should have known at the time, and today there is a great deal of information available about the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events, said Mika Dewitz-Cryan, vice president and risk management attorney at Victor…. “Compliance with the code or regulations involved is not in and of itself enough to satisfy that standard of reasonable care,” said Dewitz-Cryan, nor is compliance with normal industry practice enough….
Plenty of Work Ahead
Amidst the challenges brought on by climate change, builders can also anticipate plenty more work. For example, consider the recent allocation of $1 billion for 656 FEMA projects across the county. As it is increasingly clear that many of our surface transportation systems are not up to challenges from floods, rising sea levels and heat waves, eighty projects to make “transportation systems more resilient to extreme weather” have also been targeted to receive a total of $830 million from The Department of Transportation. The funds are viewed as unique in that they are the “first of their kind dedicated to transportation infrastructure resilience.”
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