HB1807: Flood plain management; state agency compliance with regulations.

Legislative Summary

State agency compliance with flood plain management regulations. Directs the Department of Conservation and Recreation, no later than September 30, 2023, and in cooperation with numerous Secretariats and the Special Assistant to the Governor for Coastal Adaptation and Protection, to establish standards for development in a flood plain for all state agencies and departments. Such standards shall require at least compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program and shall require that any development undertaken by an agency or department on state-owned land located in a Special Flood Hazard Area be protected or flood-proofed against flooding and flood damage. The bill also requires any state agency or department, when developing a facility on state-owned property located in a flood plain, to either adhere to all local flood plain management regulations or receive Department approval of compliance with the applicable state standard for development in a flood plain, provided that such standard does not jeopardize a locality's participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. Such compliance shall be documented and provided in the form of a permit by the Department to the applicant prior to preliminary design approval of a project by the Department of General Services. The bill allows the Department of Conservation and Recreation to issue a permit if no feasible alternative to developing a facility in the flood plain exists and if one of several other conditions provided in the bill is met.