Rescission of Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands; Minimum Property Standards for Flood Hazard Exposure; Building to the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard

Key claim: HUD proposes to rescind its 2024 floodplain management and wetlands protection rule—which implemented the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard—and restore prior regulations, while retaining limited flexibilities related to floodways, categorical exclusions, and exemptions.

Abstract

(Proposed Rule · Housing and Urban Development Department) This proposed rule would revise HUD’s regulations governing floodplain management and the protection of wetlands in accordance with Executive Order 14148, entitled “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.” Executive Order 14148 revoked an earlier executive order that formed a basis for the final rule that HUD published on April 23, 2024, entitled “Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands; Minimum Property Standards for Flood Hazard Exposure; Building to the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard.” This proposed rule generally would restore HUD’s regulations to their state prior to the publication of the April 23, 2024, final rule, although it would maintain flexibilities from that rule related to floodways, categorical exclusions, exemptions from Part 55 applicability, and the decisionmaking process; it also proposes minor revisions for clarity.

Why this matters

HUD’s floodplain rule sets the substantive flood-risk bar that HUD-assisted housing must meet, so rescinding the 2024 FFRMS-based standard materially changes where and how federally supported housing can be built in flood-prone areas. For builders and PHAs it reduces elevation and siting costs and may unlock stalled projects; for renters and buyers it can mean faster unit delivery but less resilience to future flooding, shifting long-run risk onto occupants, NFIP, and disaster programs.

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