In order for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to continue to operate, the program was required to be reauthorized by Congress by September 30, 2017.  After multiple short term authorizations since that deadline, on December 21, 2018, the President signed legislation passed by Congress authorizing the program until May 31, 2019.  Congress has remained deadlocked on moving forward with a number of bills proposing long-term reform of the NFIP.  FEMA's NFIP Reauthorization webpage provides the latest on the status of the reauthorization.

In October 2018, the Penn Institute for Urban Research and the Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center released a working paper entitled "Flood Risk and the U.S. Housing Market".  The paper discusses how FEMA and catastrophe modeling companies assess flood risk, why homeowners often do not voluntarily protect themselves financially against floods, current federal flood risk management programs in the country, and the interaction of mortgage and housing markets and flood risk.

The City of Stamford was highlighted in the latest NFIP/CRS Update newsletter (January 2019) in its "Success with CRS" segment, pages 6-8.  Local floodplain administration and environmental planner, Richard Talamelli of the city's Environmental Protection Board explains their three-part approach to implementing CRS:  higher regulatory standards, open space preservation and public outreach.  Stamford is a class 7 CRS community, with residents receiving a 15% discount on flood insurance premiums.  This translates into a savings of approximately $350,000 annually for the city's 2,700 flood insurance policyholders.  

On October 5, 2018, President Trump signed the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA) into law as part of the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2018.  Highlights from the DRRA include:

• Greater investment in mitigation before a disaster
• Reducing risk from future disasters from fire   
• Increasing state capacity to manage disaster recovery
• Providing greater flexibility to survivors with disabilities
• Retaining skilled response and recovery personnel 

Beginning October 1, 2019, FEMA will publish rates in the Specific Rating Guidelines for elevated buildings that have an above-grade enclosure (hanging floors or mid-level entries) and for non-elevated, non-residential structures that have below-grade pit areas (e.g. oil pits).  NFIP insurers may quote and process policies effective on or after October 1, 2019 for these building types using the Specific Rating Guidelines.  FEMA will publish the updated Specific Rating Guidelines by June 1, 2019.

• April 16, 2019, 1:00pm - CRS:  Preparing for a Verification Visit
• April 17, 2019, 1:00pm - CRS:  Flood Insurance Promotion (Activity 370)
• April 25, 2019, 1:00pm - NFIP Basics
• May 16, 2019, 1:00pm - Elevation Certificates
• May 30, 2019, 1:00pm - Floodplain Development Permit Review
• May 30, 2019, 1:00pm - Inspecting Floodplain Development
• June 6, 2019, 1:00pm - Tools for Determining Base Flood Elevation
• June 18, 2019, 1:00pm - CRS:  Drainage System Maintenance (Activity 540)
• June 19, 2019, 1:00pm - CRS:  Preparing an Annual Recertification
• June 20, 2019, 1:00pm - NFIP Basics
• July 16, 2019, 1:00pm - CRS:  Developing a Repetitive Loss Area Analysis
• July 17, 2019, 1:00pm - CRS:  Flood Warning and Response (Activity 610)