2015-03840. Notice of Public Meetings on the Proposed Revised Guidelines for Implementing Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management, as Revised Through the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard

AGENCY:

Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

This notice is to announce four public meetings to solicit public input on the proposed “Revised Guidelines for Implementing Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management.”

DATES:

The first public meeting will be held in Ames, IA on March 3, 2015, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST). The second public meeting will be held in Biloxi, MS on March 5, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST). The third public meeting will be held in Sacramento, CA on March 11, 2015, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST). The fourth public meeting will be held in Hampton Roads, VA on March 11, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST).

ADDRESSES:

The first public meeting will be held in Ames, IA, at the Iowa Water Conference Venue, Iowa State University, Scheman Building, 1810 Lincoln Way, Ames, IA 50011. The second public meeting will be held in Biloxi, MS at the Mississippi Recovery Office, 220 Popps Ferry Road, Biloxi, MS 39591. The third public meeting will be held in Sacramento, CA at the CA Office of Emergency Services, 3650 Schriever Ave, Mather, CA 95655. The fourth public meeting will be held in Hampton Roads, VA at Old Dominion University, 4320 Hampton Blvd., Norfolk, VA 23529.

For information on facilities or services for individuals with disabilities or to request special assistance at the meeting, please contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section by February 26, 2015 for the first meeting, by March 2, 2015 for the second meeting, by March 6, 2015 for the third meeting, and by March 6, 2015 for the fourth meeting.

Due to space constraints of the facilities, seating will be limited to 300 participants for the Ames, IA meeting, 100 participants for the Biloxi, MS meeting, 200 participants for the Sacramento, CA meeting, and 225 participants for the Hampton Roads meeting. To reserve a seat in advance, please provide a request via email or mail with the contact information of the participant (including name, mailing address, and email address), the meeting(s) to be attended, and include the subject/attention line (or on the envelope if by mail): Reservation Request for FFRMS Meeting. Advance reservations must be received 3 business days prior to each meeting to ensure processing. Unregistered participants will be accepted after all participants with reservations have been accommodated and will be admitted on a first-come, first-serve basis, provided the person capacity is not exceeded. To submit reservations, please email: [e-mail] or send by mail to the address listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT caption.

To facilitate public participation, members of the public are invited to provide written comments on the issues to be considered at the public meetings. Comments may be submitted by one of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Regulatory Affairs Division, Office of Chief Counsel, FEMA, 500 C Street SW., Room 8NE, Washington, DC 20472-3100.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the docket ID FEMA-2015-0006. Comments received will be posted without alteration at http://www.regulations.gov,, including any personal information provided.

Docket: For access to the docket to read comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov,, and search for the Docket ID FEMA-2015-0006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bradley Garner, 202-646-3901 or [e-mail]. Mailing Address: FFRMS, 1800 South Bell Street, Room 627, Arlington, VA 20598-3030. The Web site is https://www.fema.gov/​federal-flood-risk-management-standard-ffrms.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On January 30, 2015, the President signed Executive Order 13690, directing FEMA, on behalf of the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group, to publish for public comment draft revised Floodplain Management Guidelines to provide guidance to agencies on the implementation of Executive Order 11988, as amended, consistent with a new Federal Flood Risk Management Standard. These draft revised Guidelines were developed by the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group in consultation with the Federal Interagency Floodplain Management Task Force. FEMA is publishing this Notice on behalf of the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group, which is chaired by FEMA, to solicit and consider public input on the draft revised Guidelines at four public meetings.

Background information about these topics is available on the FFRMS Web site at https://www.fema.gov/​federal-flood-risk-management-standard-ffrms or in the docket for this Notice at www.regulations.gov, Docket ID FEMA-2015-0006.

These meetings are exempt from the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group is an intergovernmental committee and falls under the intergovernmental committee exception to FACA, 41 CFR 102-3.40(g).

Authority: Executive Order 11988, as amended; Executive Order 13690.

Roy Wright,

Deputy Associate Administrator for Mitigation, Federal Emergency Management Agency.