Activity 520 (bAR, bRL & bSRL)

Possible Points: 2,250 for the entire activity. Up to 1,900 points may be granted for the five elements listed under this activity. An additional 350 points may be granted if more than 30% of all structures in the Special Flood Hazard Area have been acquired or relocated.

Purpose of Elements 522.a. Buildings Acquired or Relocated (bAR), 522.b. Buildings on the Repetitive Loss List (bRL), 522.c. Buildings on the Severe Repetitive Loss List (bSRL): To encourage communities to acquire, remove, or relocate flood prone buildings. Credit for this element is based on the type of building that is removed from the regulatory floodplain.

The three types of buildings CRS provides credit for removing under these elements are:

1. Buildings within the regulatory floodplain defined by the CRS program as “includes the SFHA and areas outside the SFHA that are subject to the community’s floodplain management regulations” (under element 522.a. bAR),
2. Repetitive Loss Properties (under element 522.b. bRL), and
3. Severe Repetitive Loss Properties (under element 522.c. bSRL).

Under the CRS’ crediting system, the removal of a repetitive loss property is worth twice as much credit, and the removal of a severe repetitive loss property is worth three times as much credit as the removal of a building credited under bAR.

Additional credit is granted for the acquisition and relocation of repetitive and severe repetitive loss properties due to the high number of flood insurance claims and subsequently, high costs to the NFIP from the presence of these properties. Repetitive loss structures continue to plague the NFIP. Today there are over 160,000 repetitive loss properties and 21,000 severe repetitive loss properties, and more being added at a rate of approximately 5,000 and 500 buildings each year respectively. A study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) calculated that while repetitive loss properties constituted just 1% of the policies in the NFIP, they represented 38% of the claims, which have cost upwards of $4.6 billion between 1978 and 2004 (U.S. GAO, 2004). It is in the financial interest of the NFIP to reduce the number of these properties. For more information, see pages 520-2 - 520-13 of the CRS Coordinator’s Manual.

Impact Adjustment: None.

Potential to Double Count Credit: Parcels of land that have had structures removed and are protected as open space can be also be credited for element 422.a. Open Space Preservation (OSP). Additional credit can also be earned if these parcels are protected using a deed restriction (DR), or have been restored to their natural condition (NFOS).

Degree of Difficulty - Documentation: High. In order to take credit for this element, communities must complete and maintain large amounts of paperwork for their ISO/CRS specialist. In addition, communities must map the location of buildings that have been removed or relocated since the effective date of the FIRM. Both of these tasks have the potential to be time consuming.

Degree of Difficulty - Implementation: High. Orchestrating a successful buyout program requires many hours of staff time at every step of the process. Whether you are receiving a grant post-disaster to purchase hundreds of home, or using community funds to buyout one or two homeowners each year, recruiting individuals to participate in the program and educating them on their options for purchasing a new home requires constant attention. As a result, the degree of difficulty associated with implementing this CRS element is high.

Tips for Success:

1. According to staff from Birmingham, AL, having a comprehensive acquisition, relocation and property reuse strategy or similar plan for every step of the buyout process prior to starting the buyout program or process is essential because it will help guide future decision making and outline the process.
2. Peoria County, IL recommends staff helping with the buyouts be open, give property owners frequent updates, and empathize with the property owners. This is because buyout programs take a long time to orchestrate and quality communication and outreach is key to the success of these programs.
3. Accurate record-keeping is essential to success with this element due to its documentation requirements. Having a system in place will save time in the long run.

Co-Benefits Associated with this Element: While the time and financial commitment may be prohibitive to some communities, it should not be a deterrent, especially since the benefits associated with buying out properties in the floodplain extend far beyond flood risk reduction. Buying out properties from homeowners that are substantially damaged during a disaster or from citizens taking proactive action to increase their resilience has multiple environmental benefits. This is because buyouts credited under this element are required to be preserved as open space or in their pre-development condition. Floodplains restored to their natural state provide critical habitat to wildlife, increase opportunities for infiltration especially in urban areas, and reduce pollutant loads to receiving waters (Task Force on the Natural and Beneficial Functions of Floodplains, 2002). Buyout properties converted to park lands also have these benefits, and additionally help to enhance the physical and mental health of residents by providing them with increased opportunities to recreate, connect with nature and their community (Kondo et al., 2015). Finally, relocating flood-prone homes prevents harmful debris, chemicals and nutrients from being washed into waterways during a flood event, reduces the need for first responders during a flood, and can eventually reduce the amount of public infrastructure that is vulnerable to flooding by eliminating the need for power lines, water, sewer and roads.