NAPA issues report on elevation data, endorses 3DEP

When Congress passed the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act, in the MAP-21 Act,  (P.L. 112-141), including the highway bill, FEMA flood reform and changes to the federal student loan program, it included a variety of mapping-related provisions. A key section, 100121, required a National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) study on how FEMA can improve interagency and intergovernmental coordination on flood mapping, including a funding strategy to leverage and coordinate budgets and expenditures and establish joint funding mechanisms with other Federal agencies and units of State and local government to share the collection and utilization of data among all governmental users. The NAPA report is out.  Included is the following recommendation (page 11): “Recommendation 15: The Office of Management and Budget should use the 3DEP implementation plan for nationwide elevation data collection to guide the development of the President’s annual budget request.”  NSPS has endorsed the 3DEP program, and petitioned the Appropriations Committee in Congress to begin funding the contract program for collection of elevation data, primarily through LIDAR.