White House: Hurricanes push Trump to replace stricken flood order
Just when the Trump administration began work on a replacement effort — or whether one will actually come to fruition — is unclear. Several groups that support or oppose the Obama rule — such as the Association of State Floodplain Managers, R Street Institute and National Association of Home Builders — all said they haven’t been consulted by the Trump administration. And they’re unaware of when the White House moved to craft its own standard and whether the administration is doing any work at all. “We had no knowledge of that, nor do I think we have any knowledge at the moment,” said Owen McDonough, an environmental policy analyst with NAHB, which opposed the Obama standard. “I don’t think we’ve seen anything definitive that [says], ‘Yes, we’re doing it.'” What a new standard would look like is anyone’s guess. “I don’t know how you do a replacement standard that accomplishes the same goals [as the Obama order] without it being the same standard,” said Eli Lehrer, president of the conservative R Street Institute. “There’s only so much you can do if you want to do it, and basically don’t build dumb stuff in dumb places is about all a flood standard can be.”
