1、CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i Flood Buyouts: Federal Funding for Property Acquisition April 8, 2022 Flooding is the most frequent natural disaster in the United States and experts expect effects to intensify in the future. Buyouts offer one way to redu
2、ce flood risk. Unlike other approaches to flood mitigation, buyouts eliminate future losses by removing properties from areas at risk of flooding. A floodplain buyout is a property acquisition in which a government agency purchases private property, relocates or demolishes any structures on it, and
3、preserves the land as open space in perpetuity to restore and conserve natural floodplain functions. The local government is responsible for maintaining parcels of bought-out land and buyout programs generally do not include funding for future design, maintenance, or use of bought-out land. In the c
4、ase of property acquisition and demolition, often using federal funding, a local or state government purchases flood-prone land and structures from willing sellers and demolishes the structures. Alternatively, state or local governments purchase land from willing sellers and assist the property owne