Coastal Barrier Improvement (CBI) Act

Once upon a time, human beings expanded across the United States. And many decided to live in places that faced higher probabilities of being leveled by hurricanes and floods.

As a result, homes in these areas got U.S. federal disaster relief. Instead of leaving, residents stayed, and others moved to these areas despite the warnings. And again, the U.S. government had to provide federal disaster or federal flood relief when the Acts of God came.

Eventually, the government said “We’re not doing this anymore...get out of there and stop developing homes!” In 1982, Congress passed the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA). They also wanted to protect the environment, but it was all about saving human lives and government money.

The Coast Barrier Improvement Act was just what it sounds like. It improved the federal regulation in 1990 and said that people who live in high-risk, storm-prone coastal areas or on barrier islands are not eligible for federal flood or federal disaster relief. So...move there at your own peril. And if you lived there already, you can still get relief, you just have to make sure that your house is so crappy (i.e. no big improvements or renovations) that it will finally be leveled to the ground, and you’ll stop being Uncle Sam’s problem.