A Roadmap to Better Policy

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Flooding is a national issue.  However, municipal, county, state, and federal governments all have varying policies and practices to deal with flooding and floodplains.  We need to do a better job of standardizing criteria for evaluating flood-prone properties and making them part of the flooding solution rather than the problem.  With improved policy and coordination we can more efficiently and effectively allocate the billions of dollars being thrown at flooding problems annually at all levels of government.   

There are many, many local, county, state, and federal agencies dealing with floodplain management and mitigation across the country, so coordination among them is a tall order.  However, the big dollars (i.e. billions per year) being spent on flood control, prevention, and disaster recovery are federal, including: the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) , and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ARCE).  Getting these agencies to coordinate, cooperate, and prioritize on flood prevention strategies, including floodplain expansion and easements, is critically important.     

While no two projects are alike, the best way to see effective coordination in action is on the ground where floodplains have been expanded and restored. All projects involve multiple stakeholders, both public and private, including long-time landowners with deep attachments to their property.