Wise, sustainable floodplain development and reduction of flood losses in our nation's 20,000 flood prone communities saves lives and property and also saves taxpayer dollars in disaster relief and recovery costs. The Association has been involved in floodplain management and flood control policy for decades. During the most recent decade, this nation has made some progress toward more sustainable and responsible approaches to reducing flood damage and costs. Nevertheless, we continue to see increased damages from flooding' now approaching $5-8 billion each year.
TOWARD LOCAL SOLUTIONS
The Association supports both structural and non-structural flood loss reduction projects, but believes we need to achieve a better balanced approach to flood loss reduction and prevention through stronger roles and responsibilities at the local and state levels. Federal flood policy should support and encourage local and
state solutions to flooding problems and costs. Often, locally developed solutions will address multiple local concerns, incorporating economic, social and environmental considerations into flood control and management strategies. We encourage Congress to support policies and programs mat will assist communities and citizens develop and implement local solutions.
Successful examples of locally generated floodplain management approaches that address multiple local objectives do exist. We should learn from these successes and replicate them. The Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) is proud of the efforts coordinated by our member, Dave Kennedy, Village Administrator of the Village of Richmond on the Ohio River. Mr. Chairman, you may be familiar with that local decision not to build a flood wall. It is a good example of the local economy not being able to support the cost-share and maintenance agreement components of a Corps of Engineers project, but needing to reduce flood risk, while preserving the cultural richness and aesthetic attractiveness of the village. An approach was devised which included clearing the floodway, developing a public response plan geared to water levels and engaging in a significant public awareness effort.
THE FEDERAL ROLE
The federal government has a key role to play in helping to reduce flood damage, but that role has changed and evolved from what it was 30 to 60 years ago. It has become apparent that federally developed solutions often yield single purpose projects which tend to address specific flooding problems, but may pay insufficient attention to other critical local considerations such as economic development, housing , water quality, watershed planning, natural resources, recreation and quality of life.
We have learned that some structural solutions to specific flooding problems can inadvertently create new flooding problems downstream. Some generate higher operation and maintenance costs than are feasible for a community and lead citizens and local officials to believe flooding is a federal problem, enabling them to ignore prevention and mitigation at the local level. Local governments and citizens grow to believe the federal government will bail them out if flooded or if the problem gets worse.
Structural flood control projects are necessary in many instances and are often advocated by our members. Unfortunately, however, without the ability to offer various solutions or a mix of approaches, structural policies and programs can provide incentives to pursue solutions which may not be the best choice for building hazard resistance in some communities. It is important to recognize that current federal flood policy rewards those communities and states which do the least to prevent and solve their flooding problems. Those rewards come in the form of federal disaster assistance, federal flood control projects and cost-sharing for these actions. The Corps cost-sharing formula needs to evolve in order to be consistent with the evolution to new approaches in flood loss reduction in the nation.
ADDING TOOLS
As state and local officials whose job it is to assist our communities in saving lives and avoiding damage from floods, we know how important * is to have a variety of tools available. This allows us to help communities to plan their floodplain management comprehensively, to meet multiple objectives, to get the most value for the federal, state and local dollars spent and to become fully engaged in managing their own risk.
In recent years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with the assistance of the Congress, has developed a number of programs which provide broad technical assistance and expertise to local communities in these efforts. Our members have found programs like Flood Plain Management Services and Planning Assistance to States to be valuable tools for which there is much more demand than can be met. Thousands of communities have used these low cost technical assistance programs which help them plan and implement local solutions with long term benefits, thus saving in federal, state and local disaster expenditures. We are very pleased with the authorization of the Challenge 21 initiative because it offers essential flexibility such as the ability to accommodate smaller projects for communities where a traditional
structural project might not be justified or the ability to mix structural and non- structural elements to better design an overall project. This program can fill a gap that has existed in the Corps' ability to be effective in addressing certain kinds of floodplain management situations. If sufficiently well funded, it is likely that hundreds of communities in the nation can benefit substantially from Corps' efforts. We encourage the Congress to continue these efforts as a supplement to any cost- effective, feasible and environmentally acceptable projects funded.
IN SUMMARY
In summary, the federal government should facilitate local development of flood loss reduction strategies and offer incentives for wise decision-making. The Corps of Engineers is pursuing some directions which add new tools for enhancing the effectiveness of those already in the toolbox. Tools which allow Corps' programs to meet multiple objectives for localities in their floodplain strategies, which complement other federal programs and which stretch the positive impact of federal dollars on loss reduction and public safety represent forward looking evolution of the Corps' critical mission.
Thank you for the opportunity to present this testimony.