Bipartisan federal legislation introduced by Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington) and Senator Steve Daines (R-Montana) aims to address the barriers to restoring floodplains in floodways that are mapped and regulated under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
The Wisconsin Wetlands Association (WWA) has been working to shed light on this issue in Wisconsin through convening discussions and exploring potential improvements in state and federal regulations that hinder efforts to restore and reconnect rivers and floodplains. WWA has also been working with American Rivers, one of the organizations that played a key role in developing this federal fix.
WWA is thrilled to see the introduction of federal legislation that addresses this issue. Please contact your Wisconsin Congressional Representatives and Senators to share your support for this federal legislation. See how to find your Congressional Contacts and key points to include in your email below.
“What we’ve heard from organizations and partners across Wisconsin and other states is that some of the floodplain management standards required by the NFIP have impeded really good floodplain reconnection work in degraded floodplains,” said WWA Policy Liaison Jennifer Western Hauser. “This federal bill chips away at some of those main barriers including policies that favor maintaining base flood elevations in floodplains that are highly degraded and where restoring and reconnecting the floodplain and river can be done safely to reduce flood risks.”
Key elements of the federal legislation include:
- Providing a definition of “ecosystem restoration projects”
- Exempting ecosystem restoration projects from FEMA permit review fees and map update fees
- Exempting ecosystem restoration projects in FEMA-regulated floodways from the Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) permit requirement if a rise in the base flood elevation is less than 1 foot and no structures or critical infrastructure will be adversely impaired
Addressing these key federal barriers would allow states and communities that participate in the NFIP the authority to locally permit beneficial floodplain restoration projects, enabling beneficial floodplain restoration projects to move forward.
Please contact your Wisconsin Congressional Representatives and Senators to share your support for this legislation. When communicating with your legislators, key points to emphasize include:
- The Bipartisan Murray/Daines Floodplain Restoration Bill removes key regulatory barriers that have prevented floodplain restoration from moving forward in Wisconsin and increases local authority to permit floodplain restoration projects.
- Healthy river-floodplain systems are hydrologically connected and work together to moderate flood risks by capturing and slowly releasing water and dispersing the energy of flood flows.
- Many floodplains have become degraded and disconnected from their streams and rivers, compromising their ability to function and deliver these benefits.
- In many cases, floodplain reconnection and restoration are possible, but barriers hinder the work needed to restore these resources. Some of the greatest barriers to restoring floodplains are in FEMA-mapped floodplains regulated under the National Flood Insurance Program. As a result, very little floodplain reconnection is happening in Wisconsin.
- The Murray/Daines Floodplain Restoration Bill will address key National Flood Insurance Program barriers that prevent floodplain restoration and reconnection projects from advancing.
- Enabling and increasing floodplain restoration is an important part of what we can do proactively to reduce flood risks and damages, and bring other benefits for water quality, fish & wildlife habitat, and more.
For more information on the Murray/Daines bill, visit:
To find your Congressional Contacts, please visit Find My Members in the U.S. Congress.
The Wisconsin Wetlands Association appreciates the initiative of Senator Murray, Senator Daines, and the other organizations that have supported this effort including American Rivers, the Association of State Floodplain Managers, and others. With your support, we hope to see this important legislation become law!
Please reach out to WWA Policy Liaison Jennifer Western Hauser if you have any questions or would like to discuss this federal legislation.
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