Study Committee on Floodplain Restoration second meeting recap

The Legislative Council Study Committee on Floodplain Restoration met on September 29th in the second of four meetings to identify policy recommendations to reduce regulatory barriers for projects that restore floodplains.

The meeting began with a field visit to a floodplain area within the Wilson Creek Watershed, which is situated on the edge of the driftless region of Dunn County. The tour provided committee members the chance to see a wide, flat floodplain area with a recently restored segment of stream. The site visit provided good context for the perspective that regardless of whether or how an area may be mapped for FEMA National Flood Insurance Program purposes, folks need to be able to restore degraded floodplain areas. This committee is exploring ways to support a regulatory process that is efficient, cost-effective, and fits the context for projects that reduce flood risks and restore floodplain functions.

After the field visit, the committee met at UW Stout and heard from floodplain zoning administrators who discussed the existing process for local review and approval of floodplain restoration projects. The committee also heard from a panel of three private sector engineers who discussed modeling and other requirements and highlighted regulatory challenges for achieving more floodplain restoration across Wisconsin’s landscape.

The meeting wrapped up with a preliminary discussion among committee members about potential policy considerations for improving the process. This conversation will continue into the next meetings, scheduled to take place on October 27th and December 8th.

Meeting minutes, committee materials, and other information are available on the Legislative Council Study Committee website.

Recordings of both the field trip and the committee meeting are available on WisconsinEye (you must make an account before watching, but accounts are free!).