Communities across the country stand to benefit from a major step forward on flood resilience. Today, federal lawmakers, including Wisconsin Congressman Bryan Steil (WI-01), introduced bipartisan legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to better enable floodplain restoration in areas mapped and regulated under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The House Bill is companion to legislation already introduced in the U.S. Senate, the Floodplain Enhancement & Recovery Act (S. 1564).
The Wisconsin Wetlands Association (WWA) supports this legislation and is thrilled to see Wisconsin represented among the original cosponsors of this forward-thinking bill.
“WWA has been working to understand and address the many obstacles that impede and prevent floodplain restoration in Wisconsin,” said Wisconsin Wetlands Association Executive Director Tracy Hames. “This work is often hardest in FEMA-mapped floodplains because regulations have had the unintended effect of discouraging beneficial restoration.”
The legislation addresses some of the main barriers, including reducing costly permitting fees and reforming policies that favor maintaining degraded conditions in FEMA-mapped streams and floodplains.
Wisconsin has an estimated 84,000 miles of rivers and streams, a great length of which have been altered, often compromising the functionality of adjacent wetland-rich floodplains. Floodplain restoration brings back the ability to capture and slowly release water, reduce high energy flows, and provide a place for sediment and other material to settle. This translates into benefits like reduced flood risk, increased infrastructure resilience, reliable base flow, improved water quality, and better fish & wildlife habitat.
The Wisconsin Wetlands Association is grateful for the leadership of Wisconsin Congressman Bryan Steil, who joined his colleagues to introduce this bipartisan legislation. The development of this legislation was also championed by key organizations like American Rivers and the Association of State Floodplain Managers, and enjoys the support of a diversity of stakeholders representing conservation, local government and insurance industry interests.
Below are links to press releases from Congressman Steil and other legislative authors and cosponsors.
· Congressman Steil Press Release
· House Introduction Press Release: Representative Troy Downing (MT-02), Representative Janelle Bynum (OR-02), Representative Bryan Steil (WI-01), Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03)
· Senate Introduction Press Release: Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) Senator Steve Daines (R-MT)
As per the federal legislative process, congressional representatives currently have the opportunity to sign on as cosponsors to this legislation. Given the broad-based support of this legislation so far, WWA is hopeful this legislation will move forward and be adopted into law.
