Sunday Des Moines Register Article

Lawmakers push for faster results in flood planning
By PERRY BEEMAN • pbeeman@dmreg.com • February 22, 2009
Post a Comment
gsl.recommendCountHrefEnabled='true';

Recommend
Print this page
E-mail this article
Share
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
Reddit
Newsvine
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090222/NEWS/902220343

Buzz up!

Lawmakers from Iowa areas hit hardest by last year's floods want the state to move faster to expand work meant to reduce future damage.The Iowa Department of Natural Resources wants to ask Iowans this summer to comment on new strategies to reduce property damage and injuries in future floods before giving the plans final approval.

The strategy, still in the early stages, would lead to rules on how flood-resistant new buildings should be, how often they should be inspected, and how extensive floodplain maps should be.The legislators say the agency is on the right track, but it needs to move faster to make changes before floods ravage communities again.Sen. Robert Hogg, a Democrat who represents Cedar Rapids, told agency officials at a legislative hearing earlier this month that the plan should be in place this year.
"We have been failing the people of Iowa and 2009 needs to be the year that stops," he said. "Long before the floods of 2008, Iowa was one of the leading flood-damaged states in the country."State water-quality chief Charles Corell agreed that the state's efforts to manage the floodplains and ensure dam safety have fallen short, but that's because lawmakers haven't provided money for new mapping or the staff to review building plans in floodplains.
"Iowa needs to do more, Iowa should do more, Iowa should have been doing more for the last 20 years," Corell said.He said a $3 million infusion included in Gov. Chet Culver's budget would help rejuvenate Iowa's work to keep floodplains safe. That work would include limiting construction in floodplains, ensuring buildings are flood-resistant, and checking dams more often.The resources department's work to regulate floodplains is part of a broader state effort to address flood damage that includes the recovery work of the Rebuild Iowa office and of several federal agencies in Iowa.
"We know how to reduce damages - we just need to do more," Corell said.William Ehm, who works on water issues for the DNR, said the state has 3,300 dams, most of them more than 50 years old, and many of them are not inspected regularly. He said the agency is trying to provide enough time for public comment, so it is unlikely new policies would be in place until next year.But Ehm said he hopes to speed up some of the work by using an existing state water task force as an advisory panel instead of waiting for the governor's office to assemble a new group proposed by the Rebuild Iowa office.
"Sen. Hogg has people in his district who have been to hell and back in the last year," Ehm said. "It's understandable that he wants us to move faster. But if we make a mistake, we'll pay for it for several years. We need to be careful."Ehm expects public meetings on final recommendations this summer, with implementation months later.The Federal Emergency Management Agency has designated 600 of Iowa's 947 cities as flood-hazard areas. Ehm said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is unlikely to build major new levees in Iowa due to budget shortfalls.
The Corps still is scrambling to finish repairs to levees damaged last year.Jack Riessen, who retired last week after decades as a floodplain and water-quality authority at the DNR, told lawmakers earlier this month that part of the new effort will be to protect cities from more severe floods that are expected to occur more often as the Earth's atmosphere warms.He said the added protection is most important for hospitals and other "critical facilities" in floodplains.
Iowa had a special commission in the late 1940s that decided flood-protection matters, Riessen said. The state was considered a national leader in the field. "We need to re-establish an advisory council or regulatory agency" that can operate outside of the pressures of local politics, Riessen said.Corell, the water-quality chief, said FEMA often sends people to the DNR for answers about flood maps and regulations. The resources department has four floodplain engineers and one employee who handles dam inspections.
"Local politics can get in the way of a good science-based decision, which is where we come in," Corell said.It's too early to tell if the $3 million will survive budget deliberations, expected to come later in the session, lawmakers said.Hogg said the issues are important, especially as severe floods become more frequent. An Iowa "home-owner has a better chance of getting flooded than of winning craps," he said.Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, said the DNR's new flood plan is one of the most important initiatives of the legislative session.
"Greater protections are needed," Bolkcom said.