Dangerous 'Fill and Build' Floodplain Policy Should Be Scrapped, Experts Say

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https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dangerous-fill-and-build-floodplain-policy-should-be-scrapped-experts-say/

Dangerous ‘Fill and Build’ Floodplain Policy Should Be Scrapped, Experts Say

A FEMA advisory council says a program that allows developers to elevate homes on fill dirt is environmentally harmful and can increase flood risks for nearby homes

By Daniel Cusick, Thomas Frank, E&E News on November 1, 2023

CLIMATEWIRE | Federal rules allowing developers to use fill dirt to elevate new houses in high-risk flood areas should be changed because the practice can exacerbate damage to nearby homes, according to an advisory board to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Technical Mapping Advisory Council (TMAC) said the widespread use of "fill and build" in floodplains, which has drawn fire from environmental groups in low-lying neighborhoods, can be environmentally harmful.

The practice “can create a false sense of security” for property owners, especially new buyers who believe they are safe from flooding, the council said in an interim report obtained by E&E News last week. “The placement of fill for this purpose reduces the carrying capacity of the floodplain, leading to increased flood risk over time."

FEMA should also consider limiting the use of fill material for bridges, dams and wastewater treatment facilities “along with other uses functionally dependent on proximity to water,” the panel said.

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[dutch777]

1. Duh! Flood plain maps are notororiusly inaccurate and don't account for climate change.

I was living in Washington State a number of years ago and there were areas along some rivers that flooded a number of times such that they basically had what the flood maps called 100 year floods about every other year. Most flood plain maps were inaccurate to begin with and have not been updated. And even if updated, local planning and zoning boards are discouraged from adopting them by the developer community as that would put too many costly or outright restrictions on home construction. And most homeowners are blissfully ignorant of the issues until their insurance company catches on and raises their rates astronomically, or drops them entirely, or they have two feet of muddy water in their living room. Buyer beware!