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<br /> <br />Executive Summary <br /> <br />c. 'The reduction of vulnerability to flood <br />damages should be pursued by giving <br />full consideration to all possible <br />alternatives, including permanent <br />evacuation of the flood-prone areas, <br />flood warning, floodproofing structures <br />remaining in the flood plain, creating <br />additional natural and artificial storage, <br />and adequately sizing and maintaining <br />levees and other structures. <br /> <br />2. Development of flood plains should not be <br />subsidized by the federal government. This <br />recommendation is made, in part, to <br />minimize the increasing losses of life and <br />property as a result of flooding events and, <br />in part, to provide the flood storage, flood <br />conveyance, and environmental benefits <br />associated with healthy riparian and riverine <br />ecosystems. <br /> <br />3. All federal expenditures for flood plain <br />management and disaster relief should <br />consistently encourage responsible behavior <br />and discourage behavior likely to lead to <br />future loss of life and property. The <br />Administration should establish a policy <br />that communities and individuals that are <br />eligible to purchase flood insurance and <br />have failed to do so are not eligible for <br />major federal disaster assistance, except for <br />such assistance as is needed to provide for <br />immediate health, safety, and welfare and to <br />provide a safety net for low-income flood <br />victims. The Administration should <br />increase incentives for communities that <br />participate in flood plain management <br />planning through FEMA's National Flood <br />Insurance Program Community Rating <br />Systems. <br /> <br />4. The Administration should pursue, and the <br />Congress should adopt, a change in law to <br />require SO/50 cost sharing among federal <br /> <br />and local governments for funding future <br />structural flood control projects. For <br />nonstructural approaches to flood <br />mitigation, the federal government should <br />fund up to 75 percent. <br /> <br />5. The federal government should more <br />aggressively pursue nontraditional <br />solutions, including purchasing flood plain <br />lands or flood easements, creating setback <br />levees, restoring wetlands and natural <br />storage areas, requiring floodproof <br />structures on the flood plain, and allowing <br />for natural pooling of rivers in lightly <br />populated areas. <br /> <br />Maintaining the Water <br />Infrastructure <br /> <br />The Commission recommends that the Congress and <br />the federal water agencies: <br /> <br />I. Acknowledge the importance of sufficient <br />funding for operation and maintenance of <br />significant federal facilities upon which the <br />public relies for water supply. <br /> <br />2. Recognize the fiscal benefits of preventive <br />maintenance. <br /> <br />3. Place greater importance on maintenance <br />and rehabilitation of key existing federal <br />water infrastrncture than on funding for new <br />projects. <br /> <br />4. Develop a long-range approach to <br />maintenance, considering expanded use of <br />user fees and other cost-sharing approaches. <br /> <br />5. Explore further application ofrevolving <br />funds and similar mechanisms which allow <br /> <br />xxv <br />