FLOOD00015

• County: Statewide
• Title: A Unified National Program for Floodplain Management
• Date: 3/1/1986
• Prepared For: US
• Prepared By: FEMA
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Historic FEMA Regulatory Floodplain Information

PREFACE

Section 1302(C) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968
(Public Law 90-448, 82 Stat. 476) stipulated that .the
objectives of a flood insurance program should be integrally
related to a unified national program for floodplain management
and...the President should submit to the Congress for its
consideration any further proposals necessary for such a
unified program.... Responsibility for the development of
the Unified National Program was first assigned by the Office
of Management and Budget to the Water Resources Council which
in 1976 adopted and in 1979 revised the report .A Unified
National Program for Floodplain Management.. In 1982 this
responsibility was reassigned to the Federal Emergency
Management Agency. The 1979 report became dated by the
relative success and changes in Federal programs and by the
strengthening of floodplain management capability at the
State and local government levels. The status of Federal,
State and local floodplain management activity as of mid-1985
is reflected in the following revised report and in its
findings and recommendations. Like its predecessors, the
revised report does not seek to provide specific guidance for
meeting Federal program requirements.

This report seeks wise decisions and management for the
Nation's floodplains to reduce losses of life and property
from flooding and losses of natural and beneficial floodplain
values from unwise land use. A conceptual framework is set
forth to provide general guidance for the decisionmaking
processes of Federal, State, and local officials as well as
for private parties. The strategies and tools for flood loss
mitigation and for the preservation and restoration of natural
floodplain values are presented in detail. Actions are
recommended to facilitate the coordination of management
programs dispersed among all levels of governments.

For their contributions to this report, we are indebted to
the many public officials, private consultants, and agency
staff members whose conscientious and dedicated efforts were
responsible for the 1976 report and to the members of the
Federal Interagency Floodplain Management Task Force under
whose auspices the 1979 revision was prepared. A special
recognition is due to the members of the drafting team listed
below who carried the primary burden of preparing this revision.

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