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NATIONAL FLOOD PROGRAMS IN REVIEW-2000 BACKGROUND The flood loss reduction policies of the United States were initially crafted a century ago in recognition of a federal role in flood protection, and were modified after devastating floods in the 1920s and 1930s, The policy at that time was founded on a popular belief in hwnan ability to control nature through technological advances and through the strength of the federal government. In the late 1950s and 1960s it was recognized that federal programs could not possibly control all floods, and that management of both floodprone lands-and hwnan occupancy of them-was necessary. Although it was not broadly embraced at the time, the conceptual framework of these policy changes emanated from Gilbert F. White's dissertation, Human Adjustment to Floods, published in 1945, This ground-breaking work was the first to suggest a multi-pronged strategy for the management of flood losses, Several states were implementing floodplain management initiatives at the time, but the first federal application was made by the Tennessee Valley Authority through the work of James Goddard in the 1950s. Between the academic foundation laid by White and the applications pursued by Goddard and a handful of floodplain management practitioners, lessons were leamed that allowed for the crafting of a new means of managing flood losses, During the 1950s and early 1960s, however, mainstream federal policy continued to promote a strong federal lead in the control of floods along with increased post-disaster benefits, such that there was very little incentive for local or state governments to worry about managing flood hazards, With the establishment of the National Flood Insurance Program in 1968, the relationship between the federal government and state and local governments was altered, From that point forward it was recognized that escalating disaster costs must be controlled and that flood protection was not simply the responsibility of the federal government. Through flood insurance, those at risk began to bear a larger share of the costs associated with flooding, The National Flood Insurance Program also served as a mechanism to bring the responsibility for floodplain management to the states and communities of the nation, From the late 1960s to the early 1990s, modest advancements in a balanced floodplain management strategy were made. These included reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program that included the mandatory purchase of insurance provisions (this led to most communities' adopting floodplain management standards), revisions to federal cost-sharing that placed more funding responsibility on project sponsors, and the establishment of the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program in the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In addition to these visible policy changes was the development of the Unified National Program for Floodplain Management, initiated by the Water Resources Council and later transferred to a Federal Interagency Task Force on Floodplain Management, chaired by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, The work ofthe Water Resources Council and Task Force led to the broadening of floodplain management tools and concepts to include such techniques as floodproofing, the concept that floodplain management has a dual purpose-loss reduction and the management of natural and beneficial floodplain functions-and promotion of multi-objective planning strategies. Association of State Floodplain Managers -1- National Flood Programs in Review 2000