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<br />The 1993 Midwest floods brought a renewed sense of urgency to floodplain management and a shift
<br />in focus on the part of the federal goverrunent. The magnitude of those floods prompted the White
<br />House to take intense interest in coordinating the recovery. The Administration became receptive to
<br />the advancement of a comprehensive and balanced floodplain management policy, Agencies, in
<br />particular the Federal Emergency Management Agency, were provided with greater flexibility to
<br />orchestrate a recovery premised on relocating people and towns out of the floodplains. Legislative
<br />changes moved quickly through Congress and the Administration to lay the foundation for more
<br />aggressive disaster mitigation programs,
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<br />In addition, the White House directed an interagency process for more reasonable levee restoration
<br />and established the Administration's Interagency Floodplain Management Review Committee, which
<br />was charged with conducting a comprehensive review of floodplain management. The committee was
<br />led by Gerald E, Galloway, Jr.. Its 1994 report, Sharing the Challenge-Floodplain Management
<br />into the 21st Century, (sometimes referred to as the "Galloway Report") (available at
<br />http://fedbbs,access,gpo,gov/libs/wh_flood,htnj), emphasized that the responsibility and accountability
<br />for floodplain management must be shared among federal, state, and local governments as well as the
<br />citizens of the nation, It specifically called upon state and local jurisdictions to refrain from putting
<br />people and property at risk, first by avoiding development in the floodplain; second, by moving those
<br />at risk out of the floodplain, when appropriate; and third, by treating the floodplain as part of a
<br />physical and biological system within the larger context of its watershed,
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<br />The first significant update of the National Flood Insurance Program followed soon after the
<br />publication of the Sharing the Challenge, with the passage by Congress of the National Flood
<br />Insurance Reform Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-325). The passage of the act was accompanied by a number
<br />of shifts in policy and focus among federal programs, The Midwest flood recovery, albeit far from
<br />perfect, was revolutionary in terms of federal effort, and because of this proceeded with a sense of
<br />vision, urgency, and purpose,
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<br />Meanwhile, up until the 1993 floods, a remnant of the Water Resources Council had been nurtured
<br />by the federal Interagency Task Force on Floodplain Management The Task Force was staffed by
<br />senior career personnel from various agencies, had produced over the years the several updates to
<br />the Unified National Program for Floodplain Management, published Floodplain Management in
<br />the United States: An Assessment Report, and supported the advancement of many key floodplain
<br />management tools and concepts, such as multi-objective planning, floodproofmg, and the
<br />conservation of natural and beneficial floodplain functions, Equally important, the Task Force
<br />understood that the way to improve floodplain management was through the development of state
<br />and local capability and the shifting of "assumed" responsibility for mitigating and controlling flood
<br />damage from the federal level to local and state goverrunents. For several years, the Task Force was
<br />the focal point for agency staff to meet, resolve conflicts, pool resources, and be the "keepers of the
<br />flame" for the advancement of a coordinated (federallstate/locallprivate) floodplain management
<br />policy. While at times this group appeared to be impotent in the vast power structure of Washington
<br />politics, it was effective at bringing focus to pressing issues.
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<br />In spite of the momentum at the federal level after the Midwest floods, the politics surrounding
<br />floodplain management quickly became more complicated. While Galloway and his team were
<br />working on their conclusions, interested press and others awaited the results with high anticipation.
<br />The environmental community was particularly expectant, because for the first time in such a high-
<br />level document, the concept of leaving floodplains in an undisturbed state was being seriously
<br />discussed, Unfortunately, when it was officially released, Sharing the Challenge's sensible, balanced
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<br />Association of State Floodplain Managers
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<br />National Flood Programs in Review 2000
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