FLOOD00152 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

AGRICULTURE POLICIES Most floodplains in the United States are intensively farmed. Although flood damage to crops in floodplains does not receive the publicity that urban damage does, losses and the cost to taxpayers are usually considerable and often exceed urban losses because of the large nwnber of acres involved, Sharing the Challenge detailed that during the 1993 floods agriculture accounted for over half of the damage, In addition to the direct monetary losses from floods, intensive agricultural production on floodplains results in the continuous loss ofthe natural protective value of those floodplains, In some areas with extensive federal levees, like in the Midwest, it has become customary to construct low- level agricultural levees that further confme the floodplain. . There needs to be an examination of incentives and disincentives for farmers that will lead to appropriate use of agricultural floodplains, Where crop losses due to flooding are frequent, this may mean returning those floodplains to a more natural condition or using alternative crops that will not be damaged by flooding, This also will minirrllze erosion and improve water quality by reducing the runoff during flooding of pesticides and fertilizers that are now used to enhance production of row crops on these floodprone lands, Long-term Easements Keeping floodplains free of agricultural uses that suffer losses from frequent floods is the surest way to reduce the need for large aJUlual government disaster payments, and to return floodplains to a more natural state in which they will better serve to store flood waters and reduce downstream flood damage, Easement programs developed after the 1993 floods have demonstrated landowner acceptance of permanent easements and their effectiveness on a large scale. Enough of the disaster funds appropriated to the U,S, Department of Agriculture were allocated to the Emergency Wetland Reserve Program to purchase permanent protective easements on over 90,000 acres of cropland, This was a strictly voluntary program that enrolled primarily land on which natural wetland resources and functions could be restored, and where the cost to the government to purchase the easement was less than the cost to return the land to production. Based on the success of the Emergency Wetland Reserve Program, Congress authorized in the 1996 Farm Bill (the 1996 amendments to the 1985 Food Security Act) a floodplain easement purchase option under the Emergency Watershed Protection Program, Approximately $15 million has been allocated in each of the last three years to the purchase of long-term easements under this emergency program, Landowners participating in the program receive approximately the agricultural value of the land for a permanent easement. Although shorter term easements are available for a somewhat lower payment, most farmers opted for permanent easements, Over 80% of the 40,000 acres enrolled in the first two years, mainly in North and South Dakota, are under permanent easements, Although a strictly voluntary option, over 50,000 acres are on the waiting list for enrollment when more funds become available, The funds available could increase if there are more floods than normal, or if Congress gives a higher priority to the program. Under the regular Wetland Reserve Program, most of the nearly 900,000 acres that will have been enrolled by the end of 1999 are in floodplains, By the end ofFY2000 the Wetland Reserve Program will have enrolled acres up to its authorized limit. Momenturn is building to increase the authorized acreage cap, Under all three programs, wetland and natural floodplain values are restored on most of the land with federal funds. In addition to reducing future agricultural flood losses, the floodplain storage provided by this land will contribute to lower flood peaks in the future. There are also over Association of State Floodplain Managers -13- National Flood Programs in Review 2000