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1. FOSTER RESPONSIBILITY AND CAPABILITY AT INDIVIDUAL, LOCAL, AND STATE LEVELS Incentives (technical, financial, and other) need to be developed at the state and federal levels to encourage communities and individuals to adopt a longer-term, sustainable approach to floodplains, and to undertake comprehensive mitigation activities. Unfortunately, the strong role adopted by the federal govemment in certain situations in the past (like disaster relief) may have unwittingly encouraged the perception on the part of individuals-as well as state and local govemments-that they need not make floodplain management their own priority. The following remedial steps need to be taken, . Incentives to appropriate action should be built into all possible public and private programs for technical and financial assistance, (a) For individuals, federal financial assistance for flood losses should be based upon the individual's demonstrated willingness to mitigate the risk The ASFPM believes that flood insurance is the best means of accomplishing this, For example, those living in identified flood hazard areas should not receive fmancial assistance if a flood insurance policy was not in place at the time of the flood. Additional mitigation grants should be made available to policyholders who take steps to mitigate their flood risk The premiwns on structures with repetitive losses and on those that are not primary residences should reflect the actual risk (b) For farmers, federal incentives and programs like the Conservation Reserve Program, the Wetlands Reserve Program, and permanent easements are vital fmancial assistance in the development of sustainable uses for floodprone lands, Agricultural losses constitute over half the flood damage paid for by taxpayers-amounting to billions of dollars. The trend of heavy government support, such as highly subsidized crop insurance and flood disaster payments on floodprone lands, is neither sustainable nor reasonable, especially for marginal agricultural lands that flood frequently, In addition to major losses from flooding, farming marginal land leads to pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and sediment polluting the nation's waters, and the resultant loss of valuable riparian ecosystems. Such uses are not sustainable, Agricultural properties subject to repetitive flooding should be denied subsidized insurance and flood disaster payments if their owners refuse offers to purchase permanent easements. (c) For states and localities, programs for flood control structures, nonstructural flood measures, mitigation, and flood disaster assistance should all be based on the same, sliding cost-sharing formula for federal assistance. Under this concept, a minimum cost-share would be made available to all localities but the federal share would be increased for communities and states that engage in disaster-resistant activities exceeding rninimwn criteria and that are implementing strong mitigation programs, After a flood disaster, Public Assistance under the Stafford Act should be withheld from the damaged floodplain areas of communities not enrolled in (or not in compliance with) the National Flood Insurance Program. The "managing state" concept initiated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be used as an incentive to state involvement in and commitment to mitigation, and be expanded to other programs beyond the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. (d) All taxpayer-funded flood disaster relief should be contingent upon taking flood mitigation action, Association of State Floodplain Managers -ii- National Flood Programs in Review 2000