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<br />Qu22il <br /> <br />. force and effect as if included in this Act." The Colorado <br />River Floodway Task Force, of which FEMA is a member, has <br />established, in wor king wi th the Bureau of Reclamation, the <br />technical methodology to be used in determining the <br />boundaries of the Floodway. The Floodway elevations have <br />been determined and delineated in accordance with the <br />recommended methodology. This is considered by FEMA to be <br />the best Floodway technical information available and is <br />being used for planning purposes by local entities in advance <br />of the formal Floodway map adoptions by FEMA. However, for <br />the purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the <br />Floodway maps must first be formally adopted by FEMA. <br /> <br />The time period for formal adoption by FEMA of the <br />Colorado River Floodway maps and provisions, prepared <br />pursuant to the Colorado River Floodway Protection Act, could <br />exceed one year and entail substantial costs. Much of the <br />time and costs could be saved through agreement on and <br />certification of Floodway conditions and data between the <br />Bureau of Reclamation and FEMA and the exchange of supporting <br />Floodway computational data. This could reduce the period <br />for FEMA's formal adoption of the Colorado River Floodway to <br />about six months, and possibly less for priority reaches of <br />the river. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Delays in establishing the Colorado River Floodway are <br />adversely affecting community development plans and property <br />owners along the River with regard to approval for <br />improvements. <br /> <br />The Senate and HOUSe reports on the Colorado River <br />Floodway Protection Act stated, in discussing Section 14 of <br />the Act, that the Department of the Interior, in carrying out <br />its responsibilities under the Act, should work closely and <br />on a cooperative basis with representatives of the Federal <br />Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to ensure that existing <br />programs, such as the National Flood Insurance program, can <br />be supplemented as inexpensively and effectively as possible. <br /> <br />RECOMMENDATION <br /> <br />It is recommended that, at the earliest possible date, <br />the Bureau of Reclamation and the Federal Emergency <br />Management Agency (FEMA), by letter agreement, establish and <br />implement means by which FEMA can most expeditiously and <br />economically incorporate the provisions and maps of the <br />Colorado River Floodway into the National Flood Insurance <br />Program. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />1II-3 <br />