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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />002249 <br /> <br />It is the recommendation of the Task Force that <br />compensation should be recommended in such specific cases of <br />extraordinary economic hardship resulting from impacts of the <br />1983 flood on property outside the Floodway which could not <br />reasonably have been foreseen. This is provided that such <br />cases meet at least certain minimum recommended criteria <br />relative to both "economic hardship" and impacts "not <br />reasonably foreseen." It is recommended further that the <br />Federal Emergency Management Agency be designated as the <br />federal agency to process such claims and that federal funds <br />be appropriated for this purpose as well as for compensation <br />awards. <br /> <br />A more detailed discussion of the issue and <br />recommendations is provided in the fOllowing. <br /> <br />ISSUE; <br /> <br />Whether compensation should be recommended in specific <br />cases of economic hardship resulting from impacts of the 1983 <br />flooq on property outside the Floodway which could not <br />reasonably have been foreseen. <br /> <br />DISCUSSION <br /> <br />The design and original operation plan for Hoover Dam <br />determined that 40,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) was the <br />maximum release rate that would inflict a minimum level of <br />damages downstream of the Dam. The Corps of Engineers has <br />incorporated this flow level as a target maximum flood <br />control release from the Dam in its Hoover Dam Flood Control <br />Regulations continually since 1935. Following the <br />construction of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, a l7-year flow <br />regime of highly controlled reservoir releases was <br />experienced in the lower Colorado River, with all water <br />excess to downstream water needs being stored to fill Lake <br />Powell. This condition provided a false sense of security to <br />many residents and business persons who, despite repeated <br />warnings of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Corps of <br />Engineers, built within the flood plain downstream of Hoover <br />Dam. With the completion of the filling of Lake Powell in <br />1980, the river returned to its previous flow regime which <br />included periodic flood control releases. <br /> <br />Most of the flood damages and economic losses from the <br />1983 high Colorado River flows occurred to structures and <br />businesses located in the River Floodway. Damages occurred <br />at flow levels as low as 20,000 cfs due to encroachments in <br />the Floodway. To provide flood protection for those <br /> <br />VII-2 <br />