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<br />, I <br /> <br />II <br />I <br /> <br />FLOOD HAZARD EVALUATION GUIDELINES <br />FOR FEDERAL EXECUTIVE AGENCIES <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />I <br />I, <br /> <br />Executive Order 11296 11 requires that the flood hazard be evaluated <br />by all Federal executiv; agencies in the planning of new Federal <br />facilities, in modifying existing Federal facilities or in constructing <br />new ones, in disposing of Federal lands or properties, in carrying <br />out programs involving land use planning, and in administering con- <br />struction programs supported by Federal grants, loans, or mortgage <br />insurance. The main objective is to reduce the risk of flood losses <br />by implementing a broad Federal effort, directly and by example, to <br />".., preclude the uneconomic, hazardous, or unnecessary use of <br />flood plains. . . " along streams and coastal areas, Meeting that <br />objective means, among other things, that if there are suitable non- <br />floodplain sites available for a proposed development or use, then <br />floodplain sites should be avoided unless they can be adequately protected <br />within the development cost. <br /> <br />I. <br /> <br />Issuance of the Executive Order is a recognition that the present <br />upward trend of yearly flood losses in the Nation can be modified <br />downward. This requires that decisions on whether to occupy a <br />floodplain should more effectively take the flood hazard into account. <br />The 1968 National Assessment of the Nation's water resources :"1, <br />prepa red by the Water Resources Council, indicates that without such <br />action the yearly national flood losses could be as high as 3-1/2 <br />billion dollars by the year 2000, With such action, many of those <br />losses can be prevented, and there can be a comparable prevention of <br />human anguish and loss of life that ensues through injudicious occupancy <br />of floodplains. These are considerable incentives for making the <br />Executive Order fully effective. <br /> <br />Additionally, it should be recognized that floodplains have unique and <br />significant public values, including wildlife habitat of recreational, <br />aesthetic and scientific value, open space, and ground water recharge. <br />The value of the floodplain as an envirorunental reSource and the <br />public benefits to be derived from it should be considered, <br /> <br />11 Reproduced in Appendix A, <br /> <br />~~ <br /><0 <br /> <br />3.1 "The Nation's Water Resources", for sale at $4.25 per copy, by <br />the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, <br />Washington, D. C. 20402, <br />