Idaho Environmental Forum #162
 
Flood Risk, Development, and Property Rights - Its a Balancing Act

SPEAKERS
 
Ellen M. Berggren: Project Manager for the US Army Corps of Engineers Boise Office
 
Ed Thomas is a Floodplain Manager, Disaster Response and Recovery Specialist and an Attorney, who retired from the Department of Homeland Security - Federal Emergency Management Agency. He is the Chair of the American Bar Association's Hazards and Land Use Planning Sub-Committee and a Board member of the National Hazard Mitigation Association.
 
Program Description
 
The Treasure Valley has a flooding problem. We've had close calls in recent years, but catastrophic flooding is possible. No, its probable. Yet local governments continue to approve floodplain development, and homebuyers and businesses line up for a view of the river. And who doesn't love seeing bald eagles flying by your window down the river corridor? We love our river and know that flooding exacts a heavy price from our communities. Given that heavy price, some argue for far more restrictive zoning to preclude floodplain development. But that raises another set of issues: property rights. In Idaho we have a deep respect for property rights and a healthy skepticism of government restrictions on those rights. How do we define responsible public policy for the floodplain with these seemingly irresolvable, conflicting goals?
 
Ms. Berggren will lead off the discussion, putting the policy framework and the identification of risks in a local context, including an update on the general investigation study.
 
 Mr. Thomas, an expert on takings and the constitutionality of floodplain regulation,  will follow.  He will propose innovative regulatory mechanisms that, he believes, will would be more protective of environmental values without running afoul of constitutional limitations regarding private property.