From a press release:
The State Senate on Wednesday released their proposed capital budget, including the elimination of the Floodplains by Design grant program, putting the funding of several flood-risk reduction and habitat improvement projects along King County streams at risk, including the Cedar River.
Administered by the Washington Department of Ecology, Floodplains by Design is an approach to flood risk reduction and habitat restoration that emphasizes multiple benefits to maximize effectiveness with minimum cost to taxpayers.
Governor Jay Inslee’s budget included $25 million for the program. The State House proposed $43 million for Floodplains by Design in their capital budget last week.
“We are disappointed that the Senate cut funding for this program,” Mark Isaacson with the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks’ Water and Land Resources Division said in a press release. “This represents a significant loss to King County’s ability to reduce flood risk while protecting wildlife habitat.”
The four projects proposed for funding along King County streams are:
• Cedar River Corridor Plan ($5 million)
Funding would allow King County to acquire approximately 45 acres and remove of 14 or 15 homes from harm’s way in floodplain, while making way for future restoration on 232 acres.
• Lower Green River Boeing Levee ($4.9 million)
Funding would allow King County Flood Control District to replace and upgrade the existing levee to provide a higher level of flood risk reduction. The funding would also be used to restore 60 acres of floodplain, including planting more than 4.5 acres of riparian buffer; improve salmon habitat; and improve public access by integrating the new levee, road and reconnected floodplain with existing parks, trails and open space.
• Middle Green River Porter Levee ($3.6 million)
Funding would allow King County to remove the 1,400-foot long defunct Porter Levee, deflect river flows away from arterial roads, improve habitat and protect 112 acres of farmland.
• Boise Creek Habitat Restoration ($3.5 million)
Full funding would allow King County to improve drainage of agricultural lands, improve salmon habitat and increase capacity of the creek through berm removal, bridge reconstruction, channel restoration and streamside planting.
“The cost effective new approach to floodplain management that is advanced by Floodplains by Design is transforming the way that cities, counties and the state do business, to the benefit of taxpayers, residents and public safety,” said Hans Hunger, Chair of the Northwest Floodplain Management Association.
“Instead of investing in projects that work against natural river process requiring frequent maintenance and repairs, Floodplains by Design invests in projects that allow natural river processes to occur that will actually appreciate with maturity to the benefit of taxpayers,” Hunger said. “It would be a shame to lose this momentum if the Senate’s proposal to zero out the program stands.”
Over the course of 2014, the Department of Ecology solicited project proposals from across the state, led a multi-agency technical team to review them, and identified and prioritized 22 projects totaling $77 million that will deliver cost-effective flood risk management solutions to communities across the state.
Now that both the House and Senate budget proposals have been released, they must agree and vote on a final capital budget that will be submitted to the Governor for his signature.
