Murray Floodplain Bill Picks Up Dozens of Key Endorsements, Momentum Grows as Commonsense Bipartisan Legislation Is Introduced in the House

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced dozens of endorsements from key stakeholders for the Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act-bipartisan legislation Senator Murray introduced with Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) this past May. The Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act is a straightforward, commonsense bill that would create a new pathway for ecosystem restoration projects in floodplains that meet specific low-risk criteria-simplifying the approval for important restoration work while still upholding flood safety standards. On November 21^st, U.S. Representatives Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D, WA-03), Troy Downing (R, MT-02), Janelle Bynum (D, OR-02), and Bryan Steil (R, WI-01), introduced identical companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

"I'm delighted to see momentum growing behind the bipartisan bill Senator Daines and I introduced earlier this year to simplify the approval process for critical ecosystem restoration projects in floodplains," said Senator Murray. "It's easy to see why everyone from environmental organizations, to Tribes, to local city and community partners, are excited about this legislation: it's a simple, zero-cost fix that will cut red tape and allow critical environment restoration efforts across the country to move forward. The federal government should be making it easier to complete locally-supported environmental restoration projects-not harder. Passing this commonsense bill is one simple step we can take now to protect critical ecosystems and make government more efficient."

"Critical ecosystem restoration projects across Montana have been abandoned due to FEMA's onerous and costly 'No Rise' rule," said Senator Daines. "This commonsense, bipartisan bill will reduce unnecessary burdens on important conservation and restoration work, while continuing to keep our communities safe from flooding. I'm glad to see companion legislation introduced by our colleagues in the House of Representatives and am thrilled that the bill garnered bipartisan support."

"Restoring regulated floodplains that meet low-risk criteria is one of the most effective ways to strengthen disaster resilience," said Chris Brown, Executive Director of the SmarterSafer Coalition. "We appreciate the bipartisan leadership behind this effort and thank U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) for advancing this legislation. SmarterSafer welcomes this common-sense step and the long-term savings it can deliver."

The following organizations have now endorsed Senator Murray and Daines' Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act: Smarter Safer Coalition; American Rivers; Association of State Floodplain Managers; National Association of Conservation Districts; Bonneville Environmental Foundation; City of Kenmore; City of Sammamish; City of Seattle; Seattle Public Utilities; Environmental Policy Innovation Center; Environmental Science Center; Island County; King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks; Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe; Montana Trout Unlimited; National Wildlife Federation; Puget Sound Partnership; Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Council; River Alliance of Wisconsin; Southern Environmental Law Center; The Nature Conservancy; Trout Unlimited; Upper Deschutes Watershed Council; Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife; Wild Salmon Center; Wisconsin Council of Trout Unlimited; Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association; Wisconsin Wetlands Association; WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council (Lake Sammamish, Lake Washington, Cedar River Watersheds); City of Shoreline; Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust; Rock River Coalition; and Clean Wisconsin.

Background on the Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act:

Under the current Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) policy, any proposed development in a regulated floodway, whether it's a shopping mall or salmon habitat, must prove that it will not increase the base flood elevation (BFE) of the area. This requirement is commonly referred to as the "No Rise" rule. While important for protecting communities from increased flood risks, it has had major unintended consequences on important environmental restoration in Washington state and across the country.

In Washington state, many salmon habitat restoration projects involve placing woody debris in a waterway to slow water and make safe spaces for juvenile salmon to develop. These projects, and many others, often fail the "No Rise" rule. Currently, the only way around the rule is to first update FEMA's flood maps with the projected BFE impacts. This requires extensive and very expensive hydrologic and hydraulic analyses, often performed by a third-party engineer. FEMA then reviews the analyses, replicates them, and approves them internally before giving the okay to move forward, which has taken up to three years to complete. While this process often makes sense in an urbanized, flood-prone community, it is an unnecessary exercise for restoration in remote areas.

Many communities in Washington state have avoided doing restoration work in regulated floodways-which makes up much of the state-to avoid the associated costs. This bill would allow for a more efficient process for ecosystem restoration in a regulated floodplain and addresses the issue of "No Rise," which has been a priority concern for a number of Tribal communities and salmon advocates in states like Washington and across the country.

Senator Murray has been a champion for protecting and strengthening critical salmon and fish populations throughout her time in the Senate. Senator Murray secured a historic $2.85 billion investment in salmon and ecosystem restoration programs-including $400 million for a new community-based restoration program focused on removing fish passage barriers in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-and in the Inflation Reduction Act, Murray secured hundreds of millions for Washington state priorities including $15 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, $3 million to support facilities at the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, $27 million for Pacific salmon research, and more.

Last Congress, as then-Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Murray protected critical funding for salmon recovery and fishery projects in the Fiscal Year 2024 government spending bills she negotiated and passed into law, including securing: $50 million in the construction of the Howard Hanson Dam Fish Passage facility; $75 million for the Pacific Salmon account at the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), $65 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, $54 million for the EPA's Puget Sound Geographic Program, and more.

The text of the Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act is available HERE.

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