WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) reintroduced their Flood Prevention Act. The bill would amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA) to include the District of Columbia in the definition of a coastal state, making D.C. eligible for federal coastal zone management funding and giving it oversight authority over federally issued permits, facilities, and actions that affect the coastal waters of the District.
“The Coastal Zone Management Act helps low-lying states and territories like my home state of Delaware with flood control efforts and environmental restoration projects. One of the many inequities facing the District of Columbia is its ineligibility for the federal funding this law provides,” Chairman Carper said. “I’m once again joining Congresswoman Norton in introducing the Flood Prevention Act, which would ensure that the federal taxpayers of D.C. can benefit from this critical program.”
“Even though the District is located on two rivers and has suffered substantial coastal floods in the past, D.C. was omitted from the list of eligible entities in the CZMA,” Congresswoman Norton said. “This oversight probably occurred because the CZMA was passed in 1972 – before the District achieved home rule. Because territories are included in the definition of ‘coastal states,’ it appears that D.C.’s omission was a mistake, which only Congress can correct.
“Scientists have predicted that the tides on the Atlantic Coast could rise two to four feet by the year 2100, causing as much as $7 billion worth of property damage in the District, which would regularly be under threat by floodwaters. This damage not only would be to private homes and businesses, but the National Mall, federal buildings, and three military bases located in the District. Due to this threat and the urgency of acting on climate change, the District should be eligible for CZMA grants just like vulnerable states and territories.”