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Kristina Baum  – 202.224.6176

Donelle Harder  – 202.224.1282

Inhofe Sends Letter to Obama on Flood Risk Management Standard

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), sent a letter to President Obama Wednesday regarding Executive Order 13690, “Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and a Process for Further Soliciting and Considering Stakeholder Input.” Executive Order 13690 amends Executive Order 11988, closing the door on any and all discussion when it comes to setting the appropriate standard for managing flood risks.

In the letter, Inhofe said,  “This action flies in the face of the ‘Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government’ that you signed upon taking office in 2009… Ignoring your principles of transparency, public participation, and collaboration, the new flood risk management standard was developed behind closed doors, with the participation of an unidentified select few, and without state and local government collaboration.” 

In the letter, Inhofe gave four ways that the Obama Administration’s defense of the process used to develop the new standard does not withstand scrutiny. He then requested a  publically-available response from both the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) within 30 days.

To read the letter online, click here.

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