Introduction of the District of Columbia Flood Prevention Act of 2021

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the District of Columbia Flood Prevention Act of 2021. The bill would amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA) to include the nation's capital in the definition of ``coastal state.'' Senator Tom Carper, the Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, has introduced the companion bill in the Senate. Our bill would correct an apparent oversight in the omission of the District of Columbia from the CZMA by making the District eligible to receive federal funding and oversight for federally issued permits, facilities and actions that affect our coastal waters. The District urgently needs the protection of the CZMA because of serious flood risks that currently affect federal assets, residents and businesses, including the National Mall and the cluster of downtown federal agencies.

Congress has authorized a number of programs to help states and territories respond to floods and mitigate risk through resiliency projects. An effort to reduce coastal flood risk, the CZMA provides planning and technical services to assist states in protecting, restoring and developing coastal communities and resources. Once the federal government approves a state's coastal management plan, the state becomes eligible for grants. Federal actions must be consistent with the state plans and vice versa.

Even though the District, including the federal complex, is located on two rivers, and has suffered substantial coastal floods in the past, it was omitted from the list of eligible states and territories in the CZMA. It is notable that under Section 304 of the CZMA, ``coastal state[s]'' include the states and U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands and American Samoa). Because territories are included in the definition of ``coastal states'' while D.C. is absent, it appears that D.C.'s omission is a mistake, which only Congress can correct. This oversight likely occurred because the CZMA was passed in 1972, which was before the District achieved home rule.

Scientists have predicted that the tides on the Atlantic Coast could rise two to four feet by the year 2100, causing property worth as much as $7 billion in the District to be routinely under threat by floodwaters. This damage includes private homes and businesses and the National Mall, federal buildings and three military bases located in the District. The Anacostia and Potomac Rivers, which surround the District, are tidally influenced, part of an ``intertidal zone'' between high and low maritime tides. In addition, the Maryland and Virginia coastal zones each include the tidal Potomac River, with Maryland's zone ending at the District line.

I initially offered the D.C. Flood Prevention Act in a previous Congress. The bill passed the House as part of the Coastal and Great Lakes Communities Enhancement Act. And again, last month, the House Committee on Natural Resources passed this bill as part of the Ocean- Based Climate Solutions Act of 2021, Chairman Raul M. Grijalva's effort to modernize federal ocean management policy to account for climate change.

The District should be eligible under the CZMA just like the states and territories already listed in the CZMA. I urge support for this bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source