U.S. Rep. Troy Downing and Sen. Steve Daines, both R-MT, are sponsoring the Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act. It would exempt floodway restoration from federal floodplain permit reviews.
David Brooks, executive director of Montana Trout Unlimited, cited a farmer who lives along Trout Creek near Helena. He wanted to shore up about 100 feet of steep riverbank and plant willow trees to stop erosion.
Brooks said the whole project would have cost about $1,000, but the permitting costs were far higher.
"Because it's in a mapped floodplain and had to go through floodplain permitting review, the estimated cost for that modeling and review was $10,000 to $15,000," said Brooks, "and so the landowner could not afford to do it."
Under current policy, any proposed project in a regulated floodplain must prove it won't cause any rise of flood elevations. It's designed to protect people and property, but it has created significant hurdles for small restoration projects.
Brooks said this bipartisan legislation is a common-sense solution, and would allow a certified engineer to sign off on low-risk projects, verifying they won't jeopardize infrastructure.
Brandon Parsons is the director of floodplain restoration at American Rivers, a group focused on clean rivers and water. He said it's essential to regulate development in floodways, but the current rules weren't intended for ecosystem restoration.
He stressed that the bill distinguishes these projects from other forms of development, so communities have more options to safely advance their work.
"Currently," said Parsons, "restoration projects are being viewed the exact same as developing homes or buildings in the floodway."
Parsons said over the past 100 years, the U.S. has lost about 90% of its natural floodplains, and widespread efforts are underway to bring them back, underscoring the importance of simplifying permit reviews.
Brooks joked that the trout support this bill, and says the legislation deals with work that's already happening. He added that regulators deny few, if any, of these proposals.
"We're just having to pay a bunch of money to get it done and it delays projects," said Brooks. "So it's not as if the work that is being permitted is regularly being denied and has negative impacts."
The House and Senate versions of the bill are awaiting committee hearings.