Several conservation groups—including two in Oregon—have announced their intent to take the federal government to court. It’s over FEMA’s floodplain management, which the groups say harms salmonids and orcas.
The groups say they’re required to issue a 60-day notice of their intent to take legal action. At the heart of their contention is FEMA’s flood insurance program.
Bob Sallinger is the urban conservation director for Willamette Riverkeeper. He told KLCC that this has been an ongoing issue for years.
“Basically by subsidizing flood insurance that allows people to develop in flood plains, FEMA is causing habitat that is necessary for salmon to survive to be destroyed,” he said.
The groups allege sixteen salmonid species are threatened by the program, and in turn, the orcas that feed on those fish.
Besides Willamette Riverkeeper, the other groups threatening legal action are the Center for Biological Diversity, Northwest Environmental Defense Center, and The Conservation Angler.
In a press release, Chelsea Stewart-Fusek, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, stated “FEMA has been harming Oregon’s most iconic wildlife and endangering people for years by ignoring recommendations to make common-sense changes to its flood insurance program. Wetlands and other floodplain habitats reduce flooding and provide some of our most important ecosystem services. It’s mind boggling that FEMA continues to allow dangerous development in natural floodplains and it’s costing taxpayers billions.”
FEMA’s program provides taxpayer-subsidized flood insurance for homes and buildings in flood-prone areas. It’s intended to provide federal flood insurance and reduce loss of life and property to floods by improving floodplain management. On its website, FEMA says that insurance is available to anyone living in one of the 23,000 participating (National Flood Insurance Program) communities, and that homes and businesses in high-risk flood areas with mortgages from government-backed lenders are required to have flood insurance.
