WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Association of Counties voted Saturday to urge federal authorities to focus more federal flood control funding on low-income communities.
NACO represents every county government in the U.S.
The interim resolution made during its annual conference in Washington, D.C. asks the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the White House Office of Management and Budget to consider risks to low-income and agricultural communities when determining the benefits of federal investment.
Currently, federal funding formulas in part favor high-income, high-value communities.
Due to insufficient federal funds, the U.S. Army Corps lacks the resources to address a backlog of projects, and is forced to prioritize projects in a manner that devalues agricultural and low-income properties.
“This inequity in scoring for funding decisions is keeping a lot of life safety flood control projects from being funded across the country,” said Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend, who brought the resolution to the board along with Monterey County Supervisor John Phillips. “To have counties united on this issue — from across the political spectrum — may help break the legislative logjam on this issue.”
In the Pajaro Valley, this has prevented projects to improve flood defenses, which has left residents and businesses without access to necessary resources to improve their properties, county officials say.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is not bound by the decision.
Still, the vote carries serious weight, Friend said.
“This decision shows the national importance of the funding issues surrounding the Pajaro,” he said. “Counties from California to Kentucky from North Carolina to Arizona unanimously signed on to say the way the Corps funds flood projects, like the Pajaro, inherently disadvantages low income, agricultural and rural communities.”
Originally constructed in 1949, the Pajaro River levee system now protects approximately 55,000 people and has experienced increased flooding risk, including two flooding incidents in the 1990s resulting in millions in damages and loss of life.
