Bill to loosen the hold DNR floodplain maps have on Hoosiers sees approval in committee

Mar. 26—INDIANAPOLIS — Under Indiana law enacted last year, local floodplain administrators must use the most updated floodplain maps possible when considering whether or not construction is allowed in certain areas. However, a bill approved by the House Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday seeks to change this system.

Floodplains are areas of land near bodies of water that may flood in the event of excessive rainfall. The maps identify these areas for floodplain administrators to decide what land is safe to build on.

If an applicant requests a permit to build on a floodplain, they are usually denied. If homeowners belatedly find their home sits on a floodplain, their home's value can go down significantly, and it can be difficult to sell the home.

Additionally, according to Allstate Insurance, "no type of flood damage, no matter the source of the water, is covered by standard homeowners policies."

Authored by Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg, Senate Bill 242 essentially would repeal Indiana law and let floodplain administrators use Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) maps, rather than the more recently updated maps created by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) when they receive requests to build new structures.

Leising said she created the bill because she found some Hoosiers were frustrated after their whole community of Jacksonburg in Wayne County ended up on a floodplain according to a newer DNR map.

After SB 242 passed the Senate, the DNR revoked its concern about the community, saying it wasn't on a floodplain after all, according to Leising.

"Suddenly that floodplain map that had been under contest for 15 months was lifted. And now everybody in Jacksonburg in Wayne County can do what they always did," Leising said. "It makes me concerned of the accuracy of the maps if in fact they [the floodplains] were there and now they suddenly disappear."

She said it is also confusing for floodplain administrators to look between local DNR maps and FEMA maps because of how inconsistent they can be with each other.

In Leising's words, the DNR maps are "restrictive," but she said that in a prior meeting, the DNR said its maps are more "protective" instead.

"I guess it depends on how you look at the maps, right?" Leising said. "But they definitely are much more far reaching."

Many testified for and against the bill—but not the DNR.

For Steve Slonaker, a farm manager from Wayne County and member of the Indiana Drainage Task Force, the bill is the only "fair thing to do" for homemakers who built their homesteads long ago.

"We've got rural areas, we've got areas with houses built 100 years ago. So those houses are lived in by families for many generations, and now they find themselves in a house that may be [at a] significantly discounted value," Slonaker said. "They can't build a new house if theirs were to burn down, they can't build a garage, they can't build a pole barn. In many cases, they can't even build a dog house!"

Slonaker said Indiana's DNR flood maps are significantly more restrictive than any other surrounding states.

Indra Frank, the environmental health and water policy director for the Hoosier Environmental Council, testified against the bill, saying she is worried about the danger that using older floodplain maps could cause.

"The Hoosier Environmental Council supports policies that reduce construction in floodplains because when we preserve the floodplains, we keep our rivers and streams healthier," Frank said. "Building in the floodplain puts people and their homes and their possessions at risk."

Frank also said that the DNR's research found more than 18,000 more stream miles than the FEMA maps did but didn't consider this restrictive like Leising.

A representative from the Indiana League of Women Voters testified against the bill, saying its passage could increase the number of buildings built on floodplains.

Ashlyn Myers is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.