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Show draulic capacity of the floodway is not reduced by obstructions and to prevent or minimize future flood damage in the unprotected area of the flood- way. The floodway here referred to may be the area between levees on either side of the channel, the area at high water in a reach through which an improved channel for carrying off flood water has been completed or is proposed, or a natural waterway. (2) Restrictions on development in the pro- tected or unprotected flood plain areas where main- tenance of the flow capacity is not a controlling consideration as in (1) above. The purpose here is to prevent or minimize future flood damage par- ticularly landward of levees which provide only partial protection, or to eliminate the necessity of protection works to provide complete flood pro- tection. (3) Restrictions of developments in areas sub- ject to inundation by impounded waters in connec- tion with reservoirs or sumps necessary for proper functioning of interior drainage facilities landward of the protective works. Concerning (1) above, it is the practice of the Corps of Engineers to recommend a requirement that local interests shall maintain the floodway area free of encroachments as a condition of Federal .participation in floodway works. This is done whether the project consists of protection by levees, an improved channel, or a combination of the two. In the case of waterways unimproved for flood con- trol, no Federal agency has jurisdiction except that encroachments upon a navigable waterway which would interfere with navigation with incidental ad- verse effect relative to flood height may be pro- hibited by denial of an Army Department permit for construction of such works. Flood plain zoning within protected or par- tially protected areas.-Generally it is the practice of the Corps of Engineers to provide a 3-foot free- board above a "design flood" for federally con- structed local protection projects. Along the main stem of the Ohio River, where fairly long records of flood stages exist, the design flood is generally the maximum anticipated flood which would be caused by a. combination of the severest general storms that have occurred in the various regions of the basin as that flood would be modified by the reservoirs included in the basin-wide flood control plan. Within rather narrow Limits, this design flood compares to the maximum floods of record through various reaches of the river. Since these projects are designed primarily to protect thickly populated and industrialized areas, essentially on a "full pro- tection" basis, zoning of the protected areas to re- strict development therein is not necessary or feasi- ble. At certain other localities in the basin, complete protection has not been found to be economically feasible and, upon the expressed desires of local interests, partial protection projects have been con- structed. In those instances local interests have been informed as to the degree of protection pro- vided and are made cognizant of the conditions to be expected. In the case of agricultural lands and small urban developments along unimproved waterways, local authorities may apply flood plain zoning to the extent they deem appropriate. Flood plain zon- ing, basically, is a function of the police power exercised by a State or delegated by it to a political subdivision under which the public authorities ex- ercise reasonable control over privately owned lands without compensation to the owners. The States of Indiana and Kentucky have passed laws creating State commissions with authority to regulate and supervise the rivers, streams, and floodways of the State including portions of the flood plains thereof. Section 17 of the Indiana Act15 reads as follows: Sec. 17.-It shall be unlawful to erect, use or maintain any structure in or on any floodway as a permanent abode or place of residence, or to erect, make, use, or maintain any structure, obstruction, deposit, or excavation in or on any floodway, or to suffer or permit any struc- ture, obstruction, deposit, or excavation to be erected, made, used, or maintained in or on any floodway, which will adversely affect the efficiency of or unduly restrict the capacity of the floodway, and the same are declared to be and to constitute public nuisances. The Commission shall have the power to commence, maintain, and prosecute any ap- propriate action to enjoin or abate a nuisance, including any of the foregoing nuisances and any other nuisance which adversely affects flood control. In the event any person, or the petitioners of any proceedings pending in court, desire to erect, make, use, or maintain, or to suffer or permit, a structure, obstruction, deposit, or excavation to be erected, made, used, or main- 18 Enrolled Act No. 174 Senate, ch. 318, approved March 7, 1945. 694 |
