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Norton Announces D.C. Flood Prevention Act Will Be Marked Up, Tomorrow

September 24, 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced today that her bill to amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA) to include the District of Columbia in the definition of a coastal state, which would make D.C. eligible for federal coastal zone management funding, will be marked up by the House Natural Resources Committee tomorrow, Wednesday, September 25th. Norton's bill, the District of Columbia Flood Prevention Act, would also give the District oversight of federally issued permits, facilities, and actions that affect the coastal waters of the District. Norton said she believes the District's omission from the CZMA was an unintentional oversight, as the CZMA was passed in 1972 – before the District achieved home rule – and the territories have been eligible along with states.

"Even though the District is located on two rivers and has suffered substantial coastal floods in the past, D.C. was omitted from the list of eligible states and territories in the CZMA, likely because the District had no home rule at the time," Norton said. "Thank you Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) for taking up this critical issue to protect the District's residents and businesses, as well as our national monuments in the nation's capital. Scientists have predicted that the tides on the Atlantic Coast could rise two to four feet by the year 2100, causing as much as $7 billion in property in the District, which could be routinely under threat by floodwaters. This damage not only would be to private homes and businesses, but to the National Mall, federal buildings, and three military bases located in the District."

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