Suit Filed to Halt Development Along New Mexico's Rivers

Rio Grande Bosque, Rare Wildlife, Endangered by Growth

SANTA FE, N.M. ? A government program that insures and promotes residential and commercial development within the river floodplains endangers the Rio Grande, the San Juan and other New Mexico rivers, according to a western conservation group. WildEarth Guardians sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency on September 15th in federal court in New Mexico alleging that administration of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) endangers native fish and wildlife, in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

WildEarth Guardians claims that development along rivers harms species such as the Rio Grande silvery minnow and the Southwest willow flycatcher and likely wouldn’t occur absent the guarantee of federal insurance. Cities, towns and counties across New Mexico each participate in the federally subsidized insurance program in exchange for adopting certain minimal land-use controls.

“Floodplain development is another in a long list of threats to New Mexico’s precious rivers,” said John Horning, Executive Director of WildEarth Guardians. “In many cases the government is working to promote floodplain protection and allow healthy floods to occur, such as along the Rio Grande. FEMA’s program undermines the good progress of other federal agencies,” added Horning.

The lawsuit was filed the same day that a separate and similar, but dormant legal action was reactivated by WildEarth Guardians. That lawsuit had required FEMA to comply with the Endangered Species Act by preparing a biological assessment on the effects of the National Flood Insurance Program in New Mexico by May 15, 2002. Sadly, FEMA spent the last seven years ignoring that legal obligation.

A recent study of environmental effects of the NFIP nationally by the American Institutes for Research concluded that: “providing flood insurance through the NFIP to entities wishing to develop within the 1 percent flood plain may be inconsistent with the conservation of endangered and threatened species of fish, wildlife and plants in aquatic and riparian ecosystems.”

“Protecting floodplains from development is good public policy,” said Horning. “Living in flood prone areas is bad for public safety and it’s bad for healthy streams and rivers. Development along rivers is a huge problem and it needs to be addressed on a national, regional and local level.”

According to figures provided by FEMA, more than 16,734 properties worth $2.7 billion in commercial and residential property along New Mexico’s rivers and flood prone areas are insured under the program. WildEarth Guardians’ goal in this litigation is to seek fundamental changes in how FEMA manages its program so that endangered wildlife and healthy, living rivers are protected and conserved.

The lawsuit is the latest in a series of lawsuits across the West targeting the NFIP where much of the new urban and suburban development and growth is taking place without little to no analysis of its effects on the environment.

View complaint.

View motion.


 

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