"Draft Executive Order Aims to Curb Floodplain Development"

"The White House is crafting an executive order aimed at toughening federal policies restricting the construction of dams, levees, roads and other structures in flood-prone areas.

A draft executive order obtained by E&E would toughen a 1977 directive by President Carter that was seen then as a landmark step establishing a federal leadership role in floodplain management.

But since devastating Midwest floods in 1993, disaster-management experts have been calling for a revision of federal floodplain policies, saying agencies have failed to consistently comply with rules written in the wake of Carter's order.

'You still go out and find post offices being built in floodplains,' said Larry Larson, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers. 'Where's the cheapest land? It's in the high-hazard area.'"

Taryn Luntz reports for Greenwire in the New York Times July 21, 2009