A committee created this spring by the Iowa Legislature is working under a deadline as it begins to consider policies and funding options to help reduce the damage done by severe floods.
The group is made up of representatives from a dozen state and federal agencies and it met for the first time today in Des Moines.
Bill Ehm of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is the committee’s co-chair. "The key here is to minimize the impact that those floods have on life and property," he says. "And hopefully we will come up with some recommendations that will address those issues."
The committee is to come up with a list of recommendations by November 15. Ehm says they’ll prioritize those recommendations. "Here are the three or four recommendations that we think need to be dealt with in the course of the next 12 months," he says. "And here are some other recommendations that we think need to be dealt with over a longer period of time."
The committee has divided into four working groups to study such things as flood-plain management, wetland protection and conservation measures for cropland. The panel plans to hold six public hearings across the state in October.