Building near Oregon's rivers could get much tougher under a federal court settlement that forces the Federal Emergency Management Agency to consider the damage its flood insurance ends up doing to wild salmon and steelhead.
The Audubon Society of Portland, Northwest Environmental Defense Center and other environmental groups sued FEMA last year over its issuance of flood insurance in Oregon. The suit said the agency encourages floodplain development by providing coverage without considering the effect on fish listed under the Endangered Species Act.
In Washington, where the changes along Puget Sound are nearly final, builders worry that they will add more uncertainty and stymie economic development, said Mike Pattison, government affairs manager for the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties. "Tell us where we can build, not just where we can't," Pattison said. "That's something regulatory agencies lose site of."
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