WASHINGTON, DC – Recently, Senator Jim Justice and Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) introduced the bipartisan Farmers Lifeline Options for Overcoming Disasters (FLOOD) Act to help farmers and rural communities have more resources to combat natural disasters.
“West Virginia knows all too well the devastation that flooding can bring – tearing through communities, damaging homes, threatening farmers’ livelihoods, and leaving families picking up the pieces. Farmers contend with the weather every day and face threats from natural disasters every year – putting their operations and way of life at risk. I’m proud to join this legislation to help make sure that there are tools and resources available to safeguard lives, farms, and other property in watersheds from natural disasters, including floods,” said Senator Jim Justice.
“As the lowest lying state in the nation, Delawareans know the risk of flooding all too well. Our farming communities are key to both our culture and economy. Which is why I’m proud to introduce the FLOOD Act to ensure farmers in the First State and across the country have the resources they need to protect their properties, their crops, and their livelihoods,” said Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester.
BACKGROUND:
The FLOOD Act will:
- Define the USDA’s Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program as a covered program under the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).
- Increase access, ease, and reliability for rural and farming communities seeking relief, and reduce the impacts of flooding on farms.
- Allow for the purchase of voluntary easements in areas of high flood risk before a flood occurs.
- These easements will restore, enhance, or maintain native habitat or allow for the cultivation of flood-compatible crops.
- Senator Justice is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and has years of experience working on his family farm.
Read the bill text HERE.
