§1600 Findings and Purposes

Summary

Creates the Colorado River Floodway and limits federal money and aid that would encourage new building inside it. Congress found that the dams on the Colorado River serve many purposes, keeping the Floodway is needed for those purposes, buildings in the Floodway are at risk of damaging floods (as happened in 1983), some federal programs that help or allow development there endanger people, property, and natural resources, and federal, state, and local governments must work together to limit such development. To do this, the law sets up the Floodway to protect river users, reduce loss of life, protect health and safety, and cut damage to property and nature by restricting future federal spending and assistance that encourages building there (public health funds are allowed). It also creates a task force to advise the Interior Secretary and Congress on creating and managing the Floodway, including whether compensation is appropriate in rare cases of extreme hardship.