§1600 Findings and Purposes

Summary

Creates the Colorado River Floodway and limits federal money that encourages building inside it, except for public health funds. Congress found that the river’s dams have many official purposes overseen by the Secretary of the Interior, that keeping the Floodway clear is needed to meet those goals, that building inside the Floodway is at risk from damaging floods (like in 1983), and that some federal programs that help or allow development there threaten people, property, and natural resources. It sets the Floodway to help river users and to reduce loss of life, protect health and safety, and cut damage to property and nature by restricting future federal spending and financial help that would encourage development there (except public health funds). It also creates a task force to advise the Interior Secretary and Congress on setting up and managing the Floodway, including whether compensation is appropriate in specified cases of extraordinary hardship.