Watershed Protection wants code change to allow funding for floodplain restoration projects

The Environmental Commission approved a resolution last week recommending a change to the city’s Watershed Protection Ordinance. The change is intended to clarify that the Riparian Zone Mitigation Fund may be used for floodplain restoration projects.

Ana Gonzalez, manager of the Environmental Monitoring and Compliance Division for the Watershed Protection Department, explained the proposed changes to commissioners during a presentation April 19.

Currently, the part of city code that addresses floodplain health includes language that allows qualifying development projects to pay into the Riparian Zone Mitigation Fund when they are unable to provide 100 percent on-site mitigation for floodplain modifications.

The code gives staff the ability to use the fund to purchase mitigation land, but it doesn’t explicitly state that staff can use the funds on projects and programs to restore floodplain health. Due to rising land costs, staff views restoration projects as a more effective use of the funds.

“In addition to that, the degraded condition of most floodplains in eastern Travis County really create the need for providing restoration to improve function and fully meet the intent of the floodplain modification provisions,” Gonzalez said.

The Watershed Protection Department is requesting City Council amend the relevant ordinance language to clarify that staff can use the fund for those restoration projects.

The amended ordinance would clarify that “the Watershed Protection Department may allocate money from the Riparian Zone Mitigation Fund for the purchase of restrictions on or fee title of the property, or for the implementation of projects or programs to restore or protect floodplain health.”

According to the presentation, the changes will not only add clarity to the ordinance and clarify the original intent of the floodplain modification, but will also help emphasize the city’s urgent restoration needs, particularly in the urban and suburban watersheds within the Blackland Prairie.

“We are asking the commission for a recommendation to clarify that it is for the implementation of projects and programs to restore or protect floodplain health,” Gonzalez said.

She continued: “Most of the projects that are proposed from the development community on floodplain modification are in eastern watersheds, which is where we’re seeing most of the developable land and development pressure. Acquiring land to just protect those floodplains, we would be acquiring degraded land for the most part. So we really need to make the clarification to fully meet the intent of the floodplain modification (provisions in code).”

The commission approved the resolution with one condition: The department’s prioritization plan for moving ahead with future acquisitions must come before the commission for review.

The commission approved the resolution on an 8-0 vote, with Commissioner Richard Brimer recused and commissioners Jennifer Bristol and Pam Thompson absent.

Photo by William L. Farr, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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