EDITORIAL: Rebuild the right way

Sept. 09--The federal government will spend billions to rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Billions more may be needed to recover from Irma.

It is an emergency, and we all want to help. But let's do it right.

Disaster recovery should be done in a way that cuts the risk that taxpayers will have to pay to rebuild again. However, 10 days before Harvey hit Houston, President Donald Trump rescinded the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard that would have helped ensure that rebuilding would reduce future flood damage.

The Trump administration wants to reduce regulation. The regulations set to go into effect were created by President Barack Obama through executive action. The rules would have required the risk of flooding and sea-level rise as a result of climate change be considered. For Trump, that's three strikes, regulation gone.

Fine. However, our nation will spend bucket loads of money to recover from this storm. It isn't the first time we have payed for flood recovery in Houston. In fact, we have already spent nearly a million dollars to rebuild one Houston home 16 times in 18 years. Bad deal -- the home is valued at less than $120,000.

Think of it this way: We are paying for a needed rebuilding project. We don't want a bad deal. We don't want to pay to build over and over again. We want to cut regulations and promote business, but we don't want to toss taxpayer money in the lake (or swamp or river or sea).

President Trump, you pride yourself on deal-making. Don't regard this as more regulation. Look at it as making a better deal. Streamline the process but safeguard public funds. We want our dollars to go farther and to last longer.

As the buyer, we should insist construction take into account flood risk. Structures should be built to mitigate that risk and to limit damage should flooding occur. That calculation should include the information that sea surface temperatures are warmer and sea levels are higher. More big storms are coming, regardless of any argument over why.

Let's build smart. Start by reassessing flood plains. Construct resilient buildings above flood elevation. Buy out owners of buildings that have repeatedly flooded. Don't build there again.

Flood-prone areas should be restructured or converted, through zoning or eminent domain, to be used as green spaces, wetlands or detention ponds.

Yes, people like to live on the water. There is money in it, especially when builders can count on taxpayers to cover the damage when the inevitable happens. We must change that.

Builders will complain that the changes will cost too much. They will complain that prime real estate will go undeveloped.

Sure, it'll cost a little more. But taxpayers are footing the bill. In the long run, we will pay a lot less. Some property will be deemed unfit for development -- as it should be.

We must stop building right up to the water's edge. We must stop building on swampy ground, thereby pushing floodwaters onto others. State and local zoning for stormwater management combined with a revision of federal disaster recovery and flood insurance rules will protect our collective wallet.

That's a better deal.

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