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Park County commissioners adopt updated floodplain regulations after debate on stronger protections
Summary
The Park County Board of County Commissioners voted to adopt the county’s 2025 floodplain hazard management regulations — a set of largely model rules required for continued participation in the National Flood Insurance Program — after public comment urging stronger standards and commissioners discussing impacts on agriculture.
The Park County Board of County Commissioners voted May 20 to adopt updated 2025 Park County floodplain hazard management regulations, a set of amendments written to keep the county in the National Flood Insurance Program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The adopted package follows the 2022 model regulations issued by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and retains a few local definitions the county found useful, county staff said. Commissioners said the update is necessary to preserve FEMA insurance eligibility for residents in mapped floodplains.
The vote came after the board heard public comment urging the county to go beyond the state model. Carrie Kale, conservation director for Park County Environmental Council, told the commission that the county currently lacks safeguards and should use the regulatory update to strengthen protections and long-term resilience, noting ongoing costs from the 2022 flood. “To take this time now to use this as an opportunity to maybe go a little bit further in our flood standards” would better protect infrastructure and communities, Kale said.
Commissioner Wells expressed concern about placing additional regulatory burdens on agricultural landowners who use riprap and other stabilization methods on riverfront property; Wells said added rules could harm ranches that depend on diversified income streams and that engineered riprap already requires approvals from engineers and other agencies. Commissioner Durbin said the county should plan for repeated floods rather than assume the 2022 event was a one-off, and wanted more guidance on cost-effective, long-term options.
County staff explained that Park County participates in FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program and that the DNRC model reflects the federal minimum standards adopted in 2022; the draft retains only limited county-specific definitions to aid clarity. Commissioners said there is no immediate deadline that requires rushing the adoption, but keeping the county’s regulations current is necessary to avoid interruption of insurance availability for property owners in mapped floodplains.
A motion to adopt the updated 2025 Park County floodplain hazard management regulations was made and seconded; the motion carried with an affirmative vote. The adopted regulations rely primarily on the DNRC model language, with the county preserving several locally useful definitions.
The decision was administrative: the commission approved the regulations as presented. Public commenters and several commissioners urged the county to continue reviewing whether stronger, targeted standards or additional guidance could improve resilience while minimizing unintended impacts on agricultural property owners.
