Okanogan County staff advance floodplain code revisions after Ecology compliance review

Okanogan County planning staff told the commission that a Department of Ecology compliance review and federal flood-insurance requirements have prompted a working draft of floodplain regulation updates and enforcement changes.

The revisions, staff said, are meant to bring county code into alignment with state and federal requirements while shifting enforcement away from immediate misdemeanor penalties and toward department-led mitigation agreements with property owners.

The county has been working on the matter for nearly two years, staff said. Ecology’s compliance list originally identified roughly 15 properties; staff reported the number is now down to two, and they hope to remove those last two from the compliance list if owners sign statements confirming no structural changes were made. “We think we’re gonna be able to get the last 2 sites removed off of the compliance list,” Pete, planning staff, said. Pete said one remaining site is an existing occupied home for which Ecology would remove the listing if the owner signs a statement that no structural changes were made.

Why it matters: maintaining participation in the National Flood Insurance Program…