Bill that would let some homes stay in the floodway passes House

Rebecca Thiele

Article origination IPB News

A floodplain map of the area where two Amish brothers built their homes in Wayne County.
*(Indiana Floodplain Information Portal)*

Senate Bill 342, which is meant to help two Amish brothers who inadvertently built their homes in a floodway, passed the Indiana House on Monday.

Wayne County neglected to check the state floodplain maps before issuing permits to the brothers. The bill would prohibit the state from making residents in the floodway in Wayne County move or put their homes on stilts.

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But the Indiana Department of Natural Resources warns, if it becomes law, the bill could jeopardize flood insurance in the county and possibly the state.

Contact reporter Rebecca at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele.

Indiana Environmental reporting is supported by the Environmental Resilience Institute, an Indiana University Grand Challenge project developing Indiana-specific projections and informed responses to problems of environmental change.

Tags:Indiana General Assembly flooding housing

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