Nebraska Flood-Plain Management Program—Part II

Administrators of Nebraska's Flood Plain Regulation Act have encountered many difficult social, political, and legal problems in implementing flood-plain regulation. As regulations become increasingly unpopular with increased implementation, legislative refinements in the act have been difficult to achieve. Appeasing those with serious objections is frequently impossible, even though such objection may be based upon misunderstanding or erroneous information. To be constitutional, flood-plain regulations must not be arbitrary or capricious, they must bear a reasonable relationship to the objectives to be accomplished, and they must not result in a taking of property without just compensation. To assure compliance with these standards, property owners similarly situated must be treated alike and the techniques for computing flood discharges and for mapping those discharges must be carefully selected and accurately utilized.