After the Flood of 2008, Rob Hogg led the legislative effort to help citizens who were flooded and to rebuild Cedar Rapids and other communities. Throughout that event, he worked to provide more help to people and businesses damaged by the flood and to make sure we rebuilt smarter, safer, and more sustainable than before. In 2010, he helped form the Cedar River Watershed Coalition to prevent future flood damage and improve water quality, and continues to serve as its co-chair. In 2012, Senator Hogg led the effort to pass the Iowa Flood Mitigation Program with unanimous bipartisan support in the Iowa Senate (SF2217 in 2012). Today, that program has already helped build flood mitigation infrastructure in Waverly, Dubuque, and Coralville, and is providing ongoing infrastructure assistance in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Iowa City, Council Bluffs, Storm Lake, and Burlington.
Unfortunately, Governor Reynolds and the Republican majority in the Iowa Legislature have already started to forget the lessons of the Flood of 2008 and so many other disasters (like the 2016 flood pictured here). They cut an additional $28,000 from the Iowa Flood Center in 2018 (SF2415) on top of a $300,000 cut in 2017 (HF642).
Since 2016, Republicans have cut the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) floodplain management program by $115,000, or 5.75% (HF2491).
In addition to these cuts, Governor Reynolds and Republican legislators have cut natural resource programs that could help Iowa prevent future flooding, such as the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program, which has been cut by $6 million over the last two years (SF510/HF2491), as well as eliminating funding for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture (SF510). Overall, Republicans cut the DNR by an additional $123,000 in 2018, (SF2117), on top of $1.45 million in cuts in 2017 (SF130), with a total ongoing cut of $1.7 million, or 11.4% (HF2491).
Rob Hogg believes we need comprehensive water, flood, and drought policy in Iowa to safeguard our people and our property. In 2018, he proposed Senate File 2161. This bill would restore funding for the Iowa Flood Center and the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, fund the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund, and provide more pre-disaster hazard mitigation, drought monitoring, water quality monitoring, goals, timetables, and reporting to address flooding, drought, and water quality.