This case is currently inactive and was archived on 05-05-10.
Green Diamond Development (SC)
Floodway Project Puts People and Property at Risk
Victory Brings Sigh of Relief to South Carolinians Facing Flood Risks
SELC and its allies have fought off a developer’s attempt to torpedo federal flood-risk maps to clear the way for a new “city within a city” in the Congaree River floodplain. The ill-conceived project, which required building miles of levees on the outskirts of Columbia, South Carolina, would have increased flood hazards in neighboring areas and put thousands of new homes and businesses in harm’s way.
For nearly a decade, SELC has defended maps issued by the Federal Emergency Management Administration that restrict building in the flood-prone area targeted for development. On September 8, 2009, just as the case was about to go to trial, the developer agreed to drop a federal suit challenging the FEMA maps. “This is a huge victory for families and businesses put in jeopardy by this project,” said SELC senior attorney Blan Holman. “The FEMA maps show that this is no place to put a massive development. Moreover, the project’s levees would have pushed floodwaters into neighborhoods and commercial districts across the river. The people who live and work in that area can now breathe easier.”
Case Summary
The proposed Green Diamond development in the floodplain near Columbia would turn 4,600 acres of farmland and forest into a $4 billion “city within a city” of at least 5,000 homes, retiree living and a technology park. To do this, the company wants to build a multi-mile system of new levees along the Congaree River.
The developer has aggressively sought to redefine the Congaree’s regulatory floodplain on the federal government’s official maps, a change that would clear the way for the levee system. In addition to putting people and property in harm’s way, the levees would disrupt the natural ecology of the floodplain and raise flood risks for those living across the river.
Development in a Floodplain
According to maps developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, areas on the Richland County side of the Congaree River are "regulatory floodplain," and the current levees would likely break in the event of a 100-year flood. Furthermore, Green Diamond was planned for an area that should be left undeveloped so that flood waters don’t rise on such areas as the Riverland Park Neighborhood, located in Lexington County across the Congaree from where the new levees would be.
FEMA’s maps, which carry certain building restrictions, were challenged by Columbia Venture’s, developer of the Green Diamond development.
What’s Being Done
SELC has gone to court to ensure that any development of the area is based on the accurate and protective flood maps developed by FEMA in 2001. These maps were thrown out by a federal trial court on a technicality, but SELC has won an appeal to get the best maps restored.
A final decision is expected from the appeals court early 2009. In the meantime, the court recognized the immediate need to prevent irreversible damage posed by levees, and granted SELC’s request for the developer to discontinue further construction of the levees.