About Maumee River Basin Commission

Maumee River Basin Commission (MRBC) was established by the Indiana General Assembly in 1986 under State Law IC 36-7-6.1 (recodified under IC 14-30-2) as a separate municipal corporation charged with mitigating flood damages and improving water quality in the Indiana portion of Maumee Basin by exercising sound watershed management. Critical to the success of reducing flooding and improving water quality is implementation of comprehensive structural and non-structural flood mitigation measures and Best Management Practices (BMPs) basin wide.

To accomplish this, Commission (MRBC) is composed of representatives from six (6) northeast Indiana counties (Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Noble, Steuben, and Wells). Each County is represented by three (3) County Commissioners, County Surveyor, and a member of the Soil and Water Conservation District Board or their official designees. These members play a critical role in formulating policy and program recommendations. In 2001, MRBC entered Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) Cooperating Technical Partner (CTP) Program and coordinates all Floodplain mapping activity in the Maumee River Basin. The Commission works closely with communities providing funding cost share assistance and guidance on flood mitigation projects.
MRBC staff assist local communities in areas of flood mitigation project planning and administration, flood mitigation assistance grant writing, flood map modernization, 319 water quality improvement grant writing, erosion and sediment control, flood insurance, floodplain ordinances, inventories of flood prone properties, storm water and erosion control ordinances, soil and water conservation, and public information programs.

MRBC Sub-Committees

Maumee River Basin Commission is served by five (5) sub-committees formed to assist the Commission in its Flood-mitigation efforts:

• Finance Committee
• Legislative Committee
• Master Plan Implementation Committee
• By-Laws Committee
• Technical Committee

Finance Sub-Committee

Finance Committee, formed in 1997 to comply with requirements of State Board of Accounts, is composed of the Full Board. Finance Committee oversees Board's investment practices and assists in determining which institutions to conduct business.

Legislative Sub-Committee

Legislative Committee is composed of MRBC Executive Board members. Legislative Committee assists with legislative matters affecting the Commission, reviews Biennium Budget request submitted to State Budget Agency, and legislation affecting Commission. 

Master Plan Implementation Sub-Committee

Master Plan Implementation Committee, formed in 1996 is composed of nine (9) members including: a representative from each of the six (6) member counties, a surveyor representative, Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) representative, Master Plan Consultant, Indiana Department of Natural Resources – Division of Water (IDNR-DOW) representative and MRBC Executive Director. The Implementation Committee is responsible for reviewing, evaluating, and prioritizing requests and making recommendations to the Full Board regarding implementation of all projects associated with Commission’s Flood Mitigation Master Plan. Master Plan Implementation Committee serves as a liaison to the Full Commission. 

View the Maumee River Basin Commission (MRBC) Master Plan.

Technical Sub-Committee

Technical Committee is composed of six (6) County Surveyors, two (2) representatives of Indiana Department of Natural Resources – Division of Water (IDNR-DOW’s) staff, MRBC’s designated Water Resources Engineer, and MRBC’s Executive Director. The Technical Committee is responsible for reviewing all technical work and proposed ordinances, and forwards recommendations to Full Board for approval. 

By-Laws Sub-Committee

By-Laws Committee, formed in 2000, consists of four members including Commission’s Executive Director. The By-Laws Committee is responsible for reviewing Commission’s by-laws and proposing amendments to such as they deem necessary to Full Board.
 

MRBC’s Administrative Budget is funded by each of the six (6) participating counties based on each county’s percentage of land area in the Maumee Watershed, interest funds generated from Commission’s General Fund Investments, unspent funds from previous budget year, and Grant Management Funds received from managing Flood Mitigation Projects on behalf of local communities within the basin. Grant management funds have helped offset any increase in annual allotments for participating counties. MRBC does not use its State General Fund biennial allocation to fund its administrative expenses.