U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Levee Safety Program
Engineer Circular Development
Levee Safety Portfolio Risk
Management
Michael Bart, P. E.
Chief, Engineering & Construction Division
St. Paul District
Levee Safety Policy & Procedures Team
May 2012
US Army Corps of Engineers
BUILDING STRONG®
Topics
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USACE Levee Safety Principles
Portfolio Risk Management
Why Use Portfolio Management
Routine and Non-Routine Activities
Levee Safety Action Classification
National Levee Database
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Guiding Principles
 Hold life safety paramount and reduce
economic, and environmental risk
 Open and transparent communication
 Decisions will be risk informed
 Shared responsibility and accountability for
risk management
 Systems approach
 Periodic and continuous activities
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Risk Defined
 Risk is the combination of the
likelihood and the consequences of
inundation of the leveed area.
 Emphasis is on life-safety in concert
with economic and environmental
inundation risk.
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Utilize a Systems Approach
 Physical levee
systems
 Operational and
control processes
 Social, ecological,
and economic
Riversburg
Greentown
Metroville
This diagram shows three levee
systems wherein each reduces
inundation risk for a separable
floodplain . Ownership boundaries
and construction sequence and
authorization limits are not relevant.
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USACE Engineer Circular
Regulation
 Levee Safety Engineer Circular
 Consolidate Levee Safety policy and guidance into
single document.
 Internal & External Stakeholder Involvement
► Webinars
► Workshop(s)
► Draft documents and Feedback
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Inundation Scenarios
Overtopping Without Breach
Overtopping with Breach
Breach Prior to Overtopping
Malfunction of Levee System
Components
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Portfolio Risk Management
USACE proposes a risk-informed portfolio
management process, continuously applied to
all levee systems in the USACE inventory
 Prompts extensive stakeholder involvement in
development and implementation of risk
management strategies
 Assists in communicating urgency of actions
commensurate with the level of inundation risk
 Used to prioritize activities
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Why Use a Portfolio Risk Management
Process for Levees?
 Fulfill All USACE Authorized
Responsibilities
 Consistent USACE Response:
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Characterization
Communication
Action
 Better Decisions by USACE and
Stakeholders
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Prioritized Investments
Stronger Justifications
Improved coordination with stakeholder decisions
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Assign LSAC class informed by
available risk assessment and other
levee information.
Screening
All Levees
Communicate Levee Inundation Risk
(LSAC and overtopping w/o breach)
Reassess Risk &
Revise LSAC
Inspections
(Routine)
(Periodic)
(Special)
No
LSAC I, II, III, & IV
levees?
Yes
Implement Risk
Reduction & Risk
Management
Measures
Levee Safety Risk
Management Study
Yes
Plan Non-routine Activities
LSAC I, II, & III
LSAC I, II, III, & IV
Interim Risk
Reduction
Measures
Proceed
to Study
Phase?
No
Routine O&M,
Monitoring, &
Incident Reporting
All Levees
Risk Assessment to
Confirm LSAC
Recon
Yes
Proceed
to Recon
Phase?
National
Levee
Database
Yes
Incident or
inspection
finding triggers
formal LSAC
review?
No
No
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Slide 10
Purpose of Routine Activities
 Periodic and continuous – Life Safety
 Verify/validate O&M responsibilities &
actions through inspections
 Assess Levee System risks through
application of the Levee Screening Tool
(LST)
 Assign Levee Safety Action Classification
for follow-on activities
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What are the Routine Activities?
 Routine Operation & Maintenance
 Inspections: Routine, Periodic &
Special
 Screening
 Levee Safety Action Classification
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Assign LSAC class informed by
available risk assessment and other
levee information.
Screening
All Levees
Communicate Levee Inundation Risk
(LSAC and overtopping w/o breach)
Reassess Risk &
Revise LSAC
Inspections
(Routine)
(Periodic)
(Special)
No
LSAC I, II, III, & IV
levees?
Yes
Implement Risk
Reduction & Risk
Management
Measures
Levee Safety Risk
Management Study
Yes
Plan Non-routine Activities
LSAC I, II, & III
LSAC I, II, III, & IV
Interim Risk
Reduction
Measures
Proceed
to Study
Phase?
No
Routine O&M,
Monitoring, &
Incident Reporting
All Levees
Risk Assessment to
Confirm LSAC
Recon
Yes
Proceed
to Recon
Phase?
Levee Safety
Portfolio Risk
Management
Process
Routine
Activities
(Green)
National
Levee
Database
Yes
Incident or
inspection
finding triggers
formal LSAC
review?
No
No
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BUILDING STRONG®
Assign LSAC class informed by
available risk assessment and other
levee information.
Screening
All Levees
Communicate Levee Inundation Risk
(LSAC and overtopping w/o breach)
Reassess Risk &
Revise LSAC
Inspections
(Routine)
(Periodic)
(Special)
No
LSAC I, II, III, & IV
levees?
Yes
Implement Risk
Reduction & Risk
Management
Measures
Levee Safety Risk
Management Study
Yes
Plan Non-routine Activities
LSAC I, II, & III
LSAC I, II, III, & IV
Interim Risk
Reduction
Measures
Proceed
to Study
Phase?
No
Routine O&M,
Monitoring, &
Incident Reporting
Yes
All Levees
Risk Assessment to
Confirm LSAC
Recon
Yes
Proceed
to Recon
Phase?
Levee Safety
Portfolio Risk
Management
Process
Non-Routine
Activities
(Shaded)
National
Levee
Database
Yes
Incident or
inspection
finding triggers
formal LSAC
review?
No
No
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Levee Safety Action
Classification System
 Transition from Routine to Non-Routine
 Reflects urgency of action
 Depicts range of risk
► combination
of
• likelihood and
• consequences of inundation
• with an emphasis on life-safety
 Provides consistent and systematic guidelines
for actions commensurate with the risk
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Assign LSAC class informed by
available risk assessment and other
levee information.
Screening
All Levees
Communicate Levee Inundation Risk
(LSAC and overtopping w/o breach)
Reassess Risk &
Revise LSAC
Inspections
(Routine)
(Periodic)
(Special)
No
LSAC I, II, III, & IV
levees?
Yes
Implement Risk
Reduction & Risk
Management
Measures
Routine O&M,
Monitoring, &
Incident Reporting
Plan Non-routine Activities
LSAC I, II, & III
LSAC I, II, III, & IV
Levee Safety
Portfolio Risk
Management
Process
&
All Levees
NLD
Levee Safety Risk
Management Study
Yes
Interim Risk
Reduction
Measures
Proceed
to Study
Phase?
No
Risk Assessment to
Confirm LSAC
Recon
Yes
Proceed
to Recon
Phase?
National
Levee
Database
Yes
Incident or
inspection
finding triggers
formal LSAC
review?
National
Levee
Database
No
No
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National Levee Database
Objectives
 Simple web-based user
interface to access data.
 Levee maps/data readily
visible to all stakeholders.
 Safeguarding critical
information.
 Data and reports from many
sources can be stored in
NLD.
 Nationally consistent, state
of the art system
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Feedback
 Webinars (Dec 2010 – Mar 2011)
 Workshops (May, June, August, 2011)
 1,500+ comments received
 Analyzing, dissecting, considering….into
draft documents
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Engineer Circular Next Steps
Assembling draft EC – Summer/Fall 2012
Series of Internal Briefs – Summer/Fall 2012
External Briefs - FEMA – Summer/Fall 2012
Publish Draft EC – Late 2012
Comment Period – Late 2012/Early 2013
Conduct Internal/External Detailed Webinars –
Late 2012/Early 2013
 Resolution of Comments – 2013
 External Peer Review
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Without Further Adieu
 Maria Wegner-Johnson
► Headquarters
► Planning
USACE,
Community of Practice
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