{
Levee Safety and Flood Mapping
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
February 16, 2011
Dan Delich
Levee Issues Alliance
 FY 2003-present: $1.6B in FEMA appropriations to update maps
 August 2005 Hurricane Katrina: “The wake-up call we cannot ignore,”
National Committee on Levee Safety (NCLS)
-- January 2007: USACE releases 30-state list of 146 federal program
levees rated as “Unacceptable”
-- November 2007: WRDA ‘07 authorizes NCLS and orders nationwide
levee inspection and inventory
-- February 2009: USACE releases 16-state list of 114 federal program
levees rated as “Unacceptable”
“Unacceptable” implications include…



P.L.84-99 ineligibility
FEMA Levee Deaccreditation
Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) designation
• Mandatory flood insurance
• Development restrictions
• Losses in property value… economic competitiveness… jobs and local tax
base
Levee Issues Alliance
A collection of P.L.84-99 levee sponsors and
affected communities from Texas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, and Illinois working to fulfill one
mission…
MORE TIME…
to bring levees and floodwalls up to new federal
standards.
Levee Issues Alliance
 Big Dam Era vs. Modern Day
 USACE:
FY10: $5.5B
CG:
$2.017
O/M:
$2.488
MRT:
$342
GI:
$161
FY12: $4.6B
$1.480
$2.314
$210
$104
 American Society of Civil Engineers: US levees $100B
 Earmark Moratorium
 Three Buckets: Fed size… Budget… Jobs
Levee Issues Alliance
Levee Issues Alliance
 Prohibits FEMA use of assumption that current levees
do not exist when implementing changes to FIRMs:
 90-day period following enactment for communities
to object
 Public notice that levee under review
Levee Issues Alliance
 Prohibits updated flood maps/mandatory flood
insurance/development restrictions for up to seven
years in places where:
 Local repair plan, accompanied by an adequate
financing mechanism, is in place to protect against
1% annual chance flood
 Local surveillance/operations and evacuation plans
in place
 Outreach and communications plan on risks and
availability of flood insurance in place
 HR 3415 (Costello) and S. 3051 (Vitter) in previous
Congress
Levee Issues Alliance
 Establishes a levee deficiency correction period to extend PL8499 coverage and delay re-mapping where verifiable
improvements underway
 Amend 33USC408 to allow the Secretary to accept and expend
funds from another agency
 Establishes a cost-shared levee assurance technical assistance
program
 Directs the Corps to provide remedial design and construction
modification assistance for non-O/M-related levee system
deficiencies
 Presented to the staff of House T/I Committee for consideration
as a free-standing bill or WRDA amendment
Levee Issues Alliance
The request for a FEMA time-out isn’t an
earmark and doesn’t cost money…
Levee Issues Alliance
Levee Issues Alliance