1. USACE Levee Safety Program Presented by Tammy Conforti ASFPM Conference May 2008

2. USACE Activities 2 Topics of Discussion  USACE National Levee Safety Program Organization  National Levee Database  Inspections  Recent Guidance  National Levee Safety Act 2007  Websites

3. USACE Activities 3 Levee Safety Program Mission Assess the integrity and viability of levees and recommend actions to assure that levee systems do not present unacceptable risks to the public, property, and the environment. West Columbus, Ohio Program Objectives:  Hold Public Safety Paramount  Reduced Economic Impacts  Maximize Cost Effectiveness  Develop Reliable and Accurate Information  Build Public Trust and Acceptance

4. USACE Activities 4 Issued to field in November Establish Levee Safety Officers Establish Levee Safety Program Managers Submit plans for organizational structure Use revised inspection checklist Describes the different tiers of inspections Provides guidance for inspection intervals Announces training for the inspection tool Informs of future NFRMP guidance Implementation Guidance

5. USACE Activities 5 HQUSACE Levee Safety Management Team Levee Safety Officer – Steve Stockton Special Assistant – Eric Halpin Program Manager – Tammy Conforti Levee Safety Committee Inventory & Database Team Lead: Tim Pangburn Assessment Methodology Team Lead Andy Harkness ICW Inspection Team Team Lead Dale Munger Policy & Procedures Team Team Lead Michael Bart MSC Levee Teams National Teams District Levee Teams Regional Teams Flood Risk Management Program Champion – Mr. Ed Hecker Program Director – Pete Rabbon Levee Safety Program Organization Certification ETL Team Lead Mike Deering Levee Inspector Tool Team Lead Kevin Carlock

6. Level of Protection Levee Categories Area represents all levees throughout the US. 4 Local & Other NFIP only 3 Local built / Enrolled in RIP 1 Federal O&M 2 USACE built / Local O&M NFIP & CORPS No Prior Nexus with USACE or FEMA USACE Inventory and Assessment Objective: Assess all levees in USACE programs, regardless of level of protection. 100-year FEMA NFIP Objective: Communicate the most current information for flood insurance purposes. CORPS only Universe of Levees USACE Dec07 Not to scale WRDA Authorities Objective: Inventory all levees in nation, lead strategic plan for a National Levee Safety Program New Nexus from WRDA 2007

7. USACE Activities 7 Location of Corps Levees

8. USACE Activities 8 National Levee Database (NLD) and Inventory  One Geospatial Database Model  Collect Relevant Levee/Floodwall Attributes Design and construction Operations and maintenance Repair and inspections Potential for failure  Maintained by Districts; Accessible by Others  FEMA Mid-Term Levee Inventory Data Collected Using USACE Database Model & Structure

9. Database Viewers What will database and national web viewers look like? Database Viewers Main viewer will be CorpsMap Other viewers could include Google Earth

10. USACE Activities 10 Key data to be collectedfloodwall_linelevee_centerline protected_area pump_station_point levee_relief_well_piont closure_structure_line levee_crossing_point levee_station_point gravity_drain_line piezometer_point borehole_point sand_boil_pointlevee_flood_fight_pointlevee_failure_point cross_section_line encroachment point rehabilitation line

11. USACE Activities 11 Risk Informed Inspections and Assessments Continuous Routine Inspections by Sponsor - More Rigorous Standards & Checklist Annual Robust Inspections by District - Professionally Managed Periodic Assessments - Periodic Inspection + Screening Risk Assessment (every 5 years) Risk Assessments - Rigorous, data intensive effort (every 10 years) Pre-Screening Based on Inventory Results - Prioritization of Periodic Assessments And Risk Assessments Increasing Rigor, Effort Continuous Feedback

12. USACE Activities 12 Levee Inspection Program  Routine Inspection: Verifies proper operation & maintenance activities conducted by the public sponsor.  Periodic Inspection: Verifies proper operation and maintenance and evaluates structure’s operational adequacy, structural stability and identifies components and features that the sponsor needs to monitor over time.  Periodic Assessment: Combination of PI and potential failure mode and consequences analysis used for initial screening and prioritization of RA.  Risk Assessment: Process of identifying the likelihood and consequences of levee failure to provide the basis for informed decisions on a course of action.

13. USACE Activities 13 Current Land Use in the Protected Area Project Design Event Interval of InspectionType of Inspection Urban/Rural Agricultural100 year event or greater AnnualRoutine 5 yrPeriodic Inspection & Assessment TBDRisk Assessment Urban/Rural50 to 99 year eventAnnualRoutine 5 yrPeriodic Inspection & Assessment TBD Risk Assessment Urban/Rural10 to 49 year event2 yearRoutine Agricultural5 to 99 year event2 yearRoutine Levee Inspection Program

14. USACE Activities 14 Levee System Inspection Automated Field Components USACE Levee System Inspection Application ArcGIS Software Crystal Reports (Included with ArcGIS) Laptop Computer or Tablet PC GPS Receiver

15. USACE Activities 15 Risk Assessments Outcomes  Levee Safety Action Classification  Consequences Relative Annualized Loss of Life Relative Economic Damage Others, environmental, etc  Component Risk – What is driving risk  Information on data quality and gaps  Issues that influence certification  Documentation of confirmed failure modes  Recommended risk management actions

16. USACE Activities 16 Levee Certification ETL (EC)  Implementation concurrent with field review  Comment period complete  Formal ITR and peer review  Highlights – Systems based, no “partial” certifications 10-year validity period Addresses residual risk Requires LCR Will be updated to reflect advances with risk- based approaches

17. USACE Activities 17 Vegetation Standards  Vegetation policy development includes four steps -  Review standards and vegetation management policy using current engineering and science.  Conduct an external peer review of standards.  Identify related regulations and policies that require modifications to implement the new vegetation management policy. Create an implementation plan.  Conduct national roundtable to discuss updated policy, standards, and implementation plan.

18. USACE Activities 18 FY 2008 Inspection Priorities  Priority 1 – Complete I-Wall Evaluations  Priority 2 – Routine Inspections  Priority 3 – Automated Inspection Tool Training  Priority 4 – Vertical Datum Evaluations  Priority 5 – Coordination with FEMA on PALs  Other Activities – HQUSACE Approval  No inspection funds will be allocated to perform certifications

19. USACE Activities 19 USACE Support-Floodplain Management Services Program  Can provide support for levee certification determinations for others to certify  Support activities can include Data Collection Mapping H&H Analyses Geotechnical Investigations  100 Percent Federally Funded, If Available

20. USACE Activities 20 Floodplain Management Services Program (Cont’d)  USACE can accept voluntary contributions from State or local government to expand scope  USACE cannot certify levee systems under this program

21. USACE Activities 21 National Levee Safety Act  Establishes a Committee on Levee Safety to develop and recommend a program to the Secretary and Congress  The program must address nine goals, including consideration of delegation to qualified states  Establishes a levee database (all levees) to be maintained by the Secretary  Levee inspections for the Act are to be cost- shared  Authorizes $20 million annually for 2008-2013

22. USACE Activities 22 Background on WRDA 2007 National Levee Safety Act  Complements Existing Activities & Authorities  Two Major Components: A Strategic Plan, Not a Program Safety Data Collection  “One Time” Nature  Levees Include: Hurricane, Storm & Flood Structures:  Earthen embankments  Floodwalls  Structures along canals National Levee Safety Act Title IX Section 9000 Section 9003: Levee Safety Committee Section 9004: Inventory, Inspection, Database And Assessment

23. USACE Activities 23 National Levee Safety Program WRDA 2007 Title IX

24. USACE Activities 24  An Interactive Map To Identify Closest USACE Office Available at http://www.usace.army.mil/howdoi/civilmap.htm USACE Local Offices

25. USACE Activities 25 National Flood Risk Management Program Website http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/nfrmp/

26. USACE Activities 26 USACE Website Home Page

27. USACE Activities 27 USACE Website (Cont’d)  Levee Guidance and Policy (Including Memorandums) http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/nfrmp/guidance.cfm  Engineering Manuals http://www.usace.army.mil/publications/eng-manuals/ cecw.htm  Engineer Regulations http://www.usace.army.mil/publications/eng-regs/cecw.htm

28. USACE Activities 28 USACE Website (Cont’d)  Engineer Technical Letters http://www.usace.army.mil/publications/eng-tech-ltrs/  Other Documents (USACE HQ Library) http://www.usace.army.mil/howdoi/publications.htm

29. USACE Activities 29 Questions?