U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-9) and 21 of his colleagues sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersabout the burdensome permitting process surrounding levee maintenance, repair, and federal obligations to ensure levees are both safe and structurally sound.

“It is essential that our river communities have the support needed to protect lives, businesses, and property from future flooding events like the ones we faced this past year,” Luetkemeyer said. “Levee safety and soundness is of the utmost importance in protecting our communities. I do not condone lax levee safety standards. At the same time, it is critically important that we ensure that the permitting process for levee maintenance is reasonable and not cost-prohibitive to rural areas.  By having an unattainable permitting process, we are only continuing to put into jeopardy the soundness of our levees and the communities they protect.”

The congressional letter sent to Jo Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, specifically references Public Law (PL) 84-99, which allows the Corps to assist state and local entities in flood-risk management. Under the authority of PL 84-99, an eligible flood protection system can also be rehabilitated if damaged in a flood event, but only if they have had the mandated Section 408 permits for any levee maintenance or repair activities.

The Corps has raised the standards that communities and levee and drainage districts must meet in order to be granted a Section 408 permit, forcing levee and drainage districts out of the 408 program due to burdensome costs.  In turn, it is much more difficult for these organizations to qualify for assistance under PL 84-99. According to some parties, the Corps has changed their review and permitting processes at the insistence of FEMA. Communities in rural areas do not have access to the resources necessary to meet the mounting regulatory demands for levee inspection and repair now mandated by the Corps and FEMA.

Below is the text of the letter from Luetkemeyer and colleagues to Assistant Secretary Darcy:

As representatives of river communities across the United States, few things are as important to us as the safety of our neighbors and the soundness of our flood control infrastructure.  We respect the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps)’ stated mission to protect life and property, and appreciate the efforts of your agency in mitigating the risks faced by millions of Americans each year.

At the same time, it has come to our attention that the Corps, in collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has increased to some degree the standards that communities and levee and drainage districts must meet in order to be granted a Section 408 permit.  Like the federal government, many river communities and levee and drainage districts, particularly those in the most rural areas, do not have access to the resources necessary to meet the mounting regulatory demands associated with levee repair and inspection.  Thus, there is growing concern among communities that these requirements have the potential to force levee and drainage districts out of the Public Law 84-99 program (PL 84-99).  Experience has shown that once a district has been forced out of PL 84-99 it is extremely difficult if not impossible for them to receive assistance under the program for any future preparedness, response and rehabilitation activities.  This could ultimately lead to a broad decrease in levee inspections and rehabilitation efforts, adversely impacting levee safety. 

We appreciate that levee soundness is a critical element of community safety as well as national security, and believe that strong inspection and permitting processes are both responsible and necessary.  It is not in the best interest of our constituents to advocate for lax safety standards.  Nevertheless, we believe it is imperative to work with FEMA and with communities to ensure that appropriate standards are met without subjecting any party to unnecessary or overly stringent regulations.

Your prompt attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.  We look forward to your response and to a continued dialogue that seeks to appropriately and fairly review the levee review and permitting processes.

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