Levee Safety: Army Corps and FEMA Have Made Little Progress in Carrying Out Required Activities
Released: 2016-07-26T00:00:00

Letter

Background

This section includes information on the types of levee structures and potential levee failures, major levee-related programs of the Corps and FEMA, and selected legislation related to levee safety.

Types of Levee Structures and Potential Failures

The Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 defines a levee as a manmade barrier (e.g., as an embankment, floodwall, or other structure), the primary purpose of which is to provide hurricane, storm, or flood protection relating to seasonal high water, storm surges, precipitation, or other weather events; such a barrier is normally subject to water loading for only a few days or weeks during a calendar year. According to a Corps document, levees are usually earthen embankments or concrete floodwalls, which have been designed and constructed to contain, control, or divert the flow of water so as to reduce the risk of temporary flooding. An American Society of Civil Engineers public information document describes earthen levees as being constructed from compacted soil that is typically covered with various surface materials, such as grass, gravel, stone, asphalt, or concrete, to help prevent erosion. The document further states that a floodwall is a vertical levee structure usually erected in urban areas where there is insufficient land for an earthen levee. Levees can either function passively or can require active operations depending on their components. Some levees have gates and pumps, for example, and may require personnel to operate these devices in times of floods. Levees typically require regular maintenance and periodic upgrades to retain their level of protection. Maintenance can include such actions as removing debris and unwanted vegetation from the levees, areas adjacent to floodwalls, and channels; controlling damage caused by animals (e.g., filling burrows); painting or greasing structural components, such as metal gates; and repairing concrete damage, particularly in northern climates with severe freeze-thaw cycles. Figure 1 depicts an earthen levee and a floodwall as well as their respective components.

According to FEMA documents, levees are designed to provide a specific level of protection. However, they can be overtopped or fail; they can also decay over time (see fig. 2).

Corps’ and FEMA’s Major Levee-Related Programs

The Corps and FEMA combined have three primary levee-related programs: the Corps’ Levee Safety Program, the Corps’ Flood Risk Management program, and FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program.

Corps’ Levee Safety Program

According to Corps documents, the Corps’ Levee Safety Program, established in 2007, works to better understand, manage, and reduce the flood risks associated with levees through various activities. For example, the Corps maintains a national inventory of levees and makes the information available in the National Levee Database. In addition, the Corps inspects and assesses the performance of about 2,500 levees, comprising about 15,000 miles, nationwide to determine associated risks. On the basis of information from its assessments, the Corps makes recommendations about future federal investments and to prioritize maintenance, repairs, and other actions on levees.

Corps’ Flood-Risk Management Program

The Corps’ Flood Risk Management Program, established in 2006, is intended to work across multiple Corps’ programs to reduce and manage flood risk, according to the Corps’ website. The program promotes the appropriate use of levees and floodwalls or alternative actions to reduce flood risk, such as land acquisition and flood proofing. The Corps also communicates levee-related concerns to stakeholders and works with stakeholders to develop solutions to reduce flood risk. The Corps accomplishes this outreach and communication through its flood risk management program as well as through other programs such as the Silver Jackets program, which, according to the Corps’ website, is intended to bring together multiple federal, state, and sometimes local agencies and tribes to learn from one another and help reduce the risk of flooding and other natural disasters and enhance response and recovery efforts.

FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program

FEMA’s primary levee-related program is the National Flood Insurance Program, which was first authorized in the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to, among other things, addresses the increasing cost of federal disaster assistance by providing flood insurance to property owners in flood-prone areas, where such insurance was either not available or prohibitively expensive. This act also authorized subsidies to encourage community and property owner participation. To participate in the program, communities must adopt and agree to enforce floodplain management regulations to reduce the risk of future flood damage. An integral part of the program is the accreditation of any levees near the communities. In exchange for meeting program requirements, federally backed flood insurance is offered to residents in those communities.

Selected Legislation Related to Levee Safety

The Water Resources Development Act of 2007 directed the Corps to create and maintain a National Levee Database that includes a national inventory of levees, with information on the location and condition of all federal levees and, to the extent such information is provided to the Corps, nonfederal levees among other things. It also established the National Committee on Levee Safety to develop recommendations for a national levee safety program. The committee, which was composed of 23 diverse professionals from federal, state, and local or regional governments as well as the private sector and Indian tribes, operated from 2007 to 2011. In 2009, it submitted a draft report to Congress that included 20 recommendations for actions to establish a national levee- safety program, in addition to a strategic plan for implementing the program.

The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, enacted in 2012, called for the Corps and FEMA to align agency processes to allow interchangeable use of information collected for the Corps’ Inspection of Completed Works Program and FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program. In 2013, a joint Corps and FEMA taskforce determined that under certain circumstances, Corps risk assessments of levees conducted under the agency’s Levee Safety Program could satisfy aspects of levee accreditation under FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program. The effort culminated in a memorandum of understanding signed by the Corps and FEMA in which the Corps agrees to, among other things, provide FEMA with risk assessment results and FEMA agrees to accept and consider the Corps results, when possible.

The Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 amends portions of the Water Resources and Development Act of 2007 and also requires the Corps and FEMA to take the lead in implementing certain key national levee-safety-related activities. More specifically, it established new reporting responsibilities for the National Committee on Levee Safety, required continued development of a national levee inventory, and required implementation of a multifaceted levee safety initiative under which the agencies are to accomplish the following tasks:

Develop voluntary national levee-safety guidelines: The voluntary national levee-safety guidelines are intended to be comprehensive standards that are available for use by all federal, state, and local agencies as well as tribes. Under the act, the voluntary guidelines are also expected to address activities and practices by states, local governments, tribes, and private entities to safely build, regulate, operate, and maintain a wide range of levee types, canal structures, and related facilities. The guidelines are also expected to address federal activities—including levee inspection, levee rehabilitation, local floodplain management, and public education and training—that facilitate state efforts to develop and implement effective state programs for levee safety.

Adopt a hazard potential classification system: A hazard-potential classification system, as described by the National Committee on Levee Safety in its 2009 draft report, would be a first step in identifying and prioritizing hazards in leveed areas and is to be based solely on the potential consequences associated with a levee’s failure, as opposed to the likelihood or probability of a levee failure. The act provides for such a system to be considered in the development of the voluntary national levee-safety guidelines; under the act, the system is also expected to be consistent with the Corps’ levee-safety action- classification tool, which ranks levees based on their likelihood of flooding and the associated consequences. According to Corps officials, the tool is currently being used on levees within the Corps’ Levee Safety program.

Provide technical assistance and materials: The agencies are to provide technical assistance and training to help promote levee safety and assist states, communities, and levee owners in (1) developing levee safety programs; (2) identifying and reducing flood risks associated with levees; and (3) identifying local actions that may be carried out to reduce flood risks in leveed areas.

Provide public education and promote awareness: To improve public understanding of the role of levees, the agencies are to carry out public education and awareness efforts about the risks associated with living in leveed areas. Education and awareness efforts are to be directed particularly toward individuals living in leveed areas. These efforts must also promote consistency in how information about levee- related risks is communicated at the state and local level and shared among federal agencies.

Develop guidelines and provide assistance for a national state and tribal levee-safety program: This national program, as described by the National Committee on Levee Safety in its 2009 draft report, would assist states and tribes in developing and maintaining the institutional capacity, expertise, and framework to quickly initiate and maintain their own levee-safety program activities and requirements. The guidelines are to identify the minimum components necessary for an individual state or tribe to participate in the program. The national program provides assistance to help establish state and tribal programs that would meet these requirements. The act also requires that state and tribal levee-safety programs will have to adopt the voluntary national levee-safety guidelines to be eligible for assistance.

Develop guidelines and provide assistance for a levee rehabilitation assistance program: This program is to provide assistance to states, local governments, and tribes related to addressing flood mitigation activities that result in an overall reduction of flood risk. The Corps, in consultation with FEMA, is to develop guidelines for floodplain management plans that program participants are required to prepare to reduce the impacts of future floods in areas with levees. Assistance provided under the program may be used for any rehabilitation activity to maximize risk reduction associated with levees that are (1) under a participating state or tribal levee-safety program and (2) not federally operated and maintained. To be eligible, applicants are expected to comply with all applicable federal floodplain management and flood insurance programs, have a floodplain management plan, have a hazard mitigation plan that includes all levee risks, and act in accordance with the voluntary national levee safety guidelines.

In addition, among other things, the act called for several reports to be prepared. Specifically, the Corps is to submit to Congress and make publicly available a biennial report that describes the state of levees in the United States and the effectiveness of the levee safety initiative, as well as any recommendations for legislation and other congressional actions necessary to ensure national levee safety. The Corps and FEMA are also required to submit a report that included recommendations on the advisability and feasibility of, and potential approaches for, establishing a joint national dam and levee safety program, and the Corps is required to submit a report that includes recommendations that identify and address any legal liabilities associated with levee engineering projects.

The Corps and FEMA Have Made Little Progress on Key Activities under the Act, Citing Resource Constraints, and Do Not Have a Plan for Implementing the Rest

The Corps and FEMA have made little progress in implementing key national levee-safety-related activities under the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 primarily because of resource constraints, according to officials from both agencies. The Corps has been working on its development of a national levee inventory, but the Corps and FEMA have not begun work on other key national levee- safety-related activities required by the act and do not have a current plan for doing so (see table 1).

Concerning the national levee inventory, a summary document that the Corps developed for us states that the Corps is incorporating levee data that FEMA has provided from the National Flood Insurance Program and is working to incorporate levee data voluntarily provided by state and local agencies. The Corps’ actions are an extension of earlier work on the database, which it was directed to establish and maintain under the Water Resources and Development Act of 2007. Corps officials said that improving the inventory will be an ongoing process. The Corps had allocated $5 million for the inventory in fiscal year 2016, and the Corps’ fiscal year 2017 Operations and Maintenance budget justification lists an allocation of an additional $5 million to further expand the inventory.

The agencies have taken no action on the remaining key national levee- safety-related activities for which they were responsible and have missed several statutory deadlines for developing guidelines and reports. For example, the agencies took no action on developing the guidelines for the preparation of floodplain management plans under the levee rehabilitation assistance program, which were due on December 7, 2014; the voluntary national levee-safety guidelines, due June 10, 2015; or a report, due June 10, 2015, that was to include, among other things, recommendations for legislation and other congressional actions necessary to ensure national levee safety. Additionally, according to agency officials we interviewed, the agencies have no current plan for implementing the remaining activities. Without a plan, including milestones for accomplishing these activities using existing resources or requesting additional resources as needed, the agencies are unlikely to make further progress on implementing the remaining activities required by the act.

Corps officials we interviewed said that they have continued to make progress on other activities that will complement activities required by the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 and that are within the scope of their existing Levee Safety Program and Flood Risk Management Program. Similarly, FEMA officials stated that they also are working to provide general public education and promote awareness about the risks associated with living behind levees through their existing National Flood Insurance Program.

In a slide presentation that the Corps prepared for us, dated October 2015, the Corps identified resource constraints as a primary reason why the Corps has not been able to carry out certain key national levee- safety-related activities under the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014. Specifically, the Corps’ presentation indicated that new appropriations would be needed to (1) provide technical assistance and training; (2) develop guidelines and provide financial assistance for a state and tribal levee-safety program; and (3) develop guidelines and provide financial assistance for a levee rehabilitation assistance program. Corps officials we interviewed stated that the remaining national levee-safety-related activities required in the act could be funded using existing appropriations, but these activities would have to compete with existing Corps projects in the Corps civil works program. We reviewed a 2016 Corps budget document and determined that, except for the national inventory of levees, the Corps did not specifically allocate funds for national levee-safety-related activities required in the act.

FEMA officials we interviewed stated that the agency would need additional appropriations to carry out the agency’s main responsibility under the act—providing assistance for a state and tribal levee safety program—and told us that the agency had not received any funding directed toward national activities required by the act. They also said that even if these activities were funded, the agency would need additional staffing resources—specifically, in its 10 regional offices—to carry out requirements under the act. As of this report, FEMA has one staff person who is available part-time to implement the national levee-safety-related activities required by the act.

As noted above, the Corps’ 2017 budget includes $5 million for the national levee inventory; however, it does not specify funds for implementing the other national levee-safety-related activities in the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014. Corps headquarters officials told us that not implementing the act’s national levee-safety-related activities could result in several potential impacts, including that the disaster relief burden for the federal government may increase, safety risks and loss of life may increase, and risk education in communities with levees may not be carried out.

Conclusions

Since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Congress has enacted legislation, including the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 that provided the Corps and FEMA with lead responsibility for undertaking certain national levee-safety-related activities, including some that would increase the capacity of nonfederal stakeholders to promote levee safety. The Corps is working on one of the key national levee-safety-related activities required by the act, namely expanding a national inventory of levees. However, the Corps and FEMA have not taken action to implement the other activities, required by the act, citing resource constraints. Further, Corps officials have identified potential impacts—including safety and financial risks—of not carrying out these activities, but the agencies do not have a plan for implementing these activities. Without a plan, including milestones for accomplishing the activities using existing resources or requesting additional resources as needed, the agencies are unlikely to make further progress implementing the activities under the act.

Recommendation for Executive Action

To help ensure that the Corps and FEMA carry out the national levee- safety-related activities required in the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014, we recommend that the Secretary of Defense direct the Secretary of the Army to direct the Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and that the Secretary of Homeland Security direct the FEMA Administrator to develop a plan, with milestones, for implementing these activities, using existing resources or requesting additional resources as needed. This plan could be posted on the Corps’ website and monitored for progress.

Agency Comments

We provided a draft of this report for review and comment to the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. In their written comments, reproduced in appendixes I and II, respectively, both agencies generally concurred with our recommendation. The Department of Defense stated that the agencies are drafting an implementation plan and suggested that we focus our recommendation on finalization of this plan. However, the agencies did not provide a copy of the draft plan or a date when it would be finalized, so we believe that the current focus of the recommendation is appropriate. The Department of Defense further stated that, to date, no funding has been allocated to the Corps specifically to implement provisions under the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014, except for the levee inventory activities, as we have acknowledged in our report. In addition, the Department of Defense suggested that the recommendation be revised to include posting the plan on the Corps’ website and monitoring the plan for progress. We have modified our recommendation to incorporate this suggestion, which we believe would help inform nonfederal stakeholders who own, maintain, or operate the majority of levees. The Department of Homeland Security said that FEMA will continue to work with the Corps to develop and implement a plan to carry out key national safety-related activities required in the act. Both agencies also provided technical comments that we incorporated, as appropriate.

We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional committees, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and other interested parties. In addition, the report is available at no charge on the GAO website at http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff members have any questions about this report, please contact me at (202) 512-3841 or fennella@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. GAO staff who made key contributions to this report are listed in appendix III.

Appendix I: Comments from the Department of Defense

Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Homeland Security

Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

GAO Contact

Staff Acknowledgments

In addition to the individual named above, key contributors to this report included Vondalee R. Hunt (Assistant Director), Kevin Bray, Patricia Donahue, John Johnson, Armetha Liles, Cynthia Norris, and Kyle Stetler .