Issue Position: Metro East Levees

Issue Position

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are in the process of redrawing the nation's flood maps. Congress provided funding to FEMA and the Corps to accelerate their review of the status of the nation's flood protection systems in 2004, and the program was just getting underway when Hurricane Katrina hit. The Corps is inspecting levees, floodgates, pump stations and all other facilities that make up the flood control systems in the country. Those inspections will be a major factor in reassessing flood risk. The purpose of this thorough review is to make sure that everyone in the path of a potentially catastrophic flood understands the risk of flooding and that all affected property owners have access to adequate insurance at a reasonable cost.

The preliminary results of the Corps' inspections along the Illinois bank of the Mississippi River in our region were provided at a "levee summit" that I hosted on August 15, 2007. The bad news is that flood protection systems in our area have deficiencies, and the likelihood of a catastrophic inundation of a good portion of what is known as the American Bottoms in Illinois is greater than anyone thought. FEMA will issue new flood insurance maps that will identify this entire area as a flood zone as early as this summer. Redrawing the flood insurance maps could have adverse economic impacts on our area. Homeowners and small businesses will need to buy flood insurance or risk losing everything in a flood. Some businesses may choose not to locate or expand here. More than 150,000 people and 4,000 businesses will be affected immediately, and the economic impacts will be felt across the entire region. That is why local leaders are acting now to develop a plan to repair our levees and get the word out to affected communities.

The cost to adequately restore flood protection in the five levee districts that cover the Illinois portion of the region is estimated at about $200 million. With few exceptions, flood control levees and facilities are owned and maintained by local levee and drainage districts. The federal government, through the Corps of Engineers, will be a partner in flood control restoration, but by law, the Corps can pay no more than 65% of the cost, and their contributions could be further limited by strains on the federal budget that limit annual appropriations. Remaining costs must come from state or local governments.

Under a House-adopted amendment to a flood insurance bill that I sponsored, it may be possible to proceed with the adoption of new flood insurance maps in conjunction with new maps for the Missouri side of the Mississippi River, which is proceeding more slowly - something that I feel is fair and equitable. However, nobody should be under any illusion that the risk of flood or the need for flood insurance is reduced simply by postponing the adoption of the maps, nor should any postponement in issuing maps delay local efforts to address the problem of flood protection. The U.S. Senate has passed a similar provision and we are working on enacting a final version into law, but it is unclear when, or if, this will happen. Ultimately, the remapping will proceed, as it should.

Our region barely escaped widespread, catastrophic damage from the 1993 flood, a flood that the Corps of Engineers now classifies as a 300-year flood. The Corps' recent inspections reveal that we may no longer be protected from a 100-year flood. Restoring this essential infrastructure will be costly, and a new local sales tax has been signed into law in Illinois to meet this need. This is a critical investment in public safety and in our economic future, and I will continue to work with St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern, Madison County Board Chairman Alan Dunstan and Monroe County Board Chairman Dale Haudrich as the remapping process continues.

The Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention Initiative has prepared a web site that provides information about the current status of efforts to improve the Metro East Levees.

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