Infrastructure, Flood Risk and Community Resilience Sandra K. Knight, PhD, PE, D.WRE Deputy Associate Administrator for Mitigation Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration 2012 Legislative Summit Washington, D.C. March 27, 2012

State of U.S. Dam and Levee Infrastructure 2 Source: ASCE Report Card for America’s Infrastructure

Taum Sauk Hydroelectric Dam Failure in Missouri sent more than a billion gallons of water into a popular state park. Courtesy of Hydroelectric Reform Coalition 3 Hundreds are suing the Tennessee Valley Authority after the Kingston Fossil Plant’s coal ash retention pond burst on 12/22/08. The cost is estimated at $675-$975 million, not including litigation and environmental remediation costs. Photo courtesy of Earth First.com Lake Delhi dam broke 7/24/10, draining a decades-old recreational lake in minutes. AP Photo/The Gazette, Julie Koehn

National Dam Inventory 4

Levee Accreditation Status 5

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The Federal Interagency Floodplain Management (FIFM) Task Force Co-chaired by FEMA and the USACE 13 Member agencies 2 Advisors The re-established FIFM Task Force 7

Tools for Risk Communication 8

9 Levee Analysis and Mapping Throughout Map Modernization, stakeholders expressed concern with the “without-levee” procedures used to map non-accredited levees In February 2011, a group of U.S. Representatives and Senators wrote to FEMA requesting a revision to the current practice of mapping levees and their associated risks. Stakeholders and Congress feel this previous approach doesn’t reflect the hazard reduction that some non-accredited levees may still afford.

10 Requirements –Flexible –Collaborative –Cost-effective –Repeatable –Understandable (explainable) –Addresses riverine and coastal levees Constraints –No statutory or regulatory changes (44 CFR remains in effect for full levee accreditation) –Cannot make changes to the overarching National Flood Insurance Program The approach is not A holistic solution for levee issues in the NFIP: –National Academy of Sciences study kicked-off –NFIP Reform A solution addressing recommendations of other entities, such as Levee Task Force or National Committee on Levee Safety A communication of the broad risks associated with levees and potential failures What this is and is not

Overtopping (Example) Overtopping Inundation Analysis – Criteria: Levee Crest is Lower than the BFE, but it can be documented that the levee can structurally withstand the 1% flood – Mapping Approach: Overtopping Analysis to Map Special Flood Hazard Area; Natural Valley Floodplain Analysis to Map Zone D 11

The Way Ahead … 12