A bill to make it easier for levee districts along the Upper Mississippi River to raise their flood protection mechanisms is going before Congress.
The , introduced this week by Illinois Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland, calls on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to update the flood probabilities it uses to set the design standards for levees and floodwalls at least every 20 years.
The legislation would also allow levee districts to maintain their levees or floodwalls at the levels established by those updates from the Corps. It would cover federal levees or floodwalls between Guttenberg, Iowa, and Hamburg, Illinois, and levees south to Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
Illinois Reps. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro; Daren LaHood, R-Peoria, and Eric Sorensen, D-Moline, are also sponsors.
鈥淚t allows levee districts to maintain their level of protection, and that鈥檚 basically a requirement of FEMA accreditation,鈥� said Mike Klingner, chair of the Upper Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri Rivers Association, which endorses the bill.
This is not the reality now, he said.
A levee district accredited to protect against a flood with a 1% chance of happening must go through an often lengthy and expensive process to keep up with changing potential flood levels, Klingner explained.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e trying to do here is just clarify that if flood profiles change, there鈥檚 an ability to maintain (a levee),鈥� he said.
To make changes right now, levee districts must model the risk from different flooding scenarios and how their flood protection measures may affect other communities, Klingner said. It鈥檚 part of a change when it comes to changing Corps Civil Works projects, including levees, he added.
鈥淭hey adopted this internal change in their policy that makes it extremely difficult, in fact, basically impossible for a levee district in the Upper Mississippi to maintain their levees,鈥� Klingner said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 in conflict with basic common sense.鈥�
This kind bill, if passed into law, could allow levee districts to chase their accreditation status, said Olivia Dorothy, Mississippi River restoration director with American Rivers.
鈥淲hat this legislation would do would be to allow levee districts to automatically build up that levee,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where it gets really dangerous.鈥�
Dorothy said she is sympathetic to the difficult reality levee districts face when trying to keep up with dynamic river systems and flood potentials that are constantly changing. But she added the level of scrutiny districts must go through when considering alterations is vital to ensuring river communities stay safe.
鈥淲ater has to go somewhere,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e always increasing the height of your levees, and nobody around you knows what you鈥檙e doing, then it becomes dangerous because you don鈥檛 know where that water is going to go.鈥�
With climate change making floods last longer and bringing more , Dorothy said it鈥檚 more important than ever to have a clear understanding how and where water will move through the country鈥檚 river systems.
鈥淧art of answering that question is getting basic information from levee districts when they鈥檙e making modifications to their system as part of that permitting process,鈥� she said. 鈥淭o do away with that and allow levee districts to make modifications without that check is dangerous. It literally puts peoples lives at risk.鈥�
Klingner contends the bill would not allow unchecked alterations, they would just need to meet the local levee districts agreed to when many levees were first constructed.
鈥淎ny modification or adjustment to the (levee) would have to go through Corps approval,鈥� he said.
