Infrastructure, Flood Risk and Community Resilience

Sandra K. Knight, PhD, PE, D.WREDeputy Associate Administrator for Mitigation

Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration

2012 Legislative Summit Washington, D.C. March 27, 2012

2

State of U.S. Dam and Levee Infrastructure

Source: ASCE Report Card for America’s Infrastructure

Source: ASCE Report Card for America’s Infrastructure

3

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

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

4

National Dam Inventory

5

Levee Accreditation Status

6

Levee Accreditation Status

7

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

8

Tools for Risk Communication

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 65.10 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

11

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

12

The Way Ahead …