By Bob Walsh
The folks in the Wilton area are a bit puzzled as to why
FEMA isn't helping them so much. The answer is fairly simple. Their
levees are often not really levees according to FEMA. They are
levee-like structures.
According
to FEMA a real levee is built and maintained to certain engineering and
construction standards. The many (probably 16) areas of damage to the
Cosumnes River levees are older, not particularly well built nor well
maintained berms. They are guesstimating about $8 million to fix them
and FEMA is asserting that, by law, they can not fund the repairs. The
Cosumnes River Reclamation District 800, which has juristiciton over
this area, has an annual repair and maintenance budget of about
$500,000. FEMA has in the past helped with short-term emergency
repairs, but not with long-term rehabilitation.
The
federal code of regulation says that levees must "meet, and continue to
meet, minimum design, operation and maintenance standards that are
consistent with the level of protection sought through the comprehensive
flood plain management criteria." This includes height above the river
and adequate resistance to erosion.
The
Department of Agriculture, born out of the dust bowl in the 1930s, has
some ability to assist and has done so in the past. They can work on
private and Native American land and can work on soil erosion and
watershed maintenance programs.
The
Army Corps of Engineers has done a lot of work in the greater
Sacramento area, but they will only do repair work on work that they
have previously done themselves.
Also the Dept. of Water Resources has some ability to step in and help.
None of this changes FEMA's definition of what a levee is or is not, nor their legal ability to assist in major repair work.
1 comment:
The Corp of Engineers has had its share of levee failures on the Mighty Mississippi yet they keep coming back to repair them. Could commerce have anything to do with it?
Post a Comment