Letter to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy - Army Corps of Engineers Should Use Funding from Omnibus Appropriations Bill to Fix Metro East Levee

Letter

Members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation today urged the Army Corps of Engineers to use a portion of the approximately $200 million in funding appropriated for construction of high priority projects as part of the Omnibus Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2014 to fix the portions of the Wood River Levee that have been negatively impacted by a design deficiency in the construction of the Melvin Price Dam. The legislation, which now must be voted on by both the House and the Senate, elevates this local Metro East issue to a national priority with report language encouraging the Army Corps of Engineers to fix the problem as soon as possible and a legislative provision allowing the levee improvements to be 100% federally funded.

Today's letter to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, Jo-Ellen Darcy, was signed by U.S. Senators Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and U.S. Representatives Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), Bill Enyart (D-Ill.) and John Shimkus (R-Ill.).

"We are writing to request the Army Corps of Engineers intensify its efforts to fix a critical problem impacting the safety of the levees in the Metro East St. Louis region of Illinois…The Army Corps has found this situation puts the levee at an "unacceptable level of risk" and we respectfully ask you take action to mitigate this risk now," wrote the Illinois members. "We believe the discretionary funding [included in the Omnibus Appropriations bill] should be used to fix the portions of the Wood River Levee impacted by the Mel Price Lock and Dam."

Today's announcement comes as the Illinois members continue to work to protect two important provisions related to flood prevention efforts in the Metro East region as a House-Senate Conference Committee -- hich includes both Davis and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) -- works out the differences between the Senate passed Water Resources Development Act of 2013 and the House passed Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013. The following two provisions, included in the Senate's version of the bill, would support the Metro East region's effort to repair and recertify the levees that protect residents in southwest Illinois:

A fix that would make the Metro East levee projects eligible for work-in-kind credits which will greatly assist local efforts to correct deficiencies to the levees and prevent flooding. Currently, work performed by the local non-Federal sponsor on the Metro East projects does not qualify for such in-kind credits because the law requires the projects to be authorized after 1986.
A requirement to combine the several separately authorized Metro East levee projects into one project authority to allow the Army Corps of Engineers greater flexibility and efficiency in using federal funding to complete the projects.
The text of today's letter is below:

January 14, 2014

The Honorable Jo-Ellen Darcy
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
Department of the Army
108 Army Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310-0108

Dear Secretary Darcy:

We are writing to request the Army Corps of Engineers intensify its efforts to fix a critical problem impacting the safety of the levees in the Metro East St. Louis region of Illinois. The foundation of the Upper Wood River Levee is being jeopardized by water seeping under the levee. This problem is caused by a design deficiency with the Corps original construction of the Melvin Price Lock and Dam. The Army Corps has found this situation puts the levee at an "unacceptable level of risk" and we respectfully ask you take action to mitigate this risk now.

We worked together to include funding, bill and report language in the FY 14 Omnibus Appropriations to help you address this situation. The Omnibus includes $200 million in discretionary funding to address high priority projects. The Omnibus also includes report language expressing the serious concern Congress has with the Melvin Price / Wood River problem and encourages the Corps to implement solutions as soon as possible. We believe the discretionary funding in the bill should be used to fix the portions of the Wood River Levee impacted by the Mel Price Lock and Dam.

The Wood River Levee is part of a larger system of levees that need immediate upgrades to protect the people, businesses and property in the Metro East region. The local communities in Illinois have stepped up by raising local funds and making improvements to the levees to meet FEMA certification standards. However, the coordination between the local flood protection district and Corps is made more difficult by the lack of funding flexibility at the federal level. Local funding can be invested in levee upgrades anywhere in the system quickly because the local flood protection district manages and budgets these levee upgrades as a system, but the Army Corps is limited to funding only the levee projects that are in the budget.

The Army Corps can improve this situation by budgeting and managing all of the interrelated projects in the area as a system. We continue to work together to give you permanent authority to do this through Water Resources Development Act legislation, but you can help address this situation next year by requesting funding in your budget for the entire system, rather than discrete portions of each levee. Having the ability and flexibility to address the entire levee system in concert with the local community is paramount to completing the levee improvements on time and responsibly managing federal investments.

Thank you for your attention to this important request. We look forward to continuing our work together to ensure the highest level of flood protection for the people in Metro East, Illinois.