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Page 1

BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

AMERICAN BOTTOM CONSERVANCY, and

)

SIERRA CLUB,

)

Co-Petitioners,

)

) PCB 07-84

) (Pollution Control Facility

CITY OF MADISON, ILLINOIS, and

) Siting Appeal)

)

WASTE MANAGEMENT OF ILLINOIS, INC.,

)

Respondents.

)

To:

Donald 1. Moran

Pedersen & Houpt

161 North Clark Street

Suite 3100

Chicago,

IL 60601-3224

Penni S. Livingston

Livingston

Law Firm

5701 Perrin Road

Fairview Heights, IL 62208

John T.

Papa

Callis, Papa, Hale, Szewczyk

Danzinger, PC

1326 Niedringhaus Avenue

Granite City, IL 62040

Carol

Webb

Hearing Officer

Illinois Pollution Control Board

James R. Thompson Center

100

West Randolph St., Suite 11-500

Chicago, Illinois 60601

NOTICE OF FILING

Please take notice that on the 18

day of January, 2008, I have filed with the

Office

of the Clerk of the Pollution Control Board petitioners' motion for

reconsideration, together with exhibits 1

through 4, copies of which are herewith

served

upon you.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Printed on Recycled Paper

/s Bruce A. Morrison

Bruce

Morrison (II. Reg. No. 6279301)

Great Rivers Environmental Law Center

705 Olive Street, Suite 614

St. Louis, MO 63101-2208

Phone: (314) 231-4181

Fax: (314) 231-4184

Attorneys for petitioners

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

AMERICAN BOTTOM CONSERVANCY, and

SIERRA CLUB,

Co-Petitioners,

CITY OF MADISON, ILLINOIS, and

WASTE MANAGEMENT

OF ILLINOIS, INC.,

Respondents.

)

PCB 07-84

)

(Third-Party Pollution Control

)

Facility Siting Appeal)

)

PETITIONERS' MOTION TO RECONSIDER ORDER OF DECEMBER 6, 2007

On the basis of new facts that have occurred after the conclusion of the hearing in this

matter, American Bottom Conservancy and Sierra

Club

("Petitioners"), pursuant to 35 III. Adm.

Code §101.520 and 101.902, move the Board to reconsider its December 6, 2007, Order

affirming the City

of Madison'sdecision granting siting approval to Waste Management for its

proposed North Milam landfill. In support

of their Motion, Petitioners state:

On March 13,2007, Petitioners timely filed a petition asking the Board to review

a February

6,2007 decision ofthe City of Madison (Madison) approving the application of

Waste Management of Illinois, Inc. (Waste Management) for a new landfill (North Milam)

across the Cahokia Canal in Madison County from its existing Milam landfill in Fairmont City,

St. Clair County.

On December 6, 2007, the Board issued an Opinion

and

Order affirming the siting

approval

of the City of Madison.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

The Board'sprocedural rules (35

Ill.

Adm. Code Section 101.520) provide that

motions for the Board to reconsider its final orders may be filed with the Board within 35 days

after the order is received.

The Board'sOrder was received in the office of Plaintiffs' attorneys on December

14,2007, as shown

by a copy ofthe signed receipt in the Board records, attached as Exhibit

Therefore, this motion is timely filed.

Section 101.902 states that in ruling upon a motion for reconsideration, the Board

will consider factors including new evidence to conclude that the Board's decision was in error.

415 ILCS 5/39.2 (iv) of the Environmental Protection Act requires that a sanitary

landfill or waste disposal site be located outside the boundary

of the IDO-year floodplain or the

site is flood-proofed. Further, criterion (ii) requires that the facility be so designed, located and

proposed to be operated that the public health, safety and welfare will be protected.

On October 5, 2007, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Federal

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) transmitted a "Deaccreditation Notification Letter"

(see Exhibit 2, attached; see also Exhibit

4, Appendix B, attached) to communities located in the

American Bottom floodplain in Madison, St. Clair and Monroe counties, Illinois. In its letter

FEMA reports that it has been informed by the U.S. Army Corps

of Engineers (the Corps) that

the levees shown on the effective Flood Insurance Rate Maps for communities in Madison, St.

Clair and Monroe Counties do not meet federal requirements. The FEMA letter further states

that because the levees do not meet federal requirements, they will be de-accredited and

therefore will not be shown on the future Flood Insurance Rate Map as providing protection from

the base flood. The letter notes that the area landward

of the levee will be mapped as a Special

Flood Hazard Area on the Flood Insurance Rate Map.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

8. A September 29,2007, East West Gateway Council of Govermnents' briefing

document that summarizes the levees and flood control conditions in these communities is

attached as Exhibit

3. The briefing document notes (p. I) that, under Congressional

authorization and pursuant to federal regulations, FEMA is required to ascertain whether flood

hazard areas meet standards for adequate protection from catastrophic floods. The briefing

document includes maps and tables to illustrate the general scope

of the areas affected by the de-

accredited flood control facilities.

9. A November, 2007, Revised Draft of an East West Gateway Council of Govermnents'

status report concerning these levees and flood control conditions is attached as Exhibit

4. The

report notes (p. 35) that without an immediate response, the decertification

of levees will result

in large areas being designated as special flood hazard areas when preliminary maps are released

in early 2008, and that this is the same designation that would be used ifthere were no levees at

all in place and the area was completely unprotected from flooding. The report notes (p. 36) that

none

of the levee districts has made sufficient progress to avoid decertification and flood zone

designation in the final flood insurance maps to be issued in May 2009.

10. As shown in paragraphs 7 through 9 above, because the area where the proposed

North Milam landfill would be located would not be flood-proofed, according to FEMA and the

Corps, North Milam does not meet the requirements for siting criterion (iv). Further, because a

levee breach allowing floodwaters to reach the proposed landfill could affect communities in the

Metro East American Bottom floodplain, the public health, safety and welfare would not be

protected and, therefore, the proposed North Milam landfill does not meet siting criterion (ii).

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, Petitioners request that the Board reconsider its December 6,

2007, Opinion and Order, reverse its ruling and find that Waste Management'sproposed North

Milam landfill does not meet the required siting criteria, and grant all relief it deems fair and just.

/s/ Bruce A. Morrison

Bruce

A. Morrison (II. Reg. No. 6279301)

Great Rivers Environmental Law Center

705 Olive Street, Suite 614

St. Louis, MO 63101-2208

Phone: (314) 231-4181

Fax: (314) 231-4184

Attorneys for petitioners

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

The undersigned certifies that on the 18th day of January, 2008, a complete copy

of the foregoing document was served upon counsel for respondents by electronic mail

and by enclosing the same in envelopes and depositing said envelopes, with first class

postage fully prepaid,

in a United States post office box, addressed to:

Donald

J. Moran

Pedersen

Houpt

161 North Clark Street

Suite 3100

Chicago, IL 60601-3224

Penni

S. Livingston

Livingston Law Firm

5701 Perrin Road

Fairview Heights, IL 62208

John

T. Papa

Callis, Papa, Hale, Szewczyk

Danzinger, PC

1326 Niedringhaus Avenue

Granite City, IL 62040

and upon

Carol Webb

Hearing Officer

Illinois Pollution Control Board

James

R. Thompson Center

100 West Randolph St., Suite 11-500

Chicago, Illinois 60601

/s/ Bruce

A. Morrison

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

COMPLETE THIS SECTION

• Is delivery address different

from

Item 1?

If YES, enter delivery address below:

Receipt for Merchandise

D Insured Mall

D C.O.D.

• Complete items 1, 2, and 3. Also complete

item

411

Restricted Delivery is desired.

• Print your name and address on the reVerse

so that we can return the card to you.

• Attach this card to the back of the mallpiece.

or on the front If space permits.

1. Artlcl.Addressedto:

Great Rivers Environmental

---------------'------'--'---'---'=----1

2. Article Number

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PS Form 3811, February 2004

DomestIc Retum Receipt

t02595-02.M.1540 1

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

DEACCREDITATION NOTIFICATION LETTER

lMr./Ms.1 (Full Name

of Community official)

(Title

of Community Official)

(Address)

(City, State Abbreviation, and Zip Code)

Dear

[Mr./Ms.] (Last Name

of Community Official):

This letter is

regard to the levees shown on the effective Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) and in

the effective Flood Insurance Study (FrS) reports for communities in Madison, St. Clair and Monroe

Counties in I!!inois. As you may know, the Department

of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA), is in the process of producing new flood risk maps for the nation and, as

part of that effort, countywide FrS reports and Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRM) will be

issued for Madison, St. Clair, and Monroe Counties.

As part

ofFEMA's effort to produce the DFIRM, it was determined that the flood hazard information

presented on the effective FIRM and in the effective Frs report is based, in some areas, on flood

protection provided by at least one

of five levee systems

the Metro East area that include the following:

Wood River Drainage

Levee District

Chain of Rocks Levee

Metro East Sanitary District

Prairie Du Pont Levee

Sanitary District

Fish Lake Drainage

Levee District

Based on the information available and on the mapping standards

of the National Flood Insurance

Program (NFIP) at the time the FrS was performed, FEMA accredited these levee with providing

protection from the flood that has a l-percent-chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

The l-percent-annual-chance flood also is referred to as the base flood.

Recently, FEMA was informed by the U.S. Army Corps

of Engineers (USACE) that they have

determined the levees identified above do not meet the requirements set forth in the Code

of Federal

Regulations, Title 44, Section 65.10 (44 CFR 65.10), entitled "Mapping of Areas Protected by Levee

Systems". Since the levees and levee systems identified above do not meet the requirements set forth in

44 CFR 65.10, they will be de-accredited and therefore will not be shown on the future DFIRM as

providing protection from the base flood.

You were invited to a meeting hosted by the East West Gateway Council

of Governments and

Congressman Jerry Costello that was held on August 29, 2007 to discuss the status ofthe levees and

FEMA'sde-accreditation process. The area landward of the levee will be mapped as a Special Flood

Hazard Area (SFHA) on the DFIRM when it is prepared. Therefore, federally regulated lenders will

require the purchase of flood insurance on loans secured by structures located in the de-accredited area

when the DFIRM becomes effective. In addition, continued participation in the NFIP will require your

community to adopt and enforce local floodplain management regulations in these areas.

is highly

evacuation plans for this area.

Please note, there is a provision in the NFIP regulations that may be used in unique situations to allow

FEMA to map the areas previously shown as being protected

by the levee (accredited) as a "Restoration"

Zone (Zone AR). Initial information provided to us by the USACE indicates that these levees

may

meet

the requirements for Zone AR designation. In order to be considered, the Chief Elected Official must

....

PLAINTIFF'S

EXHIBIT

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

provide a written request to FEMA for the restoration zone designation. There are specific submittal

requirements that must be included with the request. Attached are several documents that may help you

decide

if you want to pursue the Zone AR designation. In order to be considered for a Zone AR

designation when the preliminary map is distributed, your official request package must be received by

this office by January 30, 2008.

FEMA will issue Preliminary Maps when the de-accredited mapping is completed. At that time, FEMA

will conduct a Flood Risk Information Open House and will meet with local officials and the public

regarding the revised maps. Following this meeting, a 90-day Appeal/Protest Period will be held. When

all Appeals/Protests are resolved, FEMA will issue the Letter

of Final Determination. Final DFIRMs will

be distributed that will become effective 6 months after the date of the Letter of Final Determination.

We encourage you to inform property owners behind the levee of this change. FEMA has produced a

variety of outreach materials which can be used to educate and inform the public about the risks

associated with levees and how they can better protect themselves against those risks. These materials are

located online at: http://www.fema.gov/plan/preventlfum/lv intro.shtm.

If you need additional information or assistance, please contact Ms. Terry Reuss Fell, Chief of the

Floodplain Management

Insurance Branch, by email at www.terrv.fell@dhs.gov or by phone at 312-

408-5587.

Sincerely,

Mr. Norbert F. Schwartz, Director

Mitigation Division

FEMA Region V

Enclosures:

44 CFR Section 65.10: "Mapping

of Areas Protected by Levee Systems

Submittal Requirements for Restoration Zone (Zone AR) - (2 pages)

Flood Control Restoration Zone Requirements (4 pages)

AR Zone 44 CFR Section 65.14, part 60.3(f), and definition of "developed area"

cc: Levee

Owners

(Commnnity Floodplain Administrator)

Paul Osman, IL DNR/ NFIP State Coordinator

Mr. Les Sterman, EW Gateway Council

of Governments

Colonel Lewis Setliff, USACE, St. Louis District

Senator Richard Durbin

Senator Barack Obama

Congressman Jerry Costello

Congressman John Shimkus

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Mississippi River

Levee Issues in

Illinois

Briefing for

Elected Officials

September 29, 2007

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Levee and Flood Control Condition in Southwestern Illinois

An Issue of Public Safety and Economic Growth

Summary

Under Congressional authorization, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is

revising all flood risk maps for base flood levels - the 100 year flood -- or a flood with a 1%

chance of occurring in any given year - under a new federal regulation 44 CFR 65.10. The new

federal regulation requires FEMA to ascertain whether flood hazard areas meet standards for

adequate protection from catastrophic floods. Maps for the Metro East will be completed some-

time in the next couple of months. These new maps are based on engineering evaluations of lev-

ees and other flood control facilities done by the Corps of Engineers. Following the completion of

the maps, there will be a series of public meetings. It will take about a year before the maps are

finalized.

According to FEMA and the Corps of Engineers, five levees in the Metro East are at risk of failing

due to structural deficiencies in the levees. These levees extend from Wood River south to

Prairie Du Pont and Fish Lake. Most of the American Bottoms from the Mississippi River to Bluff

Road is at risk.

While the first concern is public safety and the increased risk of catastrophic flooding, there are

significant economic consequences that will cloud future economic growth in a large area of

southwestern Illinois. The map revision will determine which homes and businesses will be

potentially subject to flooding and therefore required to buy costly flood insurance. The probabili-

ty of levee decertification will cause massive costs to existing individuals and businesses and

cripple economic growth and investment in our region. Federally regulated financial institutions

may not be able to issue loans to homeowners or businesses that don't carry adequate flood

insurance, and communities will need to adopt development ordinances that include strict require-

ments for building in flood zones. Many homeowners may not be able to afford flood insurance,

even at the current favorable rate, putting them at future financial risk.

This potential action will affect almost a third of the population of the Illinois portion of the St.

Louis area and many critical businesses that are the foundation of our local economy. The con-

sequences will be felt not only by areas that could be in jeopardy of flooding, but also by all com-

munities that have a stake in the economic vitality of our region.

Four thousand business establishments face heightened risk due to deficiencies in the levees. In

the 2000 Census, of the 59,107 occupied housing units in the affected area, 38,441 (65%) were

owner-occupied, and 20,666 were rental units. Of all owner-occupied units, 43% do not have a

mortgage. These units would be exempt from the federal mandate to purchase flood insurance,

but they would all benefit from having insurance in case of a disastrous flood.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Levee Improvement

This region represents the second largest concentration of population in the Mississippi Corridor

(after New Orleans) and a collaborative effort should be successful in obtaining the funds neces-

sary to improve the levees.

The Corps of Engineers describe their goal as to "Assess, Communicate Risk, and Solve" the

problem. Their risk analysis looked at design height and under-seepage problems. It is the under-

seepage, plus old pumps and drainage tiles (Wood River Levee built 1938) that led the Corps to

determine the levees are not adequate and need repair to be certified. The Corps of Engineers is

still working to define actual costs to improve the levees, but costs could range from $50 -100 mil-

lion. Current policy of the federal government is that all Corps projects require a 35 percent local

match.

Flood Insurance

FEMA in Region V, Chicago, is focused on the importance of flood insurance as a means of man-

aging that risk and advised that flood insurance will soon be mandatory. When the FEMA maps

are finalized (a year to a 18 months from now), property in flood risk areas will be required to have

federal flood insurance if it has a mortgage from a federally regulated institution. Because the

property is still officially behind a protected levee, flood insurance purchased now (and over the

next year before map finalization) is significantly less expensive than it will be once the maps are

finalized. FEMA rules also allow for the 'grandfathering' of insurance rates, so that people who

buy insurance before the new maps are final will be able to continue to hold the insurance at a

significantly reduced rate, while new rates will be expected to rise 400 percent (or more) since the

land will be considered not protected.

The maps and tables on the following pages illustrate the general scope of the areas directly

affected by the flood control facilities in question, and are designed to communicate the population

and employment concentrations that will be directly affected by the impending flood map revisions.

In the coming months, FEMA will be holding public meetings to discuss and provide information

about the new maps, and will allow communities to review the details and, where justified, to chal-

lenge the contents.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Persons

Households

Jobs

Sources: US Census, 2000

Longitudinal Employer Household Dynamics, 2004 estimates

Information about Potentially Affected Communities

Potentially Affected Population, by County

Persons

Households

Jobs

Sources: US Census, 2000

Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics

Potentially Affected Population, by Municipality

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Information about Potentially Affected Communities

(continued)

Additional employers are

located in the following

ZIP codes: 62002,

62024, 62232, 62234.

Source: ReferenceUSA

Population Households

Jobs

Prarie DuPont and Fish Lake

5,330

2,062

668

Sources: US Census, 2000

Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics

Potentially Affected

Businesses, by ZIP Code

Potentially Affected Population, by Levee District

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Information about Potentially Affected Communities

(continued)

Gateway Regional Medical Center

Granite City

Granite City Steel

Granite City

Kenneth Hall Regional Hospital

Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center

East St. Louis

Touchette Regional Hospital

East St. Louis

Tower Automotive

Granite City

Source: Public Policy Research Center/ReferenceUSA

Some Potentially Affected Major Employers

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

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Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

INAG?! & lEVEE DISTRK.;r

METRO EAST SANITARY DlGmlCT

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Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Maryl '

Sminlto"

MADISON

METRO EAST SNlrTARY DISTRICT

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-----

Levees

MONROE

_CHAIN OF ROCKS LEVEE

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J COUNTY BOUNDARY

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Districts

METRO EAST SANITARY DISTRICT

.. WATER FEATURE

PRAIRIE DU PONT DRAINAGE & LEVEE D1ST ",.--- INTERSTATE HIGHWAY

WOOD RIVER DRAINAGE & LEVEE DISTRICT

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Southwestern Illinois

Flood Prevention

Initiative

Status Report &

Project Timeline

November, 2007

REVISED

DRAFT

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. iv

I. Introduction..........................................................................................................................1

II. Background..........................................................................................................................3

A. Flood Risk and Insurance ..............................................................................................3

B. The Levee System .........................................................................................................8

C. Levee and Drainage Districts ......................................................................................10

Wood River Drainage and Levee District ...................................................................10

Metro East Sanitary District ........................................................................................13

Prairie Du Pont Levee and Sanitary District ...............................................................16

Fish Lake Levee District .............................................................................................16

III. Flood Maps and Flood Insurance ......................................................................................18

A. FEMA Mapping Process...............................................................................................18

B. Restoration Zone (AR Zone) Designation ...................................................................19

C. Benefits of AR Zone ....................................................................................................20

D. Zone A99.....................................................................................................................21

IV. Current Status of Deficient Illinois Levees .......................................................................22

Wood River Drainage and Levee District..........................................................................22

Chain of Rocks ..................................................................................................................25

Metro East Sanitary District .............................................................................................26

Prairie Du Pont and Fish Lake Districts ............................................................................27

V. Project Costs and Schedule...............................................................................................29

VI. Next Steps – A Path to Rebuilding ...................................................................................35

A. Creation of a Leadership Task Force...........................................................................35

B. Immediate Application for “AR Zone” Protected Status.............................................35

C. Development of a Ten-Year Plan to Restore the Flood Protection System.................36

D. Secure Expert Assistance in Financing and Engineering ............................................36

E. Community Engagement..............................................................................................36

F. Secure Funding for Immediate Activities.....................................................................37

Appendices

Appendix A: River Stages .................................................................................................38

Appendix B: FEMA Notification Letter and AR Zone Submittal Requirements.............40

Appendix C: FEMA Progress of Mapping Activities Nationwide ....................................44

Appendix D: Glossary .......................................................................................................49

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

iii

List of Figures

Figure 1: Levee Districts............................................................................................................5

Figure 2: Population...................................................................................................................6

Figure 3: Major Employment Locations....................................................................................7

Figure 4: Cross-Sectional View of an Earthen Levee................................................................8

Figure 5: Schematic of Standard Levee System ........................................................................9

Figure 6: Potential Levee Failure Scenarios ............................................................................10

Figure 7: Levee System Features: Wood River .......................................................................12

Figure 8: Levee System Features: Metro East (North) ............................................................14

Figure 9: Levee System Features, Metro East (South) ............................................................15

Figure 10: Levee System Features: Prairie Du Pont and Fish Lake ........................................17

Figure 11: Levee Project Cost............................................................................................33

List of Tables

Table 1: Demographics of Area Directly Affected....................................................................4

Table 2a: Deficiencies in the Wood River Drainage and Levee District - Upper....................23

Table 2b: Deficiencies in Wood River Drainage and Levee District – Lower ........................24

Table 2c: Deficiencies in Wood River Drainage and Levee District – East &West Forks .....24

Table 3: Deficiencies in Chain of Rocks Canal East Levee ....................................................26

Table 4: Deficiencies in Metro East Sanitary District .............................................................26

Table 5a: Deficiencies in Prairie Du Pont Levee and Sanitary District...................................27

Table 5b: Deficiencies in Fish Lake Drainage and Levee District ..........................................28

Table 6: Summary of Estimated Project Costs and Status of Funding ....................................30

Table 7: Fiscal Capacity of Levee Districts .............................................................................31

Table 8: Corps of Engineers Levee Project Phases..................................................................32

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Executive Summary

•

Without immediate large scale coordinated effort, nearly all of the American Bottoms

will be declared to be a flood hazard area on preliminary FEMA maps as early as

March 2008.

•

The issue presents substantial public safety and economic consequences for

Southwestern Illinois.

Flood insurance rates will increase substantially when the preliminary maps

become final, currently predicted to occur in early to mid 2009.

Uncertainty about risk and development constraints will discourage business

investment.

•

The total cost to repair the five levee systems in Madison, St. Clair and Monroe

counties is estimated to be between $136 and $180 million.

•

Local match (of 35%) required for the four locally owned levee systems is estimated

to be between $31 and $47 million.

•

Because of the historically slow rate of appropriations for federal funding, area

leaders should consider raising the entire amount needed to begin repairs as soon as

possible, with a goal of completing the entire group of projects in ten years or less.

•

A coordinated regional strategy is the most effective way to address the flood control

system in Southwestern Illinois because:

The five levee systems are inextricably linked hydrologically.

Two of the levee systems cross county boundaries and all of them pass through

numerous cities and towns.

Collaboration among a broad number of varied constituencies will strengthen the

effort.

The citizens and economy of the entire region of Southwestern Illinois are

affected.

•

By January 30, 2008, application should be made to FEMA for a “Restoration Zone”

status, or AR Zone, for the entire American Bottoms area, because it will preserve

lower flood insurance rates for residents and allow a 10-year period to carry out a

plan for repair and restoration of the levees.

•

a ten year plan to restore the levees (including financial and construction

components), securing expert assistance in finance and engineering, launching a

comprehensive community engagement strategy to reach residents and the business

community, and securing funding to carry out the entire planning strategy.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

I. Introduction

The 1993 Midwest flood was one of the most damaging natural disasters ever to affect the

United States up to that time. Total impact of damages approximated $15 billion, thousands of

people were evacuated, fifty people died and hundreds of levees failed. The flood and its path of

devastation lasted for several months. The magnitude of this flood event seemed overwhelming.

Just twelve years later Hurricane Katrina and storm surges that followed caused more than fifty

levee breaches, resulting in catastrophic flooding damage over large portions of southern

Mississippi and Louisiana. More than fourteen hundred people died and over 80% of New

Orleans was flooded. The losses devastated an entire multistate region and, for a time, adversely

affected the whole United States economy.

Katrina has focused great attention on the flood protection systems across the United States.

Under the current circumstances, competition for limited federal funding, limited financial

capacity of local sponsors and delays in appropriations conspire to compromise public safety and

welfare.

Congressman Jerry Costello convened an Illinois Levee Summit on August 15, 2007 onboard the

U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Motor Vessel Mississippi for the purpose of providing an

overview of the levee systems in the St. Louis region and describing levee deficiencies and flood

risks for five levees systems in the Illinois area of the region. Officials representing the Federal

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region V explained how the congressionally

mandated revision of all flood risk maps for the base level “100-year flood” would affect levee

status in Southwestern Illinois. Based on current information provided by the U.S. Army Corps

of Engineers (Corps), the five affected levee systems will not meet the minimum criteria for

flood protection. These levee systems along the Mississippi River extend from the Wood River

Drainage and Levee District in the north, to Prairie Du Pont and Fish Lake Levee Districts in the

south. According to reports and studies done by the Corps, all the levees in question exhibit

significant underseepage problems that, if left uncorrected, significantly increase the risk of a

major flood.

Since the FEMA announcement concerning levee decertification, elected officials in St. Clair,

Madison and Monroe counties in Illinois requested that the East-West Gateway Council of

Governments follow up on recent discussions and fact-finding meetings to provide an accurate,

up-to-date status report that would both define the problem and suggest a process for correcting

the levee deficiencies. They indicated that they would like to take a regional approach to address

this problem.

The purpose of this report is to present the facts currently known about the levee projects to

determine what has to be accomplished to repair the levees to the point that they can be certified

by the Corps to protect from a 100-year flood. Expediting the schedule for planning and

reconstruction is of paramount importance because the flood risks and rising cost of flood

insurance undermine public safety and the economic vitality of large parts of Southwestern

Illinois located in Madison, St. Clair and Monroe counties. While the flood risks and map

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

revisions directly affect the three counties and their respective communities, neighboring

communities throughout the St. Louis region are also affected.

The report contains information about the FEMA remapping process and the role of national

flood insurance, a status report on all of the projects, including projected costs, funding

availability and estimated times for completion, and financial and organizational information

about each of the levee districts. The report concludes with recommendations for a series of

actions to be completed within the next two months that will begin a measured and urgent

process to restore the flood control system in Southwestern Illinois to provide the protection for

which they were designed. Actions are also outlined that will provide a measure of economic

assurance for the area during the period that full flood protection is being restored. Quick

agreement on action steps will facilitate a rapid reconstruction effort.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

II. Background

Under Congressional authorization, FEMA is digitizing its flood insurance maps nationwide over

approximately a five-year period. As part of the process of producing new maps, FEMA is

revising all flood risk maps for base flood levels, a flood with a 1% chance of occurring in any

given year – the 100-year flood. Federal regulations require FEMA to ascertain whether flood

hazard areas meet standards for adequate protection from catastrophic floods. As part of the

mapping process, FEMA has asked the Corps to evaluate and certify levees and other flood

control facilities using specific FEMA standards. Under the current schedule for FEMA Region

V, maps for the metro east area of the St. Louis region will be completed in March 2008. FEMA

will release the maps in draft format and then conduct a series of public meetings. There follows

a 90-day appeal period. FEMA will review and respond to the appeals before the maps are

finalized. The entire process, from the release of preliminary maps through meetings and

appeals to map finalization, should take about a year.

According to FEMA and the Corps, five Illinois levee systems in the St. Louis area are at risk of

failing due to structural deficiencies. The levees are: Wood River, Chain of Rocks, Metro East,

Prairie Du Pont, and Fish Lake. Most of the American Bottoms, from the Mississippi River east

to Bluff Road, which is currently designated as a protected area, is at risk (Figure 1).

After New Orleans, the American Bottoms region represents the second largest concentration of

population in the Mississippi Corridor. More than 150,000 residents and 50,000 jobs are in this

area (Figures 2 and 3) which has been considered a protected zone, but which may now be

reclassified as an area subject to flood risk. While the first concern is public safety and the

recognition of increased risk of catastrophic flooding, there are significant economic

consequences that will affect the future economic health of Southwestern Illinois.

A. Flood Risk and Insurance

When the FEMA maps are finalized (currently predicted to occur in March 2009), property in

flood risk areas will be required to have federal flood insurance to qualify for a mortgage from a

federally regulated institution. Flood insurance purchased now (and over the next year before

the new maps are officially adopted by FEMA) is significantly less expensive than it will be once

the maps are finalized, because the property is still officially behind a protected levee.

Four thousand business establishments face heightened risk due to deficiencies in the levees.

According to the 2000 Census, of the 59,107 occupied housing units in the affected area, 38,441

(65%) were owner-occupied and 20,666 were rental units

. Forty-three percent of all owner-

occupied homes do not have a mortgage. These homes are exempt from the federal mandate to

purchase flood insurance, but homeowners will nonetheless benefit from having insurance in

case of a disastrous flood. Moreover, these homes could not be sold to a new owner requiring a

A small proportion of these households are already included in special flood hazard areas because of proximity to

small stream or tributaries of the Mississippi River that are subject to flooding.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

mortgage without the new owner purchasing insurance at a significantly higher rate.

FEMA

urges all residents living behind levees to purchase insurance whether it is required or not.

Table 1

Demographics of Area Directly Affected

County

Population

Jobs

Levee decertification will cause massive costs to individuals and businesses and potentially

cripple economic growth and investment in the region. Federally regulated financial institutions

will not be able to issue loans to homeowners or businesses that do not carry adequate flood

insurance, and communities will need to adopt development ordinances that include strict

requirements for building in flood zones. Many homeowners will not be able to afford flood

insurance, even at the current favorable rate, putting them at future financial risk. A secondary

impact to homeowners and small businesses is a potential decline in property values, since sales

of property that require bank financing will be conditioned on the purchase of costly flood

insurance.

This potential action will directly affect almost a third of the population of the Illinois portion of

the St. Louis area and many critical businesses that are the foundation of the local economy.

Inadequate levees threaten to disrupt all who travel on interstate highways 55, 64 and 70 through

the American Bottoms. The consequences will be felt not only by areas that could be in jeopardy

of flooding, but also by all communities that have a stake in the economic vitality of the region.

When a levee is decertified, FEMA rules allow for a grandfathering of lower insurance rates for those who

purchased insurance before decertification; such rates are also available to the purchaser of a home that has been

continually insured.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

L.=-J COUNTY BOUNDARY

METRO EAST SANITARY DISTRIC\

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SANITARY DISTRICT LEVEE

Legend

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

TOIalllopulal;on "ffeeled: 156.281

iii;."

METRO EIIST SANITARY OISTR:CT

DRAINAGE II LEVEE !?ISTRICT

-----

--Chain 01 Rocks levee

--Fish laI<e

Levee

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East Sanitary Oi.lIict Levee

".--- Interstate Highways

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Fairvie:W:--.----------

Heights

legend

•

Major Employment Location

L-=.-:J Levee District Boundary

2Miles -- Interstate Highway

-0rainage & Levee District

............

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....School District1

Businesses with at least 300 employees

or a facility of at least 100,000 square feet

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/ Drarnage,,& Levey/Istrict

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

B. The Levee System

The American Bottoms in St. Clair, Madison and Monroe counties, Illinois is a broad floodplain

area situated along the easterly bank of the Mississippi River. The whole area which contains

approximately 150,000 people and numerous heavy industries and businesses, has a relatively

high groundwater level. It is protected from flooding by the Mississippi River by a system of

levees which is operated and maintained by four separate locally owned levee districts (Wood

River, Metro-East, Prairie Du Pont and Fish Lake) and the Army Corps of Engineers, which

maintains the federal levee along the Chain of Rocks Canal.

Man-made levee systems usually consist of earthen embankments and wall structures which are

designed and constructed to contain, control, or divert the rising flow of water so as to protect

low lying areas from periodic flooding. For stability, an earthen levee is constructed in pyramid

fashion so that its bottom width is several times its height. Therefore, constructed levees have a

large footprint requiring considerable land area. In urban areas where land is limited, concrete

and masonry floodwalls are often used. A long levee system, such as those of Southwestern

Illinois, may include a combination of earthen levees and floodwalls. Also, earthen levees are

generally constructed with compacted clay materials and an impervious clay base to prevent

water infiltration (see Figure 4).

Source: GAO 1993 Flood Study

Figure 4: Cross-Sectional View of an Earthen Levee

Generally, levees are specifically designed and constructed to withstand a certain flood

frequency. A ten to a fifty-year levee is usually considered to be an

agricultural

levee designed

to protect floodplain in agricultural areas from floods that may occur once every ten or fifty

years. These areas will experience flooding during major flood events (e.g., 100-year flood

events).

Urban

levees protect floodplains from 100-year floods or higher. The levee system of

With the exception of structures on the Chain of Rocks levee, all of the flood control facilities, including levees,

flood walls, floodgates, pump stations, etc., are locally owned and maintained. The Corps has assisted the districts in

the overall design, construction and routine inspections.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Southwestern Illinois consists of main stem

urban

levees, which lay along a major river, in this

instance the Mississippi River and/or the Chain of Rocks Canal. Other levee structures in the

system include

tie back

lateral

levees, which extend from the main stem levee to bluff lines

(high ground) and are part of the line of protection against backflow during periods of high water

(Figure 5). Other key components of a levee system include pumping stations, gravity drains or

outlets, street closure gates and relief wells. Gravity drains or outlets are openings built through

the base of the levees and are designed to drain and convey floodwaters. These gravity

structures permit the outflow of stormwater that comes off the bluffs to the east when the river

stage is low. Gravity drains are equipped with closure gates to prevent the river flows from

entering the protected area during time of high river stages. Pump stations may be also operated

to drain the protected area from interior flooding (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Schematic of Standard Levee System

Source: FEMA

The four general ways a levee may fail include: overtopping; piping; saturation; and

underseepage (Figure 6). During an extreme flood situation, floodwaters may actually exceed

the designed water level of the levee and overtop it. For example, the Metro East levees have a

design water level of 52.0 feet. In 1993 floodwaters reached a level of 49.6 feet, which

approached but did not reach overtop conditions. Piping, or internal levee erosion, occurs when

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

floodwaters enter the levee through animal burrows and/or plant and tree root channels.

Saturation failure is attributable to a levee that is saturated with floodwaters for an extended

period of time. Floodwater permeates and weakens the core of the levee, making it unstable.

Underseepage refers to floodwater that travels under the base of the levee via an unstable layer of

sand and gravel and weakens the base foundation of the levee from below (Figure 6).

To control for underseepage, relief wells are drilled on the interior side of the levee, and operated

during flood events to depress and eliminate seepage under the levee. Another method for

eliminating or controlling levee seepage is the construction of pressure berms. These berms are

designed as horizontal strips of materials built contiguous to the levee base on the interior sides

of the levee for the purpose of providing protection from seepage and resulting levee erosion.

Figure 6: Potential Levee Failure Scenarios

Source: FEMA

The size and height of the St. Louis urban levee system has grown over the years to its current

configuration to protect from the 500-year flood, a flood that has 0.2 percent chance of occurring

in any given year. Major levee improvements were completed with the passage of the Flood

Control Act of 1938. Today’s urban levee system consists of riverside levees and tie back or

wing-levees, canals, conduits, pumping stations, gravity drains and seepage relief wells. The

urban levee system has proven effective in protecting the American Bottoms from major

flooding events, including the flood of record in 1993 (a 300-year flood) and a 200-year flood in

1995 (Appendix A).

C. Levee and Drainage Districts

Below is a brief description of each the levee districts of concern in this report.

Wood River Drainage and Levee District

The Wood River Drainage and Levee District is chartered under the 1879 Illinois Levee Law,

and dates to 1910. A Board of Commissioners consists of three people appointed by the

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Madison County Board to three year staggered terms. The district employs a secretary-treasurer

and a superintendent, who hires full time and several part time maintenance workers.

The district, located in Madison County, is just upstream from the city of East St. Louis between

river miles 195 and 203 above the Ohio River (Figure 7). The communities of Alton, East Alton,

Hartford, Roxana, South Roxana, and Wood River are within the district. The levee district is

protected by an urban levee across the Mississippi River from St. Louis and St. Charles counties

in Missouri. This system includes approximately 21 miles of main line levee, 164 relief wells,

24 closure structures, 64 gravity drains and 7 pump stations. There are approximately 21 square

miles (13,700 acres) of bottomland and 7 square miles (4,700 acres) of hill land within the

district. The overtopping level is 52 feet.

The Wood River Drainage and Levee District protects significant industrial development.

Work on rehabilitation and reconstruction of the levee, pump stations, and other structures has

already begun. The levee district has been working with the Corps in planning and

implementing repairs and upgrades, but the notice of potential decertification that came in

August 2007 was unexpected. Significant work has already been completed and remaining

planned repairs should be sufficient for the levees to be recertified within the next few years.

The Wood River District financial statement for the year ending September 30, 2007, reports

general revenue of $656,000 from an equalized assessed valuation of property in the district, and

expenses of $554,000 for 2006, with a balance on hand of $858,000.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Metro East Sanitary District

The Metro East Sanitary District enabling legislation passed in 1907. A Board of five

Commissioners governs the district. Three of the Commissioners are residents of that portion of

the district in the county having the greater equalized assessed valuation of the district (currently

Madison County), and two are residents of that portion of the district having the lesser valuation

(currently St. Clair County). The board hires an executive director and the district employs 57

staff members.

The largest of the four locally maintained districts, the Metro East Sanitary District protects

96.32 square miles (61,645 acres). The district owns 2,776 acres. (See Figures 8 and 9) The

district owns approximately 37.5 miles of mainline levee, including north and south flanks;

16,425 feet of floodwall; 52.5 miles of canals; and 14 miles of sanitary sewers in service at the

present time.

The levee district includes the cities of Collinsville, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon,

Granite City, Madison, Pontoon Beach and Venice in Madison County; and Alorton, Brooklyn,

Cahokia, Caseyville, Centreville, East St. Louis, Fairmont City, Sauget and Washington Park in

St. Clair County. The overtopping level is 54.0 feet at St. Louis.

The district boundaries are fixed by the county court for taxation purposes. General revenue of

the district is obtained primarily from two sources – a direct tax in proportion to the assessed

valuation of all property within the district, and a replacement tax allocation (for the elimination

of personal property tax) from the State of Illinois sales tax revenue. The 2006 annual financial

report lists property taxes at $2,033,483; the replacement tax at $1,312,505; and numerous

miscellaneous revenue items for total general revenue of $3,678,258.

Administration expenses in 2006 were $2,171,799; general maintenance was $1,554, 935. The

2006 year end fund balance for general revenue was $4,949,854. In addition, the district has a

property tax for a Tort Liability Fund that generated $501,000 in 2006. The tort fund had a fund

balance of $6,698,104 on December 31, 2006.

Also included are six stormwater pump stations – Cahokia, Venice, Madison, South, North and East St. Louis

pump stations. Pumps remove water from behind the levees during interior flooding events, when stormwater water

comes into the flood plain from the bluffs to the east.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Prairie Du Pont Levee and Sanitary District

Prairie Du Pont Levee District is chartered under the Illinois Sanitary District Act of 1907. It has

five-member board, elected in a general election and serving four-year terms, with two currently

from East Carondelet and one each from Dupo and Columbia. Members are elected from the

territory of the district in the two counties. The district has two full time and six part time staff.

The district protects 15 square miles (9,560 acres) and its mainline levees are 10.3 miles in

length (Figure 10). Structures include 5 steel gates and 9 gravity drains. Prairie Du Pont Levee

protects portions of the communities of Dupo, East Carondelet and Columbia in St. Clair County

and a portion of Monroe County. The district can levy property taxes and can issue general

obligation bonds. District revenue is approximately $140,000 per year from property taxes. The

district has a $60,000 annual bond issue payment and a $2 million bond capacity based on their

assessed valuation of which $750,000 is currently being used. The tax rate limit is 0.20 percent

of equalized assessed valuation and may be increased by referendum. They also levy a

stormwater tax of 0.03 percent. The district may issue general obligation drainage bonds and

interest tax, which can be authorized by referendum with no rate limit.

Fish Lake Levee District

The Fish Lake Levee District was established under the 1879 Illinois Levee Law, which was

recodified in 1955. The district has three board members elected from the district and from

Monroe County and city of Columbia, and two part time staff. Fish Lake District protects 4

square miles (2,440 acres) and has 4.9 miles of mainline levee (Figure 9). It has no gates and

currently has 9 gravity drains.

The district can levy three assessments: for annual maintenance; for original construction; and

for performance of additional repair work and construction of pumping plants. The Fish Lake

District 2007 financial report indicates revenue of $26,000 from assessments.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

III. Flood Maps and Flood Insurance

Flood maps, known as Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM), show high-risk areas where there is

at least a 1% annual chance of flooding (commonly called the 100-year flood). These areas are

designated as Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) and flood insurance is required for those

property owners that have current mortgages from a federally regulated lender. While there are

several different kinds of SFHA designations, all such areas include the letter A in their

designation. The maps also show low or moderate risk areas where flood insurance is optional

Mississippi River flooding and not a SFHA. The revised maps will show nearly all of the

American Bottoms as an SFHA. When the risk designation officially changes (currently

predicted to occur in May 2009), the flood insurance rates will increase.

Under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) property owners may take advantage of

lower rates by purchasing insurance before risk designations change. Currently anyone in the

area behind the levees who is in a protected zone can receive a lower cost insurance policy.

Residents who currently purchase flood insurance, or who purchase flood insurance before the

new maps become final will be able to receive lower rates, and the lower rates are transferable to

new owners as long as the insurance policy remains continuously in effect.

A. FEMA Mapping Process

FEMA expects to have preliminary flood insurance rate maps for the three counties completed

by March or April 2008. A public comment and appeal process will follow and FEMA officials

anticipate it will be about one year before the maps become final and all flood insurance and

other requirements take effect. Current FEMA operating procedures require maps to become

official as they are completed, and although congressional action could change FEMA

procedures, there is no guarantee that Congress will change the law or if there is a change, it is

unlikely to occur before the preliminary maps are released in early 2008.

FEMA contractors are assembling maps from best available, reliable topographic data. The

Illinois Water Survey is contracting with FEMA to do the mapping in Monroe County. PBS&J

Corporation is mapping St. Clair County. FMSM Engineers is mapping Madison County.

There are dual flood zones in the American Bottoms because the area is subject to flooding from

tributary streams as well as the Mississippi River. Areas subject to interior flooding will remain

as currently designated and subject to flood insurance restrictions regardless of what happens

with the Mississippi River Levees. The separate Interior Flood Control project may have an

impact on some of these areas if and when it is completed.

Contact information for mapping consultants: Illinois Water Survey -Sally McConkey 217-333-5482; PBSJ –

Mike DePue, MdePue@pbsj.com; FMSM – Don Armour, darmour@fmsm.com

The levees under consideration in the report address Mississippi River floodwaters only. Drainage from the bluffs

on the east side of the American Bottoms causes flooding on some of the tributaries, and that flooding is addressed

in a plan for interior flood control and habitat restoration that was completed by the St. Louis District of the Corps in

2003 and is authorized in the 2008 Water Resources Development Act.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Although the remapping process is occurring nationwide, the Missouri and Illinois portions of

the region are on different timetables because they are in different FEMA regions.

The

proposed changes to flood maps in Illinois may take effect two to three years before new maps

will be published in Missouri. To facilitate a more equitable process, on September 25, 2007,

Congressman Jerry Costello filed the following proposed amendment to H.R. 3121 relating to

the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968:

“USE OF MAPS FOR RATES The Director (of FEMA) shall not

adjust the chargeable premium rate for flood insurance under this

title based on an updated national flood insurance program rate

map or require the purchase of flood insurance for a property not

subject to such a requirement of purchase prior to the updating of

such national flood insurance program rate map until an updated

national flood insurance rate map is completed for the entire

district of the Corps of Engineers affected by the map, as

determined by the district engineer for such district.”

If enacted, the Costello amendment could potentially give the four Illinois levee districts two or

three years to raise funds and make necessary repairs of the design deficiencies, but such an

extension will still require an extraordinary effort in order to complete design and engineering

studies and build the necessary relief wells before the NFIP flood insurance rate maps are

finalized.

B. Restoration Zone (AR Zone) Designation

The National Flood Insurance Program requires FEMA to map areas that are not certified to

protect against a 100-year flood as Special Flood Hazard Areas, but it also allows FEMA to map

areas previously shown as protected by a levee as a “Restoration Zone” (AR Zone). Because the

American Bottoms has historically been protected by levees and work has begun to continue to

provide that protection, FEMA suggests that an AR designation would provide many short-term

benefits. In a letter sent to all affected communities, dated October 5, 2007, FEMA suggested

that the levees might meet requirements for AR Zone designation (Appendix B

AR Zone

indicates that the increased flood hazard is considered temporary and that restoration of

protection is underway. An application to FEMA that is submitted before January 30, 2008

would allow sufficient time for FEMA to make a determination and incorporate the designation

in FEMA’s preliminary maps.

The application process requires that communities currently designated as protected make a

written request to be considered for AR Zone. According to FEMA, “communities” means all of

the communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program. The communities

include cities, villages and counties representing the unincorporated areas. In an area such as the

American Bottoms where there are many communities, FEMA will accept a joint application as

long as it includes a request letter signed by the chief elected official from each of the cities,

Illinois is in Region V, headquartered in Chicago and Missouri is in Region VII, headquartered in Kansas City.

How the mapping schedule in Illinois might be affected by the amendment is difficult to predict with certainty

because it depends on progress in other areas.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

villages and counties.

The request will need to include technical information about how the

plan to correct design deficiencies will be implemented over a period not to exceed ten years, if

being done in cooperation with a federal agency (or five years if a non-federal project). Each

community will also be responsible for adopting a resolution passed by the city or county

legislative body – saying they want to apply for the AR Zone designation, that they have not

applied before, that they are not in litigation over levees, and that they have a plan to meet

requirements for federally supported restoration. The communities must also be certified by the

Corps that they are protected against a 33- year flood, a requirement that the Corps has indicated

will likely be met, based on a survey currently underway.

For the purpose of determining future development restrictions, the law makes a distinction

between “developed” and “undeveloped” areas. A community must adopt a map or legal

description designating the developed area, to be submitted with the AR Zone request. As

defined in the rule at 44 CFR 59.1(a)-(c) the developed area encompasses the larger urbanized

area as well as isolated developed subdivisions beyond the urbanized area. Developed area also

recognizes vested land development interests by identifying land that is planned and permitted

and where construction is underway. FEMA indicates that while the communities will need to

include a map of developed areas in the initial application, the map may be later amended to

include any additional areas that are developed (or where construction has begun) during the

time before the map becomes official. After FEMA sends the letter of final determination on the

AR Zone, the communities will then have time to legally adopt their official map.

C. Benefits of AR Zone

The AR Zone designation helps eligible communities establish levee restoration plans that, when

implemented properly, will allow the communities to remove the SFHA designation from the

previously protected areas as soon as the levee system is restored. With this AR Zone

designation indicating that a restoration plan is in place, developers will be more confident in the

long-term success of their investments.

There are other significant benefits. The flood insurance premium rates are lower in SFHAs

designated AR Zone than the rates in SFHAs with other flood insurance risk zone designations.

Rates in the AR Zone are similar to the rates available to people who have purchased insurance

while the area is recognized as protected and grandfathered into the required program. The

structure elevation requirements in AR Zone areas are more relaxed than the elevation

requirements in other SFHAs

. The designation of AR Zone areas also provides a strong

incentive for communities to expeditiously restore base flood protection in at-risk areas.

There are currently three communities in the Metro East that are not part of the NFIP that can be included in the

requested application. If they applied on their own, they would not be eligible. However, the remapping process can

include these communities in a joint application. Therefore it is considered preferable to consolidate the process,

with each of the counties to apply for the AR Zone designation on behalf of all communities. See Appendix B for a

list of all elements needed for a request.

In areas designated as AR Zone, the minimum elevation required for all new construction in areas identified as

developed is 3 feet above the highest adjacent grade or the AR Zone Base Flood Elevation, whichever is lower. For

new construction in AR Zone that is outside areas already designated as developed, the requirement is 3 feet in areas

where base flood depth are projected to be less than five feet or the AR Zone Base Flood Elevation for any areas

where the projected flood depths exceed 5 feet.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

D. Zone A99

As adequate progress is made on any levee reconstruction project, a community may request

FEMA to revise the AR Zone designation to A99. Zone A99 designation indicates that for

insurance rating purposes, the levee is considered complete. However, NFIP insurance

requirements still apply.

Adequate progress includes: 100% project funding authorized; 60%

appropriated; 50% project cost expended and all critical features as determined by FEMA are

under construction and at least 50% completed. The Zone A99 designation is based on the

protection from base flood (100-year flood). As soon as FEMA is notified that the project is

complete, FEMA can remap the area to delineate a flood-protected zone.

While insurance is still required, it will be offered at the lower rates available in protected zones.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

IV. Current Status of Deficient Illinois Levees

Although all of the levees in the American Bottoms held during the 1993 flood, all of them

required flood fighting – use of sand bagging around sand boils that occur from underseepage,

additional rock brought in to shore up certain areas, etc. According to FEMA rules, the Corps of

Engineers was asked to certify that the levees would hold without support of flood fighting. At

that juncture, the Corps determined that by its own rules governing levels of safety they could

not certify that the levees are capable of providing base flood protection.

The Corps requires that levees exceed minimum design requirements and they measure it by

something called a Factor of Safety (FS). Factor of Safety is a calculation of the risk that a

failure will occur. Therefore, although an FS of 1.0 means that a structure meets minimum

theoretical design requirements the Corps requires a minimum FS of 1.6 to provide a margin of

safety, thereby reducing the risk that a structural failure will occur. Tables 2 through 5 on the

next few pages specifically show in the far right hand column how seepage deficiencies are rated

with the Factor of Safety.

The Corps of Engineers studies to date have all focused on maintaining a 500-year flood

protection. However, FEMA requirements for the remapping process require that the levees only

need to protect for a base flood, a less stringent requirement. Therefore, the Corps cost estimates

and much of the projected work reported here exceed the minimum necessary to meet base flood

protection. It is difficult to separate out costs, since much of the project work addresses

structural aspects of the levees. Data available at the beginning of this process in September

2007 was therefore based on estimated costs for 500-year protection. The Corps has been

providing updated analyses as they develop estimates for protection for base flood levels. Table

6 in Section V provides the most up to date information available.

The federal government requires that all Corps projects have a 35% local match contribution,

except for federally owned projects. The Chain of Rocks levee borders the barge canal that is a

federal project, so it does not require a local match.

Wood River Drainage and Levee District

The Corps of Engineers divides the Wood River District into three parts, because there are three

independent levee systems in the district. Table 2 (on pages 23 and 24) provides a summary of

the deficiencies for each of the three sections.

Over the last several months the Corps has worked to define actual costs to improve the levee to

base flood protection. The Corps has now determined that to meet the base flood protection,

they must build 60 relief wells for underseepage control at a cost of approximately $4 million.

Moreover, in order to complete the certification of the levee at the 33-year flood as required for

the AR Zone designation, the Corps is looking for other funds internally to complete an

assessment of the condition of gravity drains. In the short term, to meet the base flood protection

the Corps will work with the levee district to create an operational protocol for use in case of

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

rising waters. They expect to have the evaluation of the drains and the protocol in place in time

to meet the January 30 date for submitting the AR Zone application.

Table 2a

Deficiencies in the Wood River Drainage and Levee District – Upper Levee System

Levee Feature

Type

Cause of

Potential

Problems

Total Number of

Features

Number of

Features

Affected by 100-

Yr Flood

Predicted Performance During

a 100-Yr Flood

Gates

Corrosion of

Steel Gates

No Anticipated Problems

Except For Gate Leakage

Anticipate Seepage Problems

Anticipate Problems w/ CMPs

Past Poor Performance

1973 2 – 60” CMPs Failed

CMP= Corrugated Metal Pipe

* Lined With 54” HDPE Pipe

Source: USACE, St. Louis District

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Table 2b

Deficiencies in Wood River Drainage and Levee District – Lower Levee System

Levee Feature

Type

Cause of

Potential

Problems

Total Number of

Features

Number of

Features Affected

by 100-Yr Flood

Predicted Performance During

a 100-Yr Flood

Gates

Corrosion of

Steel Gates

No Anticipated Problems

Except For Gate Leakage

Anticipate Seepage Problems

Anticipate Problems w/ CMPs

Past Poor Performance

1993 1 – 60” CMP Failed

2005 1 – 72” CMP Failed

(Riverside of Gatewell)

* Lined With 54” HDPE Pipe

Table 2c

Deficiencies in Wood River Drainage and Levee District – East & West Forks

Levee Feature

Type

Cause of

Potential

Problems

Total Number of

Features

Number of

Features Affected

by 100-Yr Flood

Predicted Performance During

a 100-Yr Flood

Gates

Corrosion of

Steel Gates

No Anticipated Problems

Except For Gate Leakage

No Anticipated Problems

Anticipate Problems w/ CMPs

Source (2b and 2c): USACE, St. Louis District

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

The Corps estimates a total cost of $33 million to re-establish 500-year protection along the

Wood River Levee. The Corps is developing plans for lining the larger pipes (36 inches and

larger) and replacing any smaller pipes that are showing signs of failure. Additional relief wells

are also needed. Local match required for all reconstruction work will be approximately $11.5

million.

Now that the Water Resources Development Act of 2008 (WRDA) has become law, the Wood

River Levee District 500-year levee protection project is authorized. If the 2008 federal budget

provides an appropriation for the project ($685,000 is in the House version of the bill), it will

enable work to start on the levee repair. The levee district will need $621,000 to meet it 35%

obligation and catch up on its share of match from earlier work. Madison County has committed

to making a loan to the levee district to cover any shortfall in levee district funds for that initial

match, and the county will make that funding available in early 2008. In addition, the levee

district is implementing a reassessment in this fiscal year that will take effect by the end of 2008.

This reassessment will enable the district to raise close to $1 million per year, and to offer bonds

to pay, in advance of federal funding, for reconstruction to protect at the base flood elevation

requirements.

In order to begin work under the federal cost share program once federal funds are appropriated,

Madison County and the Corps will need to sign a Project Cooperation Agreement (PCA) that

details cost sharing arrangements. It is possible to write that agreement so that the county can

front load its share of the costs, and receive credit for its local match to federal dollars.

However, this may be risky since payback would be contingent on congressional approval of

future appropriations. Therefore, the Corps Headquarters and the Assistant Secretary of the

Army are reluctant to approve such agreements.

With all money in hand, the Corps estimates a minimum of 18 months to two years to complete

the 60 relief wells that should bring certification for base flood protection. (The process requires

design of the relief wells, contracting for the work, permits, and then construction.)

Chain of Rocks

The Chain of Rocks levee is a 100% federally funded project that is fully authorized and will be

completed in approximately five to seven years at current rates of federal appropriations.

Authorized at $46,400,000, the project is nearly half complete. There is $4.5 million in the FY

08 Budget, and $22.4 million that remains to be appropriated. This levee provides critical

protection to the central region of the Metro East Sanitary District; therefore the certification of

Local Corps officials said that it is theoretically possible to obtain a PCA that commits the Corps to credit local

funds expended in advance, if and when appropriations are ever made, without guaranteeing that the appropriation

will be made. A commitment can also offer potential for reimbursement of local funds, if the amount spent locally

exceeds that total amount necessary for local match, but it likewise does not provide a guarantee. In the case of St.

Louis City, an effort to obtain special legislation that would commit the Corps to provide reimbursement of local

funds spent before there was a congressional appropriation was unsuccessful in 2007. The Corps and the City are

now waiting to see if there is an appropriation, which will enable the city to expend money with confidence that it

will be reimbursed. If there is no appropriation (due to continuing resolutions on the federal budget), representatives

from the Corps suggest that the City may seek to act on a PCA that does not guarantee credit or reimbursement of

expenditures.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

the entire district will be contingent on completion of repairs to Chain of Rocks and the Metro

East Levee.

Table 3

Deficiencies in Chain of Rocks Canal East Levee

Levee Feature

Type

Cause of

Potential

Problems

Total Number

of Features

Number of

Features Affected

by 100-Yr Flood

Predicted Performance During

a 100-Yr Flood

No Anticipated Problems when

implementing USACE Flood

Operating Plan

Drains

No Anticipated Problems

Source: USACE, St. Louis District

Metro East Sanitary District

The East St. Louis Levee will require an estimated $40 million to restore. The Engineering

Design Report, which is 40% complete, will be finished in September 2008, at which time more

accurate figures will be available. The initial rehabilitation project for this levee was authorized

and has a $2.5 million appropriation. Table 4 below shows the identified deficiencies.

Table 4

Deficiencies in Metro East Sanitary District

Levee Feature

Type

Cause of

Potential

Problems

Total Number

of Features

Number of

Features Affected

by 100-Yr Flood

Predicted Performance During

a 100-Yr Flood

Gates

Corrosion of

Steel Gates

015

No Anticipated Problems 2

Anticipate Seepage Problems

Anticipate Problems w/unlined

CMPs

Source: USACE, St. Louis District

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

At current rates of appropriation, which the Corps estimates at $4 million per year, this project

will take seven years (beginning in 2009) to complete, and require a total of $14 million in local

match or $2 million per year over the seven years. Legal authority may determine that the

district can use its Liability and Tort Fund revenues to advance its share of the project cost, and

thus complete reconstruction to base flood protection. However, since Chain of Rocks and

Metro East are a combined levee system, the protection will only be available when both are

certified.

Prairie Du Pont and Fish Lake Districts

Although the problems are identified by each district these two levees are treated as one project

by the Corps of Engineers as they plan the Design Deficiency Study. The Corps has identified

potential problems with the levees as shown in Tables 5a and 5b.

Table 5a

Deficiencies in Prairie Du Pont Levee and Sanitary District

Levee Feature

Type

Cause of

Potential

Problems

Total Number of

Features

Number of

Features

Affected by 100-

Yr Flood

Predicted Performance During

a 100-Yr Flood

Gates

Corrosion of

Steel Gates

No Anticipated Problems - 2

Anticipate Seepage Problems

Anticipate Problems w/ unlined

CMPs

* Lined With HDPE Pipe

Source: USACE, St. Louis District

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Table 5b

Deficiencies in Fish Lake Drainage and Levee District

Levee Feature

Type

Cause of

Potential

Problems

Total Number

of Features

Number of

Features Affected

by 100-Yr Flood

Predicted Performance During

a 100-Yr Flood

Anticipate Seepage Problems

Anticipate Problems w/unlined

CMPs

Source: USACE, St. Louis District

The Corps estimates $2 million is needed for the Design Deficiency Study, of which $700,000

will be required as local match. Since the two districts combined bring in only $165,000

annually, there is concern about meeting the local match even for this initial reconnaissance.

The Prairie Du Pont District reports that it has already committed to put up $250,000 of

necessary match toward the proposed Corps study and has an agreement from St. Clair County to

cover the rest. They are hoping to secure a portion from Monroe County and the Fish Lake

District.

Reconstruction costs are not known at this time, but the Corps has given an unofficial estimate of

$20-25 million. The length of levee that has been identified as potentially deficient is

approximately the same as the Chain of Rocks levee, and that project cost is $46 million;

therefore, a worst case estimate could reach $52 million with inflation factored in over a ten year

period. Conservatively then, the local match required is in the range of $7 million to $18.2

million.

Levee district officials in Fish Lake and Prairie Du Pont have stated that they intend to ask the

Corps of Engineers to re-consider the decertification of the levees in that area. Citing the fact

that the levees effectively withstood the 1993 and 1995 floods and that since that time the levees

have had significant updates to pumps and gates, district officials do not believe that the levees

should be decertified without more research. Their recommendation is that the levees be

provisionally certified

pending the results of the Design Deficiency Study proposed by the

Corps of Engineers. The levee officials say they support the importance of the Design

Deficiency Study, but argue that without the study there is no sound basis for decertification

now.

The PAL – Provisionally Accredited Levee – procedure was established primarily to assist levee owners, the

community, or local project sponsors by providing additional time to gather full documentation on a levee that is

eventually expected to be accredited. Such provisional accreditation will rely on close cooperation with the Corps

of Engineers.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

V. Project Costs and Schedule

The total cost to address all design deficiencies and reconstruction in the five levees that

comprise the Southwestern Illinois levee system presented in this report will be somewhere

between $136 and $180 million in year of expenditure dollars.

Since the Corps has not

completed necessary studies, particularly in the Prairie Du Pont and Fish Lake Districts, this is a

very preliminary estimate, but it is a good indication of the scale of funding required to restore

the flood protection system in the region.

Ultimately these expenditures will bring the levees up to the 500-year base level of protection.

To date, federal project authorizations total $78.5 million and $28.1 million has been

appropriated. It is important to realize at this stage that not all levees will be eligible for

certification at the same time. However, given a proactive strategy and disciplined schedule to

correct the deficiencies it is reasonable that each levee in the system can be certified within the

10 year time period allowed by the AR Zone classification.

As noted above, progress in necessary studies and repair activities for each district varies widely

in terms of congressional authorization, rates of federal appropriation and capacity for local

sponsorship.

Below in Table 6 is a summary of the current status of each of the five levees, and a visual image

of the levees and financial requirements is shown in Figure 11.

In order to pay for construction work, the Corps depends on authorizing legislation for each

individual project, and a subsequent series of annual budget appropriations leading to completion

of the project. The slow pace of appropriations could significantly delay project completion.

The Corps adheres to a specific protocol and sequence of project phases to ensure orderly

progress of engineering design and construction leading to completion of the project as shown in

Table 7.

The term “year of expenditure” means that the projected costs have been adjusted upward to include annual

inflation in construction costs.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Table 6

Summary of Estimated Project Costs and Status of Funding

Total

Repair and Reconstruction

Authorized/Appropriated

Authorized/Appropriated

Note: All dollar amounts in $ millions. When different time or cost estimates have been provided by sources for this report, the longer time

period and higher cost estimate is shown.

Costs shown are in year of expenditure dollars, adjusted for inflation.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Table 7

Fiscal Capacity of Levee Districts

Total

Equalized Assessed Valuation

Tort liability fund potential: add $6,698,104

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Table 8

Corps of Engineers Levee Project Phases

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

A normal Reconnaissance Report, the first order of business for the Corps, leading to a

Feasibility Report, takes about twelve months to complete. A Feasibility Report can take three

to four years. The next project phase is Preconstruction Engineering & Design, which can take

two years or more to complete and includes the Engineering and Design Study. Typically each

of these processes is funded separately and requires a separate Project Cooperation Agreement

(PCA) signed between the Corps and the levee district(s). Before a PCA can be signed,

Congress must authorize the project and at least some funds must be appropriated. The

Construction Phase, which includes any real estate acquisition and plans and specifications for

construction can also take two years or more.

The Corps has indicated they have a well-defined administrative system to assure expeditious

letting of contracts for construction and re-construction work. The final project phase is the

Certification Study conducted by the Corps and funded by Inspection of Completed Works

(ICW) federal funds. Operations and Maintenance falls on the shoulders of the local sponsors

and levee districts, with periodic inspections done by the Corps. As Table 7 indicates, following

this typical process can easily require twenty years, and ten years for a project from start to finish

is exceptional.

There have been circumstances where local sponsors have exceeded the local cost share in order

to expedite a certified levee project. Congress cannot, however, guarantee that the local sponsor

will be reimbursed or credited in such a case. As part of a PCA, credits can be granted and the

non-federal sponsor can accelerate a project. However, special care must be taken to draft

appropriate language in the PCA to facilitate the potential for subsequent credit or

reimbursement from the federal government.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

VI. Next Steps – A Path to Rebuilding

A coordinated regional strategy will be the most effective way to address the repair and

restoration of the flood control system in Southwestern Illinois. There are four levee districts

that are individually responsible for maintaining flood control facilities, along with the Chain of

Rocks Canal levee maintained by the Corps. The future of the five facilities are inextricably

linked. Failure of any one will have regional consequences. We are therefore recommending

that the leadership of the counties and levee districts adopt an overall regional strategy. That

strategy might include the following next steps, all of which should be substantially

accomplished by the end of January 2008:

A. Creation of a Leadership Task Force

The three affected counties should consider establishing a task force that can provide

leadership in devising a strategy for action that includes development of a plan for repair

and restoration of the levees that will most quickly secure FEMA protected zone status.

The task force should have members from the public and private sectors and include

representation by the affected levee districts.

The task force can be staffed by a public agency such as East-West Gateway Council of

Governments or by private consultants. The group can provide a regular source of advice

and feedback in the development and implementation of a plan and provide a source of

local influence in obtaining support from other political entities.

B. Immediate Application for “AR Zone” Protected Status

In the absence of an immediate response, the decertification of levees will result in large

areas being designated as special flood hazard areas when preliminary flood insurance

rate maps are released in early 2008. This is the same designation that would be used if

there were no levees at all in place and the area was completely unprotected from

flooding. While those maps will not become final until approximately May 2009, the

uncertainty and doubt created by the unprotected designation will have a chilling effect

on plans and prospects for economic growth. The AR Zone is a transitional designation

that recognizes that the area has been adequately protected from flooding in the past and

is now in a transitional process to restore that protection. The AR Zone designation

confirms there is a plan to restore the levees and also provides significant relief in the

insurance rates and requirements for new development. Further, it will signal that there is

a plan in place that will fully restore adequate flood protection within ten years.

FEMA has indicated that a joint application representing all communities involved in the

National Flood Insurance Program will be an effective means of applying for the AR

Zone. There are a number of specific steps required to qualify for AR Zone status.

Those steps must be completed by the end of January 2008 to be assured that the

preliminary maps will reflect the transitional status of the area. Completing the

requirements will require an immediate mobilization of efforts to develop a financing

plan and implementation plan. It will also require the agreement of every incorporated

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

area to comply with the terms of AR status. For a complete list of all of the steps to

qualify for AR designation

see Appendix B.

C. Development of a Ten-Year Plan to Restore the Flood Protection System

The progress of each of the levee districts and the Corps in determining and repairing

flood control facilities is uneven. The most advanced in the process is the Wood River

Levee District, which has most or all of the needed federal funding now authorized

although only partially appropriated. By contrast, the Fish Lake and Prairie Du Pont

districts have very little funding in place and no planning and design work has been done.

None of the districts, however, has made sufficient progress to avoid decertification and

flood zone designation in the final flood insurance maps to be issued in May 2009. It

appears that all are considering a plan to secure necessary funds to meet the local

required match on the federal projects. Identifying the source of matching funds is

needed to meet federal certification requirements. What is not so clear is whether the

counties might have funds to move forward with the work without waiting for the slow

process of the federal government funding.

To qualify for the beneficial AR Zone status, the community will have ten years to

restore the flood control system. A ten-year plan would include financial, design and

construction elements. While a ten-year plan can include use of federal funding to pay

for 65% of the costs, at the current pace of appropriations (especially considering that

much of the needed work is not yet authorized by Congress) ten years is an optimistic

scenario for completion of all the work necessary to restore the levees. Any plan must

therefore consider options for state and local funding that can speed the process of

reconstruction, as well as options for speeding the planning, design and construction

work should the Corps not be able to meet the ambitious schedule. FEMA has already

indicated that an AR Zone application should use the full ten years allotted in describing

the plan for completing the reconstruction, and notes that a more rapid completion will

enable an earlier re-certification of the levees.

D. Secure Expert Assistance in Financing and Engineering

Given the substantial legal, financial, design and construction issues that will need to be

addressed by local leadership, it will be useful to retain independent experts to advise on

these subjects. While federal officials will continue to support local efforts at levee

repair, the local leadership should have the benefit of independent advice on complex

financial and engineering questions to be able, for example, to challenge the flood

insurance maps or to work with the Corps to reduce the costs of needed repairs.

E. Community Engagement

Citizens and businesses will need to be fully aware of the risks of living in the flood

plain, even when it is protected by levees. Further, the public and the business

community will need to be partners in the adopted strategy of levee restoration.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

If the counties agree to pursue a designation of AR Zone for the short term, then the

community engagement process will also be important in obtaining the necessary

resolutions in all of the affected cities and in building support for any necessary local

funding to pay for the work that needs to be done to restore the levees as quickly as

possible.

The community engagement effort should strongly emphasize the need for property

owners to purchase flood insurance at favorable rates prior to the final maps being

published in 2009. If this opportunity is lost, financial consequences on those property

owners will be magnified considerably.

F. Secure Funding for Immediate Activities

Funding will be immediately required to maintain the current pace of local planning

efforts to secure the AR Zone status, develop the ten-year strategy and plan for levee

restoration, to form and staff the task force, and to retain appropriate expert assistance to

support good decision-making by area leadership.

East-West Gateway may have approximately $200,000 available from the new

comprehensive planning program for regional planning commissions that was recently

authorized by the Illinois legislature to support staff efforts. Additional funds may be

necessary to retain outside experts when needed.

It is critically important, given the substantial public safety and economic consequences

involved, that the efforts to restore the flood control system in Southwestern Illinois move

forward with energy and urgency. This will require a high degree of cooperation between local,

state and federal authorities, and the full participation of the private sector. If the above steps

can be substantially accomplished by the end of January 2008, that will send a signal to the

federal government, the public and area businesses, that the regional leadership is engaged and

focused on this important problem.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Appendix A: River Stages

Mississippi River Flood Stage Impacts

The Metro East St. Louis and Fish Lake levees which protect 71,000 acres

are overtopped.

52.0

St. Louis floodwall is overtopped.

50.6

This the 500-year frequency level.

49.6

This is the RECORD FLOOD LEVEL that was reached on August 1,

1993.

49.0

Hartford IL Public Water supply is threatened.

48.0

The Harrisonville and Prairie Du Pont Levees protect 37,360 acres.

47.9

This level is expected to be met or exceeded on average once every 200

year.

47.7

The Columbia levee protects 14,000 acres.

46.1

This river level is expected to be exceeded once in every 100 years.

44.1

This river level is expected to be exceeded once in every 50 years.

44.1

Chouteau Island Pump Station begins to flood. Power to the Chouteau

Island Pump Station disconnected.

43.2

This flood level was reached on April 28, 1973.

42.0

Riverview Boulevard in City of St. Louis becomes flooded.

42.0

This level is expected to be met or exceeded on average once every 25

years.

41.1

This level is expected to be met or exceeded on average once every 20

years.

40.0

Major flooding begins. At this level the Chouteau Island levee, protecting

2,400 acres is overtopped.

38.5

This river level is expected to be exceeded once in every 10 years.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Railroad tracks become flooded.

35.8

This level is expected to be met or exceeded on average once every five

years.

35.0

Moderate flooding begins.

33.0

Floodwall at Prairie Street in the City of St. Louis is closed.

31.0

Water begins entering the downtown parking garage.

30.0

Floodwall at Laclede’s Landing in City of St. Louis is closed. Also this

level is expected to be met or exceeded on average once every two years.

26.0

At 26 feet, several levees protect 2,000 acres.

18.5

Levee parking begins to be inundated.

Source: National Weather Service http://www.weather.gov/ahps/forecasts.php

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Appendix B: FEMA Notification Letter and AR Zone Submittal Requirements

DEACCREDITATION NOTIFICATION LETTER

[Mr./Ms.] (Full Name of Community official)

(Title of Community Official)

(Address)

(City, State Abbreviation, and Zip Code)

Dear

[Mr./Ms.] (Last Name of Community Official)

This letter is in regard to the levees shown on the effective Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) and in

the effective Flood Insurance Study (FIS) reports for communities in Madison, St. Clair and Monroe

Counties in Illinois. As you may know, the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA), is in the process of producing new flood risk maps for the nation and, as

part of that effort, countywide FIS reports and Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRM) will be

issued for Madison, St. Clair, and Monroe Counties.

As part of FEMA’s effort to produce the DFIRM, it was determined that the flood hazard information

presented on the effective FIRM and in the effective FIS report is based, in some areas, on flood

protection provided by at least one of five levee systems in the Metro East area that include the following:

Wood River Drainage & Levee District

Chain of Rocks Levee

Metro East Sanitary District

Prairie Du Pont Levee & Sanitary District

Fish Lake Drainage & Levee District

Based on the information available and on the mapping standards of the National Flood Insurance

Program (NFIP) at the time the FIS was performed, FEMA accredited these levee with providing

protection from the flood that has a 1-percent-chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

The 1-percent-annual-chance flood also is referred to as the base flood.

Recently, FEMA was informed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) that they have

determined the levees identified above do not meet the requirements set forth in the Code of Federal

Regulations, Title 44, Section 65.10 (44 CFR 65.10), entitled “Mapping of Areas Protected by Levee

Systems”. Since the levees and levee systems identified above do not meet the requirements set forth in

44 CFR 65.10, they will be de-accredited and therefore will not be shown on the future DFIRM as

providing protection from the base flood.

You were invited to a meeting hosted by the East West Gateway Council of Governments and

Congressman Jerry Costello that was held on August 29, 2007 to discuss the status of the levees and

FEMA’s de-accreditation process. The area landward of the levee will be mapped as a Special Flood

Hazard Area (SFHA) on the DFIRM when it is prepared. Therefore, federally regulated lenders will

require the purchase of flood insurance on loans secured by structures located in the de-accredited area

when the DFIRM becomes effective. In addition, continued participation in the NFIP will require your

community to adopt and enforce local floodplain management regulations in these areas. It is highly

evacuation plans for this area.

Please note, there is a provision in the NFIP regulations that may be used in unique situations to allow

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

FEMA to map the areas previously shown as being protected by the levee (accredited) as a “Restoration”

Zone (Zone AR). Initial information provided to us by the USACE indicates that these levees

may

meet

the requirements for Zone AR designation. In order to be considered, the Chief Elected Official must

provide a written request to FEMA for the restoration zone designation. There are specific submittal

requirements that must be included with the request. Attached are several documents that may help you

decide if you want to pursue the Zone AR designation. In order to be considered for a Zone AR

designation when the preliminary map is distributed, your official request package must be received by

this office by January 30, 2008.

FEMA will issue Preliminary Maps when the de-accredited mapping is completed. At that time, FEMA

will conduct a Flood Risk Information Open House and will meet with local officials and the public

regarding the revised maps. Following this meeting, a 90-day Appeal/Protest Period will be held. When

all Appeals/Protests are resolved, FEMA will issue the Letter of Final Determination. Final DFIRMs will

be distributed that will become effective 6 months after the date of the Letter of Final Determination.

We encourage you to inform property owners behind the levee of this change. FEMA has produced a

variety of outreach materials which can be used to educate and inform the public about the risks

associated with levees and how they can better protect themselves against those risks. These materials are

located online at: http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/fhm/lv_intro.shtm

If you need additional information or assistance, please contact Ms. Terry Reuss Fell, Chief of the

Floodplain Management & Insurance Branch, by email at www.terry.fell@dhs.gov

or by phone at 312-

408-5587.

Sincerely,

Mr. Norbert F. Schwartz, Director

Mitigation Division

FEMA Region V

Enclosures:

44 CFR Section 65.10: “Mapping of Areas Protected by Levee Systems

Submittal Requirements for Restoration Zone (Zone AR) – (2 pages)

Flood Control Restoration Zone Requirements (4 pages)

AR Zone 44 CFR Section 65.14, part 60.3(f), and definition of “developed area”

cc:

Levee Owners

(Community Floodplain Administrator)

Paul Osman, IL DNR/ NFIP State Coordinator

Mr. Les Sterman, EW Gateway Council of Governments

Colonel Lewis Setliff, USACE, St. Louis District

Senator Richard Durbin

Senator Barack Obama

Congressman Jerry Costello

Congressman John Shimkus

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Submittal Requirements for Restoration Zone (Zone AR)

March 15, 2006

Submittal Requirements for Restoration Zone (Zone AR)

Restoration Zone (Zone AR) is a Special Food Hazard Area zone designation that may be used in

areas where a Federal flood control system, such as a levee, that was certified as providing “base

flood” or “100-year” flood protection has been shown to no longer provide that level of protection.

A Federal agency, such as USACE, will notify FEMA and the communities of de-certification of

the levee. The Zone AR designation on the community’s Flood Insurance Rate Map indicates that

the increased flood hazard is considered temporary until the flood protection system can again

provide base flood protection. 44 Code of Federal Regulation (44 CFR) Section 65.14 of the

National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) regulations describes the procedures to follow and the

types of information FEMA requires to designate an area as Zone AR. Based on FEMA’s current

regulations, the following are the eligibility and submittal requirements that need to be met and

approved in order for FEMA to implement the Zone AR designation.

A community may be eligible to apply for this zone designation if FEMA determines that it is

engaged in the process of restoring a flood protection system that was:

•

Constructed using Federal funds;

•

Recognized as providing base flood protection on the community's effective FIRM; and

•

Decertified by a Federal agency responsible for flood protection design or construction.

The limitation of using this zone designation is that a community may have a flood control

restoration zone designation only once while restoring a flood protection system. This limitation

does not preclude future flood control restoration zone designations should a fully restored,

certified, and accredited system become decertified for a second or subsequent time.

A community that receives Federal funds for the purpose of designing or constructing, or both, the

restoration project must complete restoration not to exceed a maximum of 10 years from the date of

submittal of the community's application for designation of a flood control restoration zone.

A community that does not receive Federal funds for the purpose of constructing the restoration

project must complete restoration within a specified period, not to exceed a maximum of 5 years

from the date of submittal of the community's application for designation of a flood control

restoration zone.

The following list provides the application and submittal requirements for designation of a flood

control restoration zone.

•

The community must submit a written request, from the community CEO, to FEMA

requesting the restoration zone designation.

•

The request from the community CEO must include a legislative action by the community

requesting the designation.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Submittal Requirements for Restoration Zone (Zone AR)

March 15, 2006

•

At a minimum, the request from a community that receives Federal funds for the purpose

of designing, constructing, or both, the restoration project must include:

a. A statement whether, to the best of the knowledge of the community CEO, the flood

protection system is currently the subject matter of litigation before any Federal, State,

or local court or administrative agency, and if so, the purpose of that litigation;

b. A statement whether the community has previously requested a determination with

respect to the same subject matter from FEMA, and if so, a statement that details the

disposition of such previous request;

c. A statement from the community and certification by a Federal agency responsible for

flood protection design or construction (e.g., USACE) that the existing flood control

system shown on the effective FIRM was originally built using Federal funds; that it

no longer provides base flood protection; and that it continues to provide protection

from at least a 3-percent-annual-chance flood (33-year flood);

d. An official map of the community or legal description, with supporting documentation,

that the community will adopt as part of its floodplain management measures, which

designates developed areas as defined in 44 CFR Section 59.1 of the NFIP regulations

and as further defined in 44 CFR Paragraph 60.3(f) of the NFIP regulations;

e. A restoration plan to return the system to a level of base flood protection. At a

minimum, this plan must:

List all important project elements, such as acquisition of permits, approvals,

and contracts and construction schedules of planned features;

Identify anticipated start and completion dates for each element, as well as

significant milestones and dates; and

Identify the date on which “as built” drawings and certification for the

completed restoration project will be submitted. This date must provide for a

restoration period not to exceed the maximum allowable restoration period

(10-years using Federal funds or 5-years using non-Federal funds) for the

flood protection system.

f. A statement identifying the local project sponsor responsible for restoration of the

flood protection system;

g. A copy of a study, performed by a Federal agency responsible for flood protection

design or construction in consultation with the local project sponsor, which

demonstrates a Federal interest in restoration of the system and which deems that the

flood protection system is restorable to a level of base flood protection; and

h. A joint statement from the Federal agency responsible for flood protection design or

construction involved in restoration of the flood protection system and the local project

sponsor certifying that the design and construction of the flood control system involves

Federal funds, and that the restoration of the flood protection system will provide base

flood protection.

Please Note: There is no requirement of having funds appropriated for Federally funded

restoration projects. For non-Federally funded projects, all funding for the completion of the

restoration project must be appropriated before a Zone AR designation can be approved.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

44-48

Appendix C

FEMA Progress of Mapping Activities Nationwide

Click on the link above to access the 4 FEMA Maps - File size is about 8 mg.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Appendix D

Glossary

American Bottoms

Floodplain of the Mississippi River in southwestern Illinois which

extends from Alton south to the Kaskaskia River.

ASA/OMB

Assistance Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) and Office of

Management and Budget.

Establishes national goals, funding ceiling, guidance, ensures policy

compliance, measures performance.

BFE

Base Flood Elevation

The elevation of a flood having a 1-percent chance of being equaled

or exceeded in any given year.

Base Flood

The flood that has a 1 percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in

any given year. Synonymous with 100-Year Flood.

Berms

Horizontal strips or shelves of material built contiguous to the base of

either side of levee embankments for the purpose of providing

protection from underseepage and erosion, thereby increasing the

stability of the embankment or reducing seepage. Berms can be

located on either side of levees, depending upon their purpose.

CMP

Corrugated metal pipe, part of gravity drain system. Can be unlined

or lined with HDPE plastic pipe. Part of levee system.

New start construction funds or Construction, general.

Closure Devices

Any movable and essentially watertight barrier, used in flood periods

to close an opening in a levee, securing but not increasing the levee

design level of protection.

Community

Any state or area or political subdivision thereof that has the

authority to adopt and enforce floodplain management regulations for

the areas within its jurisdiction. (County, city, town, village, etc.)

D & LD

Drainage and levee district

Design Deficiency

Defined as a project that does not or never has adequately achieved

its purpose, has major structural oversights, or creates problems that

could have been foreseen.

EDR

Engineering (and design) documentation report.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Factor of Safety (FS)

Factor of Safety (FS) is a calculation of the risk that a failure will

occur. A factor of safety of 1.0 means that a structure meets

minimum theoretical design requirements. The Corps requires that

levees exceed minimum design requirements and have a FS of at

least 1.6.

FEMA

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Oversees the administration of the National Flood Insurance Program

FIRM

Flood Insurance Rate Map

Insurance and floodplain management map produced by FEMA that

identified area subject to flooding during a 1-percent flood event.

Flood

A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation

of normally dry land areas from (1) the overflow of inland or tidal

waters or (2) the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface

waters from any source.

Floodplain

A land area that is susceptible to being inundated by water from any

source.

Floodplain Management The operation of a program of corrective and preventative measures

for reducing flood damage, including, but not limited to, emergency

preparedness plans, flood control works and floodplain management

regulations.

Floodwalls

Concrete walls constructed adjacent to streams for the purpose of

preventing flooding of property on the landside of the wall; normally

constructed in lieu of or to supplement levees where the land required

for levee construction is more expensive or not available.

Gravity Outlets

Culverts, conduits, or other similar conveyance openings through the

line-of-protection that permit discharge of interior floodwaters

through the line-of-protection by gravity when the exterior stages are

relatively low. Gravity outlets are equipped with gates to prevent

river flows from entering the protected area during time of high

exterior stages.

L & SD

Levee and sewer district

LERRDs

Land, easements, right-of-ways, relocations and dredged materials

disposal areas.

Levee

A man-made structure, usually an earthen embankment, designed and

constructed in accordance with sound engineering practices to

contain, control or divert the flow of water so as to provide protection

in flood plain areas from temporary flooding.

Levee Breach

A levee that is ruptured, broken or overtopped.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Levee Decertification

An official action by FEMA where accreditation is removed. The

levee or levee system does not meet the standards in 44 CFR 65.10

and does not provide sufficient risk reduction against a base flood.

Levee System

Flood protection systems that includes all components that are

interconnected and necessary to insure flood and storm damage

reduction for the associated floodplain - levee/floodwall sections,

closure structures, pumping stations, culverts, interior drainage works

and system operation and maintenance. Such interconnected systems

are constructed and operated in accordance with sound engineering

practice.

Lines-of-Protection

Locations of levees or walls that prevent floodwaters from entering

an area.

Main and Tributary

Levees

Levees that lie along a main stream and its tributaries, respectively.

MVD

Mississippi Valley Division of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

St. Louis District part of this Division.

PCA

Project Cooperation Agreement

Agreement between Corps and non-Federal Project Sponsor defining

obligations of in construction, maintenance and cost sharing of

project. Delineates funding commitments. After PCA is signed,

construction can begin.

P&S

Design process and submittal requirements.

Piezometer

A small diameter water well used to measure the hydraulic head of

groundwater in aquifers. Similarly, it may also be a standpipe, tube,

vibrating wire piezometer or manometer used to measure the pressure

of a fluid at a specific location in a column.

Pressure Conduits

Closed conduits designed to convey interior flows through the line-

of-protection under internal pressure. The inlet to a pressure conduit

that discharges interior flows by force of gravity must be at a higher

elevation than the river stage against which it functions. Some

pressure conduits may serve as discharge conduits from pumping

stations.

Protected Zone

The floodplain behind a certified 100-year levee.

Provisionally Accredited

Levee (PAL)

A FEMA procedure which assists the levee owners, the community

or local project sponsors by providing additional time to gather full

documentation on levees or levee systems that is close to or expected

to receive FEMA accreditation.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008

Pumping Stations

Pumps located at or near the line-of-protection to discharge interior

flows over or through the levees or floodwalls (or through pressure

lines) when free outflow through gravity outlets is prevented by high

exterior stages.

RCP

Reinforced concrete pipe, part of gravity drain system. Part of levee

system.

Reconstruction

Defined as the project where the original constructed project

continues to deliver the full benefits intended by Congress at the time

of authorization.

A reconstruction project does not change or

expand the function or purpose of the project.

Stop Logs

Logs, planks, cut timber, steel, or concrete beams fitting into end

guides between walls or piers to close openings in levees, floodwalls,

dams, or other hydraulic structures. The stop logs are usually handled

or placed one at a time. Part of levee system.

Street Gates

Closure gates used during flood periods to close roadway openings

through levees or floodwalls.

Tie Back Levees

Levees that extend from the main levees along rivers, lakes, or coasts

to bluff lines (high ground) and are part of the line-of-protection.

USACE

United States Army Corps of Engineers

WRDA

Water Resources Development Act Authorization bill that deems a

project eligible for future funding.

Electronic Filing - Received, Clerk's Office, January 18, 2008