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<br />FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS: <br />A LOOK AT KANSAS LEVEES <br /> <br />r <br />r <br /> <br />by <br /> <br />J <br />~ <br />, <br />! <br /> <br />Lisa Bourget! <br />Johnny Green1 <br /> <br />ABSTRACT <br /> <br />;t' <br /> <br />if <br /> <br />The 1993 flood damaged more than a hundred levees in the state of Kansas alone. In the spirit of <br />nania, an inter-agency team was formed to inspect all levees in the state submitted to any of the <br />participating agencies for assistance, excluding only those that were already clearly eligible for <br />funding through active participation in the Corps of Engineers' PL 84-99 program. This levee <br />inspection team included representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the <br />Corps of Engineers, the Soil Conservation Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the <br />Environmental Protection Agency, and the State of Kansas Division of Water Resources. <br /> <br />.f <br /> <br />~. <br /> <br />?: <br />r <br /> <br />The team inspected and documented the damage to approximately 100 levees. Many agricultural <br />levees were damaged, and the team met with landowners and farm operators, as well as the <br />occasional levee drainage district. The team considered the eligibility criteria for each agency that <br />could provide funding assistance (FEMA, SCS, or USACE). It also assessed potential for the <br />anticipated Emergency Wetland Reserve Program that was being considered by the legislature at <br />the time. The team recognized that political action might change the criteria for any program at <br />any time, but recommended referral to the appropriate agency, or no agency, based on the criteria <br />then in effect. <br /> <br />r <br />! <br /> <br />This presentation will focus on inter -agency cooperation in jointly considering each's eligibility <br />criteria, the nature and extent of the damage observed, the reactions of the landowners and <br />operators, and the maintenance and sponsorship issues that preventl~d most levees from being <br />referred to an agency for assistance. <br /> <br />Lisa Bourget, Engineering Director, Dewberry & Davis, 8401 Arlington Boulevard, Fairfax, Virginia <br />22031, Tel. (703) 849-0476 <br /> <br />2 <br /> <br />Johnny Green, Assistant State Conservation Engineer, USDA - Soil Conservation Service, 760 South <br />Broadway, Salina, Kansas 67401, Tel. (913) 823-4525 <br />