§3303 — Title 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary must create and keep a national levee database within 1 year of December 16, 2016. The database must list where federal levees are (including GIS info) and include updates from states, tribes, regional districts, federal agencies, and others. It must note the general condition of each levee and estimate how many buildings and people would be hurt if a levee failed or was overtopped. The Secretary must share all database information with federal, state, regional, tribal, and local governments, and must publish levee locations and any other parts of the database the Secretary chooses for the public. The Secretary must inventory and inspect levees: federally owned and run levees at federal cost; federally built but not federally run levees at the project’s original cost share; and non‑federal levees that ask for inspection if their owners are in the emergency response program, with the federal share at 65 percent. The Secretary must do a one-time review of all levees in the database, decide if some need a deeper inspection using the levee safety action classification criteria, and allow state, regional, or tribal officials to join reviews or get information. The review does not make the federal government responsible for building, operating, or maintaining a levee. For each levee inspected or reviewed, the Secretary must identify any engineering or maintenance problems, describe fixes, and provide cost estimates if a non‑federal owner asks. The Secretary must consult and let non‑federal interests comment during these steps.

Title 33, §3303

Navigation and Navigable Waters — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Not later than 1 year after December 16, 2016, the Secretary shall establish and maintain a database with an inventory of the Nation’s levees.

(2)The database shall include—

(A)location information of all Federal levees in the Nation (including global information system information) and updated levee information provided by States, regional districts, Indian tribes, Federal agencies, and other entities;

(B)utilizing such information as is available, the general condition of each levee; and

(C)an estimate of the number of structures and population at risk and protected by each levee that would be adversely impacted if the levee fails or water levels exceed the height of the levee.

(3)(A)The Secretary shall make all of the information in the database available to appropriate Federal, State, regional, tribal, and local governmental agencies.

(B)The Secretary shall make the information in the database described in paragraph (2)(A), and such other information in the database as the Secretary determines appropriate, available to the public.

(b)(1)The Secretary, at Federal expense, shall establish an inventory and conduct an inspection of all federally owned and operated levees.

(2)The Secretary shall establish an inventory and conduct an inspection of all federally constructed, non-federally operated and maintained levees, at the original cost share for the project.

(3)For non-Federal levees the owners of which are participating in the emergency response to natural disasters program established under section 701n of this title, the Secretary shall establish an inventory and conduct an inspection of each such levee if the owner of the levee requests such inspection. The Federal share of the cost of an inspection under this paragraph shall be 65 percent.

(c)(1)The Secretary shall carry out a one-time inventory and review of all levees identified in the national levee database.

(2)The inventory and inspection under paragraph (1) does not create a Federal interest in the construction, operation, or maintenance of any levee that is included in the inventory or inspected under this subsection.

(3)In carrying out the inventory and review, the Secretary shall use the levee safety action classification criteria to determine whether a levee should be classified in the inventory as requiring a more comprehensive inspection.

(4)At the request of a State, regional district, or Indian tribe with respect to any levee subject to review under this subsection, the Secretary shall—

(A)allow an official of the State, regional district, or Indian tribe to participate in the review of the levee; and

(B)provide information to the State, regional district, or Indian tribe relating to the location, construction, operation, or maintenance of the levee.

(5)In carrying out the inventory and review under this subsection, the Secretary shall not be required to review any levee that has been inspected by a State, regional district, or Indian tribe using the same methodology described in paragraph (3) during the 1-year period immediately preceding June 10, 2014, if the Governor of the State or chief executive of the regional district or tribal government, as applicable, requests an exemption from the review.

(d)(1)For each levee included in an inventory established under subsection (b) or for which the Secretary has conducted a review under subsection (c), the Secretary shall—

(A)identify the specific engineering and maintenance deficiencies, if any; and

(B)describe the recommended remedies to correct each deficiency identified under subparagraph (A), and, if requested by owner of a non-Federal levee, the associated costs of those remedies.

(2)In identifying deficiencies and describing remedies for a levee under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consult with relevant non-Federal interests, including by providing an opportunity for comment by those non-Federal interests.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2020—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–260 added subsec. (d). 2016—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 114–322, § 1130(b)(1)(A), substituted “1 year after

December 16, 2016,” for “one year after

November 8, 2007,”. Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 114–322, § 1130(b)(1)(B), substituted “States, regional districts, Indian tribes, Federal agencies, and other entities” for “States, Indian tribes, Federal agencies, and other entities”. Subsec. (a)(3)(A). Pub. L. 114–322, § 1130(b)(1)(C), substituted “Federal, State, regional, tribal, and local” for “Federal, State, and local” in heading and text. Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 114–322, § 1130(b)(2)(A), substituted “State, regional, and tribal” for “State and tribal” in heading and “State, regional district, or Indian tribe” for “State or Indian tribe” wherever appearing in text. Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 114–322, § 1130(b)(2)(B), substituted “State, regional district, or Indian tribe” for “State or Indian tribe” and “chief executive of the regional district or tribal government” for “chief executive of the tribal government”. 2014—Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 113–121, § 3016(d)(1), substituted “and updated levee information provided by States, Indian tribes, Federal agencies, and other entities” for “and, for non-Federal levees, such information on levee location as is provided to the Secretary by State and local governmental agencies”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 113–121, § 3016(d)(2), added subsec. (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

“Secretary” Defined Secretary means the Secretary of the Army, see section 2 of Pub. L. 110–114, set out as a note under section 2201 of this title.

§3303 Inventory and inspection of levees