Responses to Questions Asked at the March Public Meeting
Note! The following are responses to questions not answered in the June 2002 Newsletter.
Is the COE letter (1994) regarding operations and maintenance still relevant? Will the new project change O/M specifications?
A copy of this letter was handed to the Corps at the March 7, 2002 Stakeholders meeting and provides Corps policy for required levee maintenance under Engineer Regulation 500-1-1. The letter is still relevant. Once a proposed flood control plan is determined, the maintenance requirements for the plan will be developed and coordinated with federal, state, and county agencies prior to approval.
If the selected alternative provides less than 100-year protection, then some banks may require farmers to purchase flood insurance to qualify for loans, etc.
If such flood insurance for farmers or other property owners is presently required, or would likely become a requirement, the cost savings for this item would be considered by the Corps of Engineers in determining the relative economic benefits of each project alternative. Economic benefits include a calculation of flood damages avoidance, reduction in flood insurance administrative costs, and other costs to be avoided under a particular flood project alternative. These benefits are then compared against the total project cost of each alternative to determine the Benefit-to-Cost ratio. Corps policy refers to the most cost effective (highest net benefits), implementable alternative to be the National Economic Development (NED) alternative.
Can farming operations occur inside setback levees?
Farming inside levees is not a project component at this time. It could be considered in conjunction with a setback project alternative but with constraints (e.g., limited time of year, no pesticides, restricted farm equipment, restricted crops and location). The agricultural stakeholders by and large concur that it is not practical to plan for farming inside setback levees as a viable project component. One option that might be considered is organic farming, which could be added as a project element if there is a strong indication of local interest and county support.
Is public access and recreation authorized for this Corps of Engineers project?
Recreation and public access are not project components under the current project authorization. The project was authorized in 1966 for flood protection only. Any additional project purposes are not being considered at this time. A non-federal sponsor willing to cost share in additional costs for other purposes would have to indicate their support in writing before the Corps would consider adding these components to a proposed project.
How will land required for the flood project be valued?
For the preliminary cost estimate, land costs will be estimated on the basis of recent sales of comparable properties. These estimates are very rough and will only be used for alternative evaluations to get a sense for the relative potential alternative costs. They are not appraisal numbers for land acquisitions. Once a project has been selected, the sponsors will appoint appraisers to appraise each individual property right to be acquired and each property owner will be negotiated with at that time.