Sny Island Levee Drainage District Issues Public Comment on FEMA Proposed Rule

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Mike Reed, superintendent and treasurer at the Sny Island Levee Drainage District, New Canton, Illinois, has issued a public comment on the Federal Emergency Management Agency proposed rule entitled "Cost of Assistance Estimates in the Disaster Declaration Process for the Public Assistance Program". The comment was written on March 10, 2021, and posted on March 12, 2021:

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The Sny Island Levee Drainage District (Sny) appreciates this opportunity to provide comment on FEMA's proposal to amend 44 CFR 206.48(a)(l) by revising the "estimated cost of the assistance" factor it considers when recommending a major disaster declaration. Too often of late we have observed Federal Agencies wanting to use processes other than rulemaking as intended by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) for regulatory purposes -a troubling uptrend we hope will soon turn direction.

The Sny is Illinois' largest levee and drainage district, and the largest on the Mississippi River north of St. Louis. It was the first such district in the State, officially organized in 1879, and contains just over 180 square miles within its boundaries. A principal purpose of the Sny is public safety with the levee system protecting more than 1,200 people and critical infrastructure (school, wastewater treatment plants, roads/interstate highways, cross-county pipelines and railroads, and more) serving that population and others in the surrounding region.

Beyond the regular operation and maintenance of nearly 60 miles of levees and an extensive internal drainage system, our role as the levee owner-operator includes essential flood-fighting. While essential to protect people, property and productivity of our land, as well as ensure the viability of a regional transportation network that includes interstate and U.S. highways, flood fighting is a costly endeavor for which we depend on FEMA Public Assistance. It is with that in mind that we offer these comments.

Already we are challenged to meet the requirements to qualify for emergency PA, and the proposed changes will make it much more unlikely that we will even be given the chance to apply.

Although we recognize that the formula for cost of assistance estimates has not increased with the cost of inflation, we also know that the incomes of many of those in rural communities like ours have not kept pace with that either. By increasing the per capita indicator from $1.50 to $2.32 and also raising the threshold for major disaster declarations by more than 50% ($1 Million to $1.535 million), FEMA will put federal emergency assistance out of our reach for all but the most devastating of disasters.

Loss of access to FEMA PA is especially troubling considering the floods anticipated in the Upper Mississippi Basin in light of projected impacts of climate change. As levee districts in our region are forced to forego flood fighting as an available measure to mitigate flood risk there will be increased damages, likely resulting in a rise in flood and crop insurance claims, and at greater cost.

In reviewing the Summary of Impacts of the Proposed Rule prepared by FEMA, we are surprised to see that under the category of "Affected Population" there is listed a mere 7,456 Applicants that would have been impacted by the proposed rule in the period from 2008-2017. While that may be true, it in no way represents the actual population that will be affected by the proposed rule. In the Sny alone, every application for PA assistance made affects each resident or property owner, many of whom live out of state and aren't counted in the actual population, protected by the levee system-more than 1,200 individuals.

It is especially disturbing that FEMA recognizes the following in the costs of this proposed rule:

* Applicants would need to invest more in response recovery, and mitigation capabilities.

* Damaged facilities may not be repaired or replaced and could be susceptible to future disasters.

These are the precise concerns that we share! Many rural communities do not have additional funds to invest, and the result will be a degrading of the flood protection system that would make a more devastating, and costly, disaster more likely. Moreover, FEMA has not identified any quantitative benefits for this proposed change in the rule to justify its costs.

We would be remiss to not express concern with the use of Total Taxable Resources (TTR) in the calculation of the "Estimated Cost of Assistance". Already communities with lower property values are at a disadvantage in many federal programs that use benefit to cost ratios as a metric. The predictable outcome of using TTR is that areas with higher property values will get more PA while those so much in need of that help will receive less.

Finally, the timing of this proposal is ill-advised as state and local governments are financially struggling from the pandemic. To withdraw or significantly reduce federal assistance that has been relied upon for many years in the face of that is overwhelming.

The Sny respectfully asks that the proposal be withdrawn until such time that state and local governments can engage with FEMA in an informed manner to help craft a proposal that would determine criteria for disaster declarations and provision of PA in a fair manner. That process must recognize the real challenges facing levee protected rural communities as flood threats increase, including the effect of what happens when, as FEMA identified, "[DJ damaged facilities may not be repaired or replaced and could be susceptible to future disasters".

Thank you for receiving and considering these comments. Be assured the Sny is willing to further engage in efforts to help develop a proposal that better serves levee protected communities.

Sincerely,

Sny Island Levee Drainage District

Mike Reed

Superintendent/Treasurer

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The proposed rule can be viewed at: https://www.regulations.gov/document/FEMA-2020-0038-0001

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