New Start Feasibility Study

US Army Corps of Engineers

As LRC has worked to identify funding sources to help modernize the local levee system, we discovered that the best pathway to secure federal funding for levee improvements is to partner with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on a Feasibility Study.

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Feasibility Study is a formal three-year process used to identify problem areas, develop solutions to address them, and determine if there’s federal interest in investing in local infrastructure. If federal interest is identified, a report is delivered to Congress with recommendations and accompanying funding requests to complete the projects described in the report.

The Draft Feasibility Report & Tentatively Selected Plan

On Monday, January 6, 2020, the US Army Corps of Engineers released their Draft Integrated Feasibility Report & Environmental Assessment, which includes information about the analysis they have conducted to date, the vulnerabilities that have been identified within the levee system, the potential solutions that have been considered, the final array of alternatives that have been evaluated, and the alternative that has tentatively been selected as their preferred plan.

and here are some additional resources to help digest what’s in the Corps’ draft report:

READER’S GUIDEMAPS OF THE ALTERNATIVES | PUBLIC MEETING SLIDES

WHAT'S NEXT

Although the formal public comment period ended as of Friday, February 14th, we’re still very early in the overall process and public input will continue to be critical to the development of the feasibility plan. The Corps still very much wants to hear your ideas and concerns related to the local levee system and managed floodplain and the concepts included in their Tentatively Selected Plan (TSP).

UPCOMING NEIGHBORHOOD ALIGNMENT WALKS

To ensure that the Corps and the local sponsors can really hear and understand concerns associated with concepts in the TSP, we’ll all be working together to host a series of neighborhood walks. This is an opportunity to get out on the levee with the Corps and to get really specific about your neighborhood and property. These are not intended to be broadly attended public meetings with formal programs. Instead, we will meet at a specific location and walk a stretch of the levee with the property owners and other interested parties.

BRIDGETON ROAD | View Map
Date:
 Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Time: beginning at 8:00 a.m.
Meeting Location: The western end of Bridgeton Road, in front of Blue Frog Landing (near 448 N Bridgeton)

PORTLAND YACHT CLUB & MARINE DRIVE (EAST COLUMBIA) | View Map
Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Time: 8:30 am
Meeting Location: Portland Yacht Club

COLUMBIA SLOUGH SIDE OF PEN 2
Date: TBA
Time: TBA
Meeting Location: TBA

RIVERSIDE GOLF COURSE
Date: TBA
Time: TBA
Meeting Location: TBA

HERON LAKES GOLF COURSE
Date: TBA
Time: TBA
Meeting Location: TBA

If you would like to have a team come out to walk the levee in your neighborhood, please email PMLS-Feasibility@usace.army.mil and leveereadycolumbia@gmail.com.

THE FEASIBILITY STUDY PROCESS

After advocating for several years, a new start feasibility study was designated by the federal government in mid-2018. The funding for this study came from a special appropriation package for the Corps to work on flood and storm damage reduction projects. Because of this special appropriation, the study is 100% federally funded and does not require any local match. It also means the Corps must focus exclusively on issues related to flood safety during this study. Although the allotted funding will go directly to the Corps, their technical evaluation, modeling, and planning will greatly benefit our local efforts, and their recommendations may result in federal funding for some of the repairs needed to our local levee system. We are working closely with the Corps throughout the process to contribute to their recommendations, integrate local priorities, and fully maximize this opportunity.

Infographic outlining the US Army Corps of Engineers feasibility study process and how long it takes to get all the way to the construction phase

Although we hope this process will culminate in federal re-investment in our system, we do not expect that it will be enough to complete all the work that is needed to recertify and modernize the system. For this reason, we will continue to run our own local process alongside the Corps’ study to integrate our previous efforts and goals into the feasibility study and so we can begin to plan the projects that will need to be addressed at the local level. This is, however, an important opportunity to bring federal funds and expertise to the table to help make the necessary repairs and improvements to our levees. Without this opportunity, all the necessary repairs and improvements would need to be paid for by Oregonians.

To learn more about the US Army Corps Feasibility Study process, please visit the document library to the right. If you’d like more information on the study or to contact the Corps directly go to their website.

US Army Corps Website

We will continue to share information related to study on our website, through social media, and via email.

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Find out more about:

Where improvements are needed to meet federal standards

What needs to be done

How we envision creating a management and funding structure capable of taking care of the levee system in the future

Explore

The additional opportunities we will have by reforming the way that the levee system is managed

What’s possible