Federal Emergency Management Agency 

Washington, D.C. 20472 

August 22, 2005 

MEMORANDUM FOR: Regional Directors 
Regions I -X 

David I. Maurstad, Acting Director 
FROM: 

Mitigation Division 

SUBJECT: Procedure Memorandum 34 -Interim Guidance for Studies 
Including Levees 

Background: Throughout the United States, levees protect numerous communities and large 
expanses of agricultural land from floods. Their importance in mitigating flood hazards and their 
relevance to the National Flood Insurance Program 


are indisputable. However, 
and coastal levees, in the aggregate, stretch for tens of thousands of miles, and information on 
their location, structural integrity, and certification often is outdated or missing altogether. 

Issue: To address this challenge, a Levee Coordination Committee-including representatives 
from 


other Federal agencies, and States-is examining current levee regulations and 
assisting in the development of a long-term policy that protects citizens and property, while 
accommodating the needs of the 


This memorandum helps to clarify the entities 
responsible for providing information on levees identified during a mapping project. 

Action Taken: Until the new policy is developed, this memo provides interim guidance to 
minimize delays in near-term mapping studies. The attached flow chart supplements 
procedure memorandums 30 and 32. This information is in conformance with Section 65.10 of 

the 


regulations. 

Supplement to Procedure Memo 30-FEMA Levee Inventory System. 

Mapping partners -


etc. --should continue providing information about 
levees located in or adjacent to study areas. Information should be provided via the FEMA 
Levee Inventory System (FLIS) according to Procedure Memorandum 30 and the instructions 
available on the FLIS Web site located at http://flis.pbsjdfirm.com. The FLIS will be accessed 
via the 


after release 3.0. 

Levee coordinates should be gathered at a level of detail consistent with 


accuracy and digital 
Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) standards. Mapping partners who do not already have access 
to the FLIS can contact the National Service Provider at (703) 960-8800. 

August 22, 2005 

Page 2 of 2 -Procedure Memorandum 34 

Supplement to Procedure Memo 32-Levee Review Protocol. 

The protocol for levee reviews, particularly the details provided in Table 1 of Procedure 
Memorandum 32, is revised according to the attached flow chart. 

Identification of Levees 

It is critical that all levees within the scope of the mapping project be identified early in the 
mapping project, ideally no later than the scoping meeting. The role of all mapping partners, 
including coordination with the State and other Federal partners 


U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers), related to review of levee certification should be clearly identified as part of the 
scoping process. When levees are identified at the scoping meeting the community must be 
informed of the data requirements for FEMA to recognize a levee as providing protection from 
the 1-percent-annual-chance flood (base flood) on the FIRM. In accordance with 44 CFR 
Section 
it is the responsibility of the community or other party seeking recognition of a 
levee system at the time of a flood risk study or restudy to provide the data outlined in 44 CFR 
Section 65.10. FEMA will not be conducting detailed examinations of levees to determine how 
a structure or system will perform in a flood event. In addition, the community or party seeking 
recognition should be provided with a deadline for submitting the data and informed that if the 
data are not submitted by the deadline, the levee cannot be recognized as providing protection 


the base flood as part of the current mapping effort. However, a revision could be initiated 
once data are available. 

Early identification of levees allows the mapping partner to outline to the community, or party 
seeking recognition, their responsibilities and expectations to minimize study delays. 
In order to aid our mapping partners in properly assessing how to handle levee mapping issues, 
we have generated the below flowchart. 

cc: See Distribution List 
Distribution List (electronic distribution only): 

Office of the Mitigation Division Director 

Risk Assessment Branch 

Risk Identification Branch 

Flood Insurance and Mitigation Divisions in FEMA Regional Offices 

Office of Legislative Affairs 

Office of General Counsel 

National Service Provider 

Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance Contractor 

Map Service Center