The National Levee Safety Act of 2007 authorized the creation of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Levee Safety Program. The Program mission is to assess the integrity and viability of levees and recommend actions to assure that levee systems do not present unacceptable risks to the public, property, and the environment. The Corps subsequently launched a major effort to establish a levee safety organization, create the National Levee Database, develop a methodology for performing technical risk assessments of existing levee infrastructure, and review and revise current related policies and procedures associated with levees. There are approximately 100,000 miles of levees in the United States as estimated by the National Committee on Levee Safety; 15,000 miles are part of the USACE portfolio. The following are three categories of levees included in the USACE portfolio:
1) USACE Operated & Maintained
2) Federally Authorized, Local Sponsor Operated & Maintained
3) Non-Federal Levee Systems in the Rehabilitation and Inspection Program