Conservancy District Gives Presentation to County Council, Commissioners

The LCD is working to secure grant funding for levee projects aimed at meeting FEMA standards.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - The Lawrenceburg Conservancy District gave a power point presentation on Thursday night in front of Dearborn County Council and Dearborn County Commissioners.

Members of the LCD Board, Lawrenceburg and Greendale Redevelopment and Council, and the Mayor of Greendale were also on hand. 

In 2024, the LCD began the process to secure grant funding for levee projects aimed to meet FEMA standards. The initial estimated cost came in over $60 million.  

However, a failure of the levee system would be much more costly ($890 million), according to the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) National Structure Inventory 2023. The LCD highlighted several critical facilities that would be at risk from a breach or failure during Thursday's presentation. Those facilities include the courthouse, jail, police and fire stations, and Lawrenceburg schools, among others. 

Eagle Country 99.3 spoke to LCD Superintendent Paul Seymour when the process got started. He said, "there are 160 relief wells around town that are the weak spots." 

Currently, LCD is receiving support from JMT with a grant/funding plan and engineering and studies. Mundell is also supporting LCD with engineering and studies. The LCD says most robust grant programs require a 25 percent local match. 

Moving forward, LCD is tasked with identifying commitment of 25 percent local match for funds. The county must sign a resolution for funds. Other checklist requirements include: 

• Updating Dearborn County's Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan (complete)
• Lawrenceburg and Greendale adopt the plan
• Complete the Benefit Cost Analysis for Hazard Mitigation Projects (in progress)
• Obtain letters of support and government resolutions (ongoing)
• Complete grant applications (future)

Greendale and Lawrenceburg levees have been designated as Provisionally Accredited Levees (PAL) since 2010. PAL is a designation for a levee system that FEMA has previously accredited as providing base flood hazard reduction on an effective FIRM, but for which FEMA is awaiting additional data and/or documentation to show compliance with NFIP regulations. 

An accredited levee is one that FEMA shows on a FIRM as providing protection from the one percent-annual-chance or greater flood, based on the required data and documentation. Certification allows communities and structures to be removed from "Special Flood Hazard Areas" and eliminates mandatory flood insurance purchase regulations. 

Thursday's power point presentation can be viewed here. 

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Conservancy District Begins Process to Secure Grant Funding for Levee Projects