Cedar Rapids mayor to speak on flood control before Senate committee

CEDAR RAPIDS - Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett is scheduled to make his case for a permanent flood control system to a U.S. Senate committee next week.

Corbett and City Manager Jeff Pomeranz plan to travel to Washington, D.C., to deliver a presentation to the 21-member Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The 'Flood Control Infrastructure: Safety Questions Raised by Current Events” hearing, which begins at 9:30 a.m. (central time) Wednesday, is to focus on dams and levees.

'This is the first time we'll get a full committee hearing on our project, so we will take this opportunity to lay out our case,” Corbett said. 'This is the first time we are going to have this broad audience of policymakers, people who will vote ‘yes' or ‘no' for this (funding) bill.”

Cedar Rapids has not been asked to testify in front of Congress since the 2008 flood, according to city staff.

Invitation from Ernst

Cedar Rapids received the invitation this past week through the office of Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is a member of the public works committee.

'The committee is looking at infrastructure needs in its entirety and that includes important dam and levee improvements that are critical to the economy and the public safety needs of river communities,” a statement from Ernst's office says. 'Sen. Ernst felt it was important for the committee to hear from Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett so that he can shine a spotlight on what has been going on in his community, and the bureaucracy they have been battling to achieve federal assistance over the last eight years.” Ernst wants the committee to know this is a priority for Iowa, according to the statement.

Corbett is being asked to submit an official written statement for the record that has no length limit and can include charts, pictures and additional documentation, according to Ernst. During the hearing, Corbett is to sit on a panel with four other witnesses, and they will each be asked to give a five-minute opening statement, after which the senators have the opportunity to ask questions.

The names of others testifying have not officially been released.

‘We haven't been sitting idly by'

Corbett said he plans to focus on the federal formula for funding disaster projects, which he says puts Midwestern cities at a disadvantage because property values are less than those in coastal cities. He also plans to stress the need for permanent protection in Cedar Rapids.

'One point we need to let the committee know is we haven't been sitting idly by as it relates to flood mitigation,” Corbett said. 'We haven't constructed walls and levees, but we've raised our wells, built a separate flood protection system around the wastewater plant, worked with Alliant and ITC to move utility lines, moved key public services like the library and fire station.”

The hearing is expected to be broadcast online at the committee homepage, epw.senate.gov,

The Wednesday hearing is a follow up to an oversight hearing on the infrastructure needs of the country in early February. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wy., is committee chairman, and Sen. Thomas R. Carper, D-Del., is the ranking Democrat.

'So we are going to have to find new ways to help pay to modernize these important rural projects,” Barrasso said in opening remarks during the initial Feb. 8 hearing, according to transcripts. 'It is my hope that this committee will work to find solutions that not only work for urban America, but rural America as well.”

Cedar Rapids has had highs and lows in trying to shake loose federal aid since the record 2008 flood, in which the Cedar River crested at 31.1 feet causing an estimated $2.5 billion in damages for Cedar Rapids and Linn County and another $2.5 billion in economic losses. Last year, the city deployed sandbags and temporary barriers and levees to hold back the second highest crest on record - 21.9 feet on Sept. 27 - with minimal damage. Cedar Rapids officials have estimated $10 million in public spending connected to the flood prevention effort and businesses have estimated another $25.7 million in private sector losses, according to the 2016 Flood Recovery Report.

Cost of protection

The Army Corps of Engineers has approved the Cedar Rapids flood control project, which is essential for getting funding, Corbett said. In 2014, Cedar Rapids scored what at the time appeared to be a win when the project was authorized for money as part of the Water Resources Development Act. But, the money has never been allocated.

Last year, more positive signals - although no guarantees - came when the Cedar Rapids flood control project was listed as a priority in the 2016 water resources bill, and separately Gov. Terry Branstad's administration recommended the project among five for President Donald Trump's infrastructure plan.

Cedar Rapids officials have estimated it will cost $630 million to construct a permanent flood control system of walls, gates, levees and pumps for the east and west banks of the Cedar River through downtown Cedar Rapids. So far, $33.4 million of the project has been completed and work has begun on the Sinclair levee.

A payment formula has $269 million coming from the state through sales tax rebates over 20 years, $130 million in local investment, and a gap of $231 million. After the 2014 water resources bill, Cedar Rapids officials had been counting on at least $70 million in federal aid, although the request submitted by the Branstad Administration noted the full $231 million gap.

Corbett said the 2016 flood, which drew national attention, has put the plight of Cedar Rapids in the national spotlight and may have triggered some momentum in recent months.

'We have to keep fighting and fighting and fighting for flood protection and never give up,” he said.

l Comments: (319) 339-3177; brian.morelli@thegazette.com