Executive/Council Action Form (ECAF)
ITEM TITLE:
Title
Ordinance 23-014, approving and authorizing the Snohomish County Council to ratify and confirm termination of ABC Agreements with the United States Army Corps of Engineers
body
DEPARTMENT: Conservation and Natural Resources
ORIGINATOR: Aaron Kopp
EXECUTIVE RECOMMENDATION: Approved by Lacey Harper 2/10/23
PURPOSE: The purpose of this ECAF is to request County Council to affirm that 5 levees long-since abandoned, are no longer the County's obligation to maintain and that the US army Corps can terminate the "ABC agreements." These agreements are known to exist for years 1949-1965 though there may be agreements for other years.
BACKGROUND:
Snohomish County (the "County") entered a Resolution to Assume Obligations of Local Participation (ABC agreements) with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for the purpose of assuming levee operations and maintenance after construction. The five levees in the ABC Agreements are referred to as:
* Fern Bluff Levee on the Skykomish River
* Crabb's Dike on the Snohomish River
* Marshland levee on the Snohomish River
* Robe Hill levee on the South Fork Stillaguamish River
* Schlamp Dike on the Snohomish River
These levees appear to have been abandoned since the late 1960's with no record of maintenance in over 30 years, except for repairs of the Schlamp levee in 1995. Additionally, the levees also provide a private benefit in the form of protecting private property and do not serve a direct public purpose in the form of protection of public facilities or infrastructure (i.e. county roads and bridges). Finally, these levees were built before the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and existing State and Federal permit requirements make it very challenging to operate and maintain levees along private property at the expense of a public interest like habitat for ESA listed salmon and reducing flood hazards further downstream.
SWM and Public Works have spoken with the Corps ...
Click here for full text