State, feds agree on speeding up Central Valley levee repairs

SACRAMENTO
May 2, 2006 11:35am

The state of California and various agencies of the federal government have signed an agreement to speed up repairs to some of the levees protecting the Central Valley.

The memorandum of understanding (see download option below) is supposed to expedite repairs to 29 levees that the state fears could fail with a severe storm or larger earthquake.

Under certain levee failures, fresh water to the Central Valley and Southern California would be contaminated by salty water from San Francisco Bay. Water supplies affecting Central Valley farms and businesses as well as 23 million people could be impacted for months.

“The critical path timeline is designed to ensure completion of the necessary regulatory permitting for all sites by June 21 … so that construction for all 29 sites can begin in July,” says Army Corps of Engineers Brig. Gen. Joe Schroedel in a written statement Tuesday.

The deal commits the Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the California Department of Water Resources to complete work on 29 identified critical levee erosion sites by November.

Under the agreement, expedited regulatory analysis and permitting will allow a rapid transition from planning to construction, the Corps of Engineers says.

“Projects will be designed to minimize the need for mitigation, and to maximize the use of nationwide permits to accelerate the regulatory process. All levee repairs will comply with the National Environmental Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act,” it says.