Department of Fish & Game signals intent to sue Army Corps in order to protect fish and wildlife around levees
Posted by: Maven on February 8, 2012 at 8:35 amFrom the California Department of Fish & Game:
“The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) today issued notice of its intent to sue the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps).
DFG notified the Corps that it failed to comply with the federal Endangered Species Act when it adopted a national policy requiring the removal of virtually all trees and shrubs on federal levees. The Corps developed its national levee vegetation removal policy in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
The Corps’ national policy fails to account for regional variations among levees. As early as 1955, the Corps encouraged and even required the planting of trees and shrubs on California levees. Studies conducted in 1967, 1999 and 2008 by California confirm that native riparian vegetation are compatible with flood control and that such vegetation can often act to minimize damage during a flood event. In fact, the Corps’ own studies from 1991 and 1999 confirm that post-damage flood rates for levees containing woody vegetation were lower than levees with no vegetation. DFG is confident that the Corps’ flood concerns can be met in a regional variation allowing this unique riparian habitat. … “
Continue reading from the Department of Fish & Game by clicking here.
California water system in need of major repair, says commentary
Posted by: Maven on January 13, 2012 at 7:08 amFrom the Independent Voter Network, this commentary:
“The California Department of Water Resources warned in a December report that 50% of the state’s aging levees are not up to standard and up to $17 billion is needed in repairs and infrastructure investment. This of course comes at a very bad financial time for California, as it is already suffering from huge budget deficits.
There are over 14,000 levees and other structures built along the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. Many were built by local governments or farmers, are decades old, and were built when the areas were mostly rural. That is no longer the case. In many areas now, major urban populations with homes and businesses are on the other side of the levees. This leads to a conundrum. If levees are reinforced and heightened, then even more development might result behind them, increasing the possibility of flood risk in future years. … “
Continue reading this commentary from the Independent Voter Network by clicking here.
Wednesday’s top of the scroll: Levee reimbursement plan extended in legislation sponsored by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Solano
Posted by: Maven on January 11, 2012 at 8:47 amFrom the Vacaville Reporter:
“The Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee voted Tuesday to continue a successful program that helps local agencies maintain and strengthen levees that protect lives, farmland, and drinking water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
The 9-0 decision approved Senate Bill 200, legislation authored by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Solano, to extend the state’s authorization to reimburse local agencies for up to 75 percent of levee maintenance and improvement costs. Without the bill, the state’s reimbursements would drop to 50 percent after July 1, 2013. … “
Continue reading from the Vacaville Reporter by clicking here.
Urban Levees Coalition submits plan for Delta levees to John Laird
Posted by: Maven on January 6, 2012 at 9:00 amHere’s a letter written to John Laird from the Urban Levees Coalition, a coalition that includes Metropolitan Water District, Contra Costa Water District, East Bay Municipal Utilities District, and other Northern California water districts:
“Representing six Bay Area water agencies and the Metropolitan Water District, we are writing to request your assistance in our collaborative effort to improve water supply reliability in the Delta. While our agencies may have different perspectives on some of the many complex issues in the Delta, we all recognize the importance of continuing to maintain and improve the Delta levee system both in the near term and in the decades to come.
As part of our collaborative discussions about near term Delta actions, we have developed a paper entitled, “Urban Water Agencies Strategy for Delta Levees – List of Priority Levee Projects” enclosed for your consideration. The three projects described in the paper meet the criteria for “Early Actions” in the emerging Delta Plan and in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, and reflect a “no regrets” approach to infrastructure investment.
In particular, we believe these projects qualify for funding from Proposition 1E, and encourage you to consider full implementation to enhance water supply reliability and the general resilience of the Delta. In total, the funding need for the three levee projects ranges up to $163 million. … “
Click here to read: Urban water agencies strategy for Delta levees: List of priority levee projects
Delta island owner seeks feds’ OK for quick levee fix
Posted by: Maven on January 5, 2012 at 8:01 amFrom Channel 10:
“The owner of a private island in the Delta who found a quick and inexpensive way to repair a broken levee is trying to convince the federal government the technique could save lives and property elsewhere.
John Sweeney said a levee breach last summer threatened to inundate his 1,000 acre Chipps Island, which lies across the Sacramento River from Pittsburg.
“We first tried to fix it the old fashioned way by horseshoeing around it with dirt,” Sweeney explained. “But every time we put the dirt on it, it would just wash back out at high tide.” … “
Continue reading from Channel 10 by clicking here.
Contra Costa Times editorial: Federal rule requiring removal of trees from levees makes no sense
Posted by: Maven on December 23, 2011 at 6:58 amFrom the Contra Costa Times, this editorial:
“One might think a regulation that requires great expenditure only to make a situation worse would be easy to remedy. However, that has not been the case with a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ rule that mandates the removal of trees and shrubs from federally designed and built levees.
The regulation makes no sense and in fact would weaken the hundreds of miles of levees in and around the Delta. The trees and bushes, which lessen erosion, hold the earthen levees together and provide habitat for birds. Yet unless they are removed, there will be no federal funding for levee repairs after a flood.
Years of discussion among federal, state and regional officials have proved fruitless. As a result, Friends of the River and other environmental organizations in June launched a lawsuit against the Corps of Engineers. Last month, the state Department of Fish and Game petitioned the federal court to join the suit. … “
Continue reading this editorial from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.
YouTube: How levees fail, how we fix them
Posted by: Maven on December 20, 2011 at 7:29 amFrom the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, posted at YouTube:
“Levees are an extremely important part of California’s flood risk reduction system, and most are in desperate need of maintenance and repair. Learn about the primary ways levees fail and how we fix them.”
SF Chronicle editorial: State fights U.S. mandate to remove levees’ trees
Posted by: Maven on December 14, 2011 at 8:30 amFrom the San Francisco Chronicle, this editorial:
“Seen from above, the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta reveals a tidy patchwork of farmlands transected by river channels and canals, many lined by trees and brush. From the ground, the view is of waterfowl feeding, with hawks soaring overhead. Salmon and steelhead hover near the tree-shaded banks where the water is cooler and insects plentiful. Revamped federal rules, however, threaten this riparian habitat and flood management efforts in the delta and along the San Francisco Bay’s creeks.
Under rules developed post-Katrina by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, state and levee districts across the nation are required to remove trees and shrubs from federally designed and built levees, or face loss of federal funding for levee repairs after a flood. … “
Continue reading this editorial from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
Sacramento levees subject of CNBC segment on America’s infrastructure
Posted by: Maven on December 9, 2011 at 7:09 amFrom CNBC’s series, The Race to Rebuild: America’s Infrastructure, Sacramento’s levees are spotlighted (segment on Sacramento starts at 22:40):
Compromise sought on west Linda levee fences
Posted by: Maven on December 7, 2011 at 7:48 amFrom the Appeal-Democrat:
“Property owners in west Linda will huddle with state and local flood-control officials to come up with a solution to fences encroaching on levee property owned by the state.
Before the Central Valley Flood Protection Board’s Jan. 27 meeting, a compromise between leaving the fences as is and in some cases tearing down buildings technically on state property will have to be found, those involved said. … “
Continue reading from the Appeal-Democrat by clicking here.
Legal analysis: California Department of Fish and Game moves to intervene on behalf of Plaintiff Friends of the River in levee vegetation removal policy lawsuit
Posted by: Maven on December 1, 2011 at 8:24 amFrom Somach Simmons & Dunn:
“In June 2011, several environmental groups filed suit against the United States Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) in federal court seeking to invalidate a policy that mandates removal of vegetation along levees over which the Corps has responsibility. This vegetation removal policy was part of a larger program, allegedly initiated in 2007, designed to create vegetation free zones along levees that includes a fifteen-foot setback for trees and shrubs. According to the Corps, the rationale behind adopting such a policy is that vegetation can harm the integrity of levees, disrupt levee inspections, hinder levee access, and impede emergency flood fighting situations.
Plaintiffs in Friends of the River, et al. v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (E.D. Cal. filed June 20, 2011) No. 2:11-cv-01650 (“Friends of the River”) include several non-profit environmental organizations that contend implementation of the vegetation removal policy will result in the destruction of critical riparian forest habitat throughout California. These plaintiffs allege that the Corps’ actions in adopting and circulating certain guidance and technical documents that call for vegetation removal, and describe the accompanying variance process, violated the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) and failed to comply with federal environmental requirements, including the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) and the federal Endangered Species Act (“ESA”).
The most recent development in the case is the filing of a motion for intervention by the California Department of Fish and Game (“DFG”) on November 7, 2011. The outcome of this litigation could have a significant impact on how California manages its levees, the continued existence of riparian forest habitat in the state, and the costs those responsible may incur for levee management and operation as a result of the policy. … “
Continue reading from Somach Simmons & Dunn by clicking here.
YouTube: Army Corps levee inspections
Posted by: Maven on December 1, 2011 at 8:17 amFrom the Army Corps of Engineers, posted at YouTube:
“The Corps’ Sacramento District conducted a routine, or annual, inspection of a levee system south of Sacramento, Calif., Nov. 21, 2011. Join the inspectors to see how we do an inspection and learn why the information we collect is critical to public safety. More on the Sacramento District’s levee safety program: http://bit.ly/tk4RtS”
Lungren needs to deliver on Natomas levees, says the SacBee
Posted by: Maven on November 18, 2011 at 7:31 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“When we last checked in on the Natomas flood control project, the situation was grim. Because of overly broad restrictions on “earmarks,” the U.S. House of Representatives has bottled up federal authorizations for water and flood control projects all over the country, including one in Natomas.
Without such a federal authorization, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be unable to finish a levee improvement project needed to protect 100,000 people, the Sacramento International Airport and billions of dollars in property. … “
Continue reading this editorial from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Levee repair work in Marysville faces a year’s delay
Posted by: Maven on November 14, 2011 at 5:30 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“A long-awaited levee repair job in Marysville has been stalled by disagreement about the construction of a new seepage barrier.
The first phase of the project, led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was to be completed this month, but will now be delayed by a year.
“We’re confident it was the right thing to stop this based on public safety,” said Col. William Leady, Sacramento District commander of the Army Corps. … “
Continue reading from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
California to sue feds over levee trees
Posted by: Maven on November 11, 2011 at 6:45 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“The state of California will join environmental groups in a lawsuit against the federal government to protect trees growing on levees.
The state Department of Fish and Game announced Wednesday it will join the federal lawsuit, initiated earlier this year by Sacramento-based Friends of the River. … “
Continue reading from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
MORE: DFG seeks to join lawsuit challenging levee clear cutting, from Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org
Department of Fish and Game joins lawsuit against Army Corps of Engineers
Posted by: Maven on November 10, 2011 at 8:07 amFrom Lake County News:
“The California Department of Fish and Game on Wednesday commenced the process to join federal litigation that challenges the removal of vegetation on levees.
The case, Friends of the River, et. al. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, et. al. was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. It essentially challenges the Army Corps of Engineers’ adoption of a national policy that requires removing virtually all trees and shrubs on federal levees.
“DFG, along with many other local, state and federal agencies, has been in discussion with the Corps about this policy for several years,” said DFG Director Charlton H. Bonham. “It’s unfortunate that the discussions haven’t led to a more agreeable outcome, but if adhered to, the policy will do incredible damage to California’s remaining riparian and adjacent riverine ecosystem, especially in the Central Valley.” … “
Continue reading from the Lake County News by clicking here.
MORE: DFG Seeks to Join Lawsuit to Protect Fish and Wildlife on Levees
Army Corps opens levee database to public
Posted by: Maven on October 27, 2011 at 8:39 amFrom ACWA’s Water News:
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will open the National Levee Database for public access by hosting a series of public webinars beginning tomorrow.
The database is a real-time, dynamic information source that provides visualization and search capability for the first time on the location and condition of Corps-operated levee systems nationwide. It includes attributes of levees and floodwalls relevant to flood fighting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, repair and inspection. … “
Continue reading from ACWA’s Water News by clicking here.
Army Corps quickens flood-studies, starts with Sutter Basin Project
Posted by: Maven on October 7, 2011 at 7:44 amFrom DVIDS News (Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System):
“The District’s Sutter Basin Project is testing a national pilot program to move more quickly from studying a flooding problem to fixing it.
It’s been 56 years since the Sutter Basin, an area of low land located in the heart of California’s Central Valley, was devastated by a catastrophic flood.
Yuba City was totally inundated when its levees failed, killing 37, injuring 2,884 and causing damage of $327 million in current estimates. Those levees were originally constructed by farmers trying to protect their property, farms and crops—not licensed engineers. … “
Continue reading from DVIDS by clicking here.
California flooding, Katrina-style
Posted by: Maven on October 7, 2011 at 7:41 amFrom NBC Bay Area:
“California’s Capitol is virtually shut down for the year, freeing up Sacramento leaders to shift their attention, for now, from the state’s fiscal crisis to another type of threat: flooding.
While the first rains of the season visited California, the top Democrat in the state Senate, Darrell Steinberg, is on a taxpayer-paid trip, along with other political and business leaders, to New Orleans this week. … “
Continue reading from NBC Bay Area by clicking here.
Jessica Ludy: Flood risk exists on both sides of levees
Posted by: Maven on September 17, 2011 at 6:57 amFrom the Grand Forks Herald, this commentary by Jessica Ludy:
“The Herald’s editorial about flood insurance struck a chord that resonates from Grand Forks to Stockton, Calif. (“Flood-risk map stretches from coast to coast,” Page A4, Sept. 7).
Here’s hoping it reverberates in Washington, too, as lawmakers debate reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program.
As the editorial accurately warns, “being at low risk is not the same as being at no risk,” though the NFIP might lead us to believe otherwise. … “
Continue reading this commentary at the Grand Forks Herald by clicking here.
Researchers quake-test peat on Sherman Island
Posted by: Maven on September 1, 2011 at 8:41 amFrom the San Francisco Chronicle:
“The earth rippled and squirmed on this delta island. It did not yawn open but did reignite a debate about the seismic safety of levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
In the first experiment of its kind, scientists from UCLA erected a shaking machine atop a model levee about the size of a two-car garage. Their goal: find out if the peat soil on Sherman Island would rupture, causing the “levee” to fail.
Peat, a spongy material composed of decaying plants rather than mineral soil, is known as a poor thing to build on. Yet it lies under most of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, including its 1,100 miles of levees. … “
Continue reading from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
SacBee editorial: Corps should revise its policy on levee trees
Posted by: Maven on September 1, 2011 at 8:29 amFrom the Sacramento Bee, this editorial:
“When it comes to trees and levees, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needs to revise its one-chainsaw-fits-all policy.
A new study by the Corps reveals why.
The study, conducted by an Army Corps research unit in Mississippi, examined how trees affect flood-control levees in California, the Pacific Northwest, New Mexico and Mississippi.
It found that trees actually strengthen levees in some situations. It also urged that engineers conduct site-specific evaluations to determine if trees on levees are harmful or beneficial, according to a report Saturday by The Bee’s Matt Weiser. … “
Continue reading this editorial from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Saturday’s top of the scroll: Trees strengthen levees in some cases, study finds
Posted by: Maven on August 27, 2011 at 7:46 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“For years, California flood control officials have pleaded with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reconsider a policy that bans trees on levees, urging the agency to heed years of independent research that found little risk to flood safety.
Now, a new study by the Army Corps itself has found that trees actually strengthen levees in some situations. The conclusion could force the agency to reconsider its policy, which would otherwise eliminate millions of Central Valley trees. … “
Continue reading from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
RELATED LEVEE NEWS: Could California’s levees fail? UCLA engineers plan to simulate an earthquake on Monday to find out
Army Corps on YouTube: Bethel Island levee fix
Posted by: Maven on August 19, 2011 at 8:19 amFrom the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, posted at YouTube:
“Under the CALFED Levee Stability Program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District is studying how best to quickly fix urgent levee problems while a longer-term plan for reducing flood risk throughout California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is developed. The Horseshoe Bend levee on Bethel Island is slated for an upgrade under the program. Here, our lead planner for the program, Brooke Schlenker, explains a levee problem on Bethel Island and what we can do to fix it. More on the program here:
www.spk.usace.army.mil/projects/civil/Delta/CALFED.html”
Delta National Park blog: Seismically-repairable, river-protecting levees
Posted by: Maven on August 19, 2011 at 8:07 amFrom the Delta National Park blog:
“Jeff Michael at the Valley Economy blog is disseminating a preliminary executive summary of a Delta Economic Sustainability Plan that is being produced under (I think) his direction.
The ESP (like the acronym) is a thorough counter argument to the pro-Peripheral Canal/Tunnel argument that says it is too risky to continue to use the Delta’s waterways (and the levees that protect them) as the way to move water to the pumps. It is an alternative that deserves testing, and to their credit, they have found a great site to do just that.
More about this below, but first, a few words about why levees interest me so – as artifacts, as works of design, yes – but especially as sites of contention. … “
Continue reading from the Delta National Park blog by clicking here.
Shipwreck blocks Corps levee repair on Sacramento River
Posted by: Susan Lauer on August 3, 2011 at 8:37 amFrom Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System
Pieces from a sunken ship at a planned levee-erosion repair site along the Sacramento River are nearly stable enough to become a permanent piece of history.
The pieces are … part of an intensive underwater investigation of the historic Clarksburg Ferry, which operated along the Sacramento River between Yolo and Sacramento Counties until it sank in 1928.
Continue reading from Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System by clicking here.
Shipwreck blocks Corps levee repair in California
Posted by: Susan Lauer on July 28, 2011 at 7:41 amFrom the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Pieces from a sunken ship at a planned levee-erosion repair site along the Sacramento River are nearly stable enough to become a permanent piece of history.
The pieces are the products of six data-recovering dives conducted from Sept. 28 to Oct. 7, 2009, directed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District, and part of an intensive underwater investigation of the historic Clarksburg Ferry, which operated along the Sacramento River between Yolo and Sacramento Counties until it sank in 1928.
Continue reading at USACE by clicking here.
Jay Lund: Can trees and levees both live in harmony? They can, if ….
Posted by: Maven on July 6, 2011 at 8:17 amFrom the Sacramento Bee, this commentary by Jay Lund:
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to enforce a policy of removing large vegetation from many miles of Central Valley levees has caused quite a stir.
Both sides assert noble and worthy causes – environmental and recreation interests want to protect trees and bushes on levees, and public safety demands vegetation removal. Both sides are right.
Sadly, California has set aside little room for both the environment and flood safety, so these important causes must fight over thin strips of levee that currently provide poor habitat and poor flood protection. … “
Continue reading Jay Lund’s commentary at the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
California Water Blog: Woodman, spare that levee?
Posted by: Maven on July 1, 2011 at 7:58 amFrom the California Water Blog:
“Policy debates sometimes seem to tragically miss the big picture. The current debate on levee vegetation in California is an example. Both sides assert noble and worthy causes—environmental and recreation interests favor trees and bushes on levees and public safety demands vegetation removal. Both sides are right. Sadly, California has found little room for both the environment and flood safety, so these noble and important causes must fight over thin strips of levee that currently provide both poor habitat and poor flood protection.
Having levees without trees and brush is attractive for flood management. Inspecting levees and monitoring is easier and more effective without trees. Most levees fail before over-topping, and usually give warning (through slumping, animal burrows, or seeping water) before eroding internally and failing catastrophically, allowing some time for repair and evacuation. Emergency repairs also proceed faster without having to remove vegetation. Limiting vegetation also might introduce fewer potential problems from decaying roots or uprooted falling trees. Worldwide, countries with serious levee systems seem to keep their levees cleared, as the accompanying pictures indicate. … “
Continue reading from the California Water Blog by clicking here.
Commentary: Corps retrences, alienates friends in wake of Katrina
Posted by: Maven on June 26, 2011 at 8:20 amFrom Stuart Leavenworth at the Sacramento Bee, this commentary:
“A few weeks after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans in 2005, I flew over the city in a military helicopter with top brass from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Seen from the air, the destruction was overwhelming. Massive fishing trawlers had been tossed atop highways. Levees were punctured across the city.
At the time, I remember feeling some sympathy for the Corps, which was being widely blamed for causing a “man-made disaster” that had drowned and killed hundreds of people. … “
Continue reading this commentary at the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Environmentalist groups’ suit attacks Army Corps of Engineers directive aimed at levee safety, flood fighting
Posted by: Maven on June 22, 2011 at 7:09 amFrom the Contra Costa Times:
“A federal policy requiring trees and shrubs to be stripped from 1,600 miles of California levees should be overturned, environmentalists argued in a lawsuit filed Monday. The Army Corps of Engineers’ no-vegetation policy has been in place for decades but unevenly enforced. After Hurricane Katrina, the agency set out to apply it more consistently.
Last summer, for example, a Contra Costa County crew cut down about 25 trees along Wildcat Creek near Richmond under pressure from federal inspectors, unaware that their superiors were intent on defying the federal policy.
“It is a policy the Corps does enforce, but they haven’t gone around and enforced it everywhere, immediately,” said Bob Wright, a lawyer for Friends of the River, one of the environmental groups that filed the lawsuit. … “
Continue reading from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.
Tuesday’s top of the scroll: Lawsuit challenges Army Corps’ program to cut trees from California levees
Posted by: Maven on June 21, 2011 at 8:25 am
From the San Francisco Chronicle:
“A federal order to clear-cut trees and shrubs from thousands of miles of levees in California will destroy precious wildlife habitat and cost the cash-strapped state more than $7 billion, conservation groups argued in a lawsuit filed Monday.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers vegetation removal policy, crafted after the catastrophic levee failures following Hurricane Katrina, would also weaken, rather than bolster, the barriers that channel storm water and hold back rising seas, the groups contend in a suit against the agency. … “
Continue reading from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
From the Sacramento Bee:
” … The Army Corps sets national standards for levee safety. In 2007 it unveiled a revised maintenance policy that forbids trees or shrubs on levees. Instead, only short grass is allowed on levees and within 15 feet on either side.
The policy raises significant concerns in California, where levee vegetation composes much of the remaining 5 percent of the Central Valley’s historic riparian forest. As such, it is crucial shade and habitat for migrating endangered fish, as well as nesting habitat for many endangered birds.
“This would be the most massive intentional infliction of environmental damage on our rivers that we’ve seen in modern times,” said Bob Wright, senior counsel at Friends of the River in Sacramento. “It’s mind-boggling.” … “
Read the full text of this article from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
From the Stockton Record:
” … That foliage provides what little habitat remains for a number of fish and animals, some of which are endangered. And it lends aesthetic value to rivers and streams.
“A lot of levees here are like an extension of the riverbank. If you get rid of those trees, you’ve got streams that look like drainage ditches instead of beautiful, tree-lined rivers,” said Bob Wright, an attorney for the conservation group Friends of the River, one of the plaintiffs to the lawsuit. … “
Read the full text of the article at the Stockton Record by clicking here.
MORE: Read the press release from the Center for Biological Diversity by clicking here.
Photo of trees at dusk on Staten Island levee in the Delta by flickr photographer Art Siegel.
Webpage: Effects of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ policy on levee vegetation in California
Posted by: Maven on June 2, 2011 at 7:59 amFrom FloodSafe California:
“In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) embarked upon a process of reviewing and improving their levee standards with the goal of improving public safety. As part of this process, they reinvigorated and clarified national policy that would require the removal of all woody vegetation over 2 inches in diameter from levee systems throughout the country. This was done even though vegetation did not cause any of the numerous levee and floodwall failures in New Orleans.
The most recent descriptions of the Corps’ vegetation management policy are contained in the ETL 1110-2-571 “Guidelines For Landscape Planting and Vegetation Management at Levees, Floodwalls, Embankment Dams, and Appurtenant Structures” adopted April 10, 2009 (ETL) and the associated draft policy guidance letter, “Process for Requesting a Variance from Vegetation Standards for Levees and Floodwalls–75 Fed. Reg. 6364-68” (PGL).
On April 15, 2010, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) submitted extensive comments on the ETL and PGL, explaining how the Corps’ vegetation management policy will reduce public safety in California, result in extensive and unnecessary environmental damage, and remove the Corps’ responsibility to assist state and local maintaining agencies in ensuring the integrity of California’s levee system.
California agrees with the Corps that public safety is the highest priority for flood management. California also agrees upon the importance of appropriate vegetation management on levees. Despite these common goals, California asserts that the Corps’ strict enforcement of the ETL and PGL will adversely impact public safety. This unintended consequence is due in large part by attempting to address complex technical, financial, legal and institutional problems with a highly prescriptive, one-size-fits-all approach to vegetation management. “
This webpage is a wealth of resources on this issue, with links to documents, letters, news articles, and a timeline of events. Check out the FloodSAFE California webpage on levee vegetation by clicking here.
Rethinking flood control: Giving water its space
Posted by: Maven on May 10, 2011 at 8:57 amRecord flooding in the Midwest has been making news, prompting a discussion on rethinking the nation’s approach to flood control. From the Seattle Times:
” … In a move that echoes the approach taken by the Netherlands, which has long wrestled with such problems, a nascent movement made up of activists and city leaders victimized by flooding is pushing for “natural river defenses.” They want to set the rivers free, if just a little.
Cities and counties are buying up homes and farms and relocating residents to restore flood plains and wetlands. They’re moving levees back from the water’s edge. And they’re forsaking steep concrete channels in favor of gently sloped green spaces.
Oft-flooded Napa, Calif., calls its $400 million project the “living river.” Confronted in the 1970s with a Corps of Engineers plan to turn the downtown riverbank into a concrete channel, citizens said no. Instead, in 1998, voters said yes to relocating 13 bridges, buying out some 100 homes and businesses and restoring 900 acres of wetlands. … “
Read more about Napa’s efforts as well as other cities across the U.S. by clicking here.
MORE:
- Rethinking Flood Control: Levee System’s Impact on Communities, Environment Prompts Look at Alternatives, from the Wall Street Journal
- How Does The Army Corps Handle Flooding?, from NPR
SOMEWHAT RELATED:
- Climate change and the flood this time: Midwest flooding is a taste of climate change in its early stages. We’ve got to fight back, and fast, commentary by Bill McKibben in the Los Angeles Times
Natomas property owners overwhelmingly approve levee assessments
Posted by: Maven on April 30, 2011 at 7:37 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“Property owners in Sacramento’s Natomas basin have voted overwhelmingly to pay higher taxes in order to finish a massive repair of levees protecting their community.
In results announced Friday, a proposed property tax increase passed with 84.5 percent approval in a vote-by-mail held by the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency. … “
Continue reading from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Friday’s top of the scroll: Earthquake could threaten California’s water supply
Posted by: Maven on April 22, 2011 at 8:52 am
Rumor is that the third draft of the Delta Plan will be released today, just in time for your holiday weekend reading! I’ll post it once I receive it, and twitter it, too. Meanwhile, here’s this from Smart Planet (an IBM sponsored site):
“Water from the Sacramento River is pulled through the Delta to pumps that deliver water to California residents. Most of the water, though, is used to satisfy agricultural needs.
All of this exported water disrupts the natural water flow through the region. However, now with sea level rising and increased and improved seismic risk assessment – the aging infrastructure in the Delta might be putting the water supply of 23 million Californians in jeopardy.
While the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has been there for thousands of years, building levees has changed the area’s pristine marshland into farmland. … “
Continue reading from Smart Planet by clicking here.
Court battle expected over Central Valley levee vegetation
Posted by: Maven on April 20, 2011 at 8:25 amFrom the Sacramento Bee:
“Controversial federal rules that could require nearly every tree and bush to be chopped down from Central Valley levees are likely headed for a court battle.
On Tuesday, Sacramento-based environmental group Friends of the River and another group, Defenders of Wildlife, notified the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers they intend to file a lawsuit against the rules.
The 60-day notice is required under the Endangered Species Act. The groups also plan to sue under another statute that requires federal agencies to consult each other to ensure their policies don’t harm the environment. … “
Continue reading from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.
Loss of streams and wetlands will widen with new corps rules
Posted by: Maven on April 19, 2011 at 7:52 amFrom YubaNet.com:
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is poised to approve rules that will destroy hundreds of miles of streams and thousands of acres of wetlands under the guise that there will only be minimal impacts, according to formal comments filed today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and other groups. The rules would for the first time permit destruction of wetlands and streams and ocean floor to accommodate renewable power facilities.
“The Army Corps is doing the nation a disservice with this proposal by permitting massive losses of freshwater swamps, streams, and ocean habitat,” stated New England PEER Director Kyla Bennett, a former wetlands specialist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “The Clean Water Act only allows this type of permit for projects with ‘minimal adverse environmental effects’ but the Corps has plowed a battleship through this narrow loophole.” … “
Continue reading from YubaNet.com by clicking here.
Another crack discovered in south Sutter County levee; plus levee upgrade project scheduled to begin in May
Posted by: Maven on April 7, 2011 at 7:17 amFrom the Appeal Democrat:
“Officials have discovered another crack in the northern levee of the Natomas Cross Canal in south Sutter County, raising the cost to repair it and other storm damage to $4.1 million.
Earlier this week, inspectors with Reclamation District 1001 discovered a new 100-foot crack about 300 feet west of where a crack was discovered last month.
County and district officials said they still believe the levee is not in danger of failing. … “
Continue reading from the Appeal-Democrat by clicking here.
Meanwhile, more work on the levees is scheduled to begin next month:
“Within weeks, the final major project planned for the Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority should be under way.
By mid-May, crews are planned to begin work upgrading four miles of Yuba River levees between Simpson Road and the Goldfields with slurry walls and seepage berms. … “
Continue reading from the Appeal-Democrat by clicking here.
Flood emergency declared over Stanislaus County weakened levee
Posted by: Maven on April 6, 2011 at 7:05 amFrom the Merced Sun-Star:
“Alarmed at a weakened levee on the San Joaquin River, Stanislaus County supervisors on Tuesday declared a state of flood emergency.
Damages “could run into millions of dollars,” County Chief Executive Officer Rick Robinson said, and the declaration could clear the way for state and federal financial relief if Gov. Jerry Brown agrees.
The levee was not identified in a nonagendized item that supervisors agreed to hear because of its urgent nature, but Supervisor Jim DeMartini said it’s near Gomes Lake. … “
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