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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM&T RANCHu M & T CHICO~RANCH • 3964 CHICO RIVER ROAD • CFi1C0 • CALIFORNIA 95928 • (530} 342-2954 • FAX (530} 342-4138 Apri14, 2012 Mr. Bill Edgar, Chair, CVFPP clo Mary Ann Hadden DWR, Division of Flood Management c/o MWH 3321 Power Inn Road, Suite 300 Sacramento, CA 95$26 at~ARD OF SUPERViS4RS APR 4 6 ~~1g Dear Mr. Edgar: This is being written to request correction of an omission in the CVFPP. In 1964 the State Reclamation Board ordered levees to be degraded in Butte County so Sacramento River flood waters could flow into the Butte Basin thus relieving pressure on the "project levees" from R.M. 172 south. The Reclamation Board ordered M&T Ranch to lower its levee so 60,000 cfs of flood water would flow into the Butte Basin. Since 1964 the State DWR and USACE have spent a great deal of money maintaining and rocking the M&T Weir site and the levees in the area that insure the flood water "flow splits" into the Butte Basin. A serious bank erosion problem has been developing at R.M. 192.4 (Phelan Levee} on the east bank of the Sacramento River. If the Phelan Levee is compromised additional and uncontrolled flood waters will enter the Butte Basin. The State DWR insists the Phelan Levee is a private levee and has assumed no responsibility for it. The California Water Code $361 {p} instructs DWR to maintain structures including flood relief structures and weirs in our area of the M&T Weir Structure (all the way to R.M. 193 where Big Chico Creek meets the Sacramento River}. In 1989 Army Carps of Engineers design memoranda states the Phelan Levee is a component of the flood control system which maintain the proper flow split between the Sacramento River Flood Control Project levees and the overflow areas east of the river. In Phase 1 of the CVFPP meeting, Jeremy Arrich, Chief of the CVFPP, wrote a letter on September 1, 2010 (attached) to Mike Crump, Butte County's Director of Public Works. In this letter Mr. Arrich indicated his plan to advance the-issue of extending the project limits north to Chico Landing (R.M. 193) through the development of the CVFPP In reviewing the E.I.R. for the CVFPP there is no mention of protecting the facilities that maintain the flow splits into the Butte Basin. In the 2012 CVFPP E.I.R. pages 3. 13-12, the Sacramento River Bank Protection Project is detailed as being from Chico Landing to the Goose Lake Flood Relief Structure. The Phelan Levee on the east-bank and between Chico Landing and the M&T FRS is not listed as being a component of the CVFPP. It needs to be specifically listed as a component of the CVFPP. Taking responsibility and protecting these facilities that deliver the design flood flows to the Butte Basin would affirm and protect transportation, commerce and flood safety in Butte County and protect central valley agriculture, retain agricultural uses long-term, maintain a rural levee standard and avoid redirected impacts and unintended consequences. ~.m:r,h,~ __..~ r ~~~ _ , FARM DOLL AT ~ ~a ~~~, Mr. Bill Edgar, Chair, CVFPP DWR, Division of Flood Management Page 2 Please include the permanent facilities between the M&T FRS and Chico Landing as critical infrastructure and a component of the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan. Sincerely, -~~ Les Heringer Manager Enclosures CC: Steve Lambert, Chair, Butte County Board of Supervisors Mike Crump, Director, Butte County Public Works Department Stuart Edell, Butte County Public Works Department ~': ~ i `s 3, t f. ~.. i. 1 SFATEOFCALEFORNEA-CAUFORNIANATURALRESOURCFSAGENCY ~ ARIVOf.DSGFffIfFARZENEGGER,GOVemor Q~PAIZTI~IIENT OF WATT=R RIrSOURCES CENTRAL VALLEY FLOOR PtANN1NG OFFfCE 3464 EL CAMWO AVENUE, 5E1rfE 150 ~e ~ .Y SACRAMENTO, CA 45821 FAX j916) 57A-1053 Mr. Mike Crump, P_E. • Bute County Director of Public Works 7 Coun#y Center Drive Oroville,California 95965-3397 Dear Mr. Crump: I am writing to thank you and Mr. S#uart Edell for your interest, input and participation in the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan (CVFPP) development process over the past year, and look forward to continued engagement by yourselves and other Butte County representatives as we move farward_ tNe appreciated your January 8, 291 D letter on . Butte Basin averf(ow at the 3B's location, ar~d Mr. Edell's February 28 and May 2©, 2(118 letters providing comments on the draft State Plan of Flood Control (SPEC) Descriptive Document and the draft Regional Conditions Report, respectively. We are in the process of revising the SPEC Descriptive Document to address comments received for the January 2810 draft, including yours related to the criteria and characterization of SPEC as defined in Public Resources Cade Section 5896.805. We anticipate the report to be released in fall 2018, and we hope that you would be able to review the document to confirm tha#'your concerns have been proper~r addressed, In addition, as we have discussed in the Regional Conditions Work Group meetings, the Regional Conditions Report is a working document and its content and suggested revisions will be incorporated in future v+rork products where appropriate. The State recognizes the importance ofi the Butte Basin Overflow Area (BBflA} to the functioning of the Sacramento River Flood Control Project, and we would like to have further discussion with you on your- specific comments and concems. Our Cen#ra( Valley Flood Planning Team staff will be coi-rtacting you and Mr. Edell to schedule a meeting in the near future. In the meantime, we would like to respond to some of your major concems related to the BBOA. We agree with you and Mr. Edell that the BBOA is important and necessary for the protection of the Sacramento River Flood Control Project downstream. As referenced in your letters, in December 1986 The Reclama#ion Board (now, the Central Valley Flood Protection Board) cert~ed.the Environmental Impact Report (EIR} for the Plan of Flood Cantral far the Butte Basin Overflow Area 1986 Plan ,and concurrently ~~~~ SAP ~ ~ 2010 co~.~ o~ sv~ ~D D•EVF.LOPMENT ~N. Mr. Mike Grump, P.E. September 1, 2010 Page 2 approved a State construction project to define and establish the M&T and Goose Lake Flaad Relief Structures. Subsequently, the State implemented the "Overbank Flow Element" of the 1988 Plan. The U.S_ Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) implemented many features of the °Channel Stabilization Element" of the Plan by constructing several bank protection sites during the late 1980's. Since '# 987, the State has been responsible for maintenance of the State-construe#ed overbank flow features and the Corps-constructed channel stabilization features of the '1986 Plan. We recognize that since the mid-1990's, the Corps has not considered the BBOA to be part of the Sacramento River Flood Control Project, leading to a recommendation in the 1997 report by the Governor's Flood Emergency Action Team (FEAT}, which urged the Corps ta: "formally recognize the importance of the Butte Basin Overflow Area by adopting the overflow and bank protection features into the Sacramento River Flaad Control Project, extending the project limits north to Chico Landing to match the limits of the Sacramento River Bank Protection Project, and approving a plan of flood control for the Butte Basin Overflow Area reach of the river". We plan to advance the issue through the ongoing development of the CVFPP. Consistent with Vila#er Code Section 9611, there would be opportunities (based an the outcome of plan development} for recommending addition of facilities to or removal of facilities from the SPFG. Your input and additional insights are welcome and beneficial in the evaluation. I look forward to more in-depth discussion with you on these issues. Another topic discussed extensively in all three letters from Butte County is the 3B's Overflow Area. There have been many meetings among representatives of the State, Corps, local govemrnent entities, and private landowners aver the past several years to facilitate Ivcal resolution of this issue. The December 1986 EIR for the BBOA prepared far The Reclamation Board re#erences AB's as one of three "definitive areas for flood water diversion". However, no construction work was necessary at 3B's in order to Mr. Mike Crump, P.F. Sep#ember.l, 2fl1p Page 3 meet the State's objectives to implement the Plan of Flood Control because a natural overflow had been created there due to the breach of the private "Wright ~.evee"during previous high water years. While the 1986 Plan found no State interest in construction at the 3B's site, local concerns were addressed by providing specific snot to exceed elevations and dimensions on page B-'# 1 of the 1986 EIR that privy#e landowners might use to peti#ion the Board for their construction of a private levee along the river to prevent nuisance overbank flooding at the lower river flows which are not threatening to the Sacramento River Flood Control Project. In addition, as part o€ the ongoing planning process, we will look into associated facili#ies to be added or removed from the SPFC as legislatively mandated. We will assess facilities for addition or removal in your area, as well as throughout the system, as part of Phase 3 and 4 of the CVFPP development process. In conclusion, we recognize the challenges in reaching a common understanding of the BBOA, including internal distribution ofiflows during various flow levels and its operation and proper functioning with respect to the overall flood protection system. The information provided in Butte County's letters and subsequent-discussions will be carefully considered in our upcoming evaluations of the CVFPP and used to help formulate potential management actions and solutions to identified problems. We look forward to working furkher with you and your staff on this important planning process. As mentioned earlier, we will be contacting you to arrange a meeting of our staffs #o go over your detailed comments_ if you have any questions, please contact Ms. Michele - Ng of this office at (916) 718-'19'13. Sincerely, O1~IGINAL SIGNED BY .leremy Arrich, Chief Central Valley Flood Planning Office Division of Flood Management 111tr. Mike Crump, P.E. September 1, 2010 Page 4 cc: Ms. Jane Dolan ~ 96 Memorial Way Ghica, Gaiifornia 95926 Ms. Kim Yamaguchi 747 Elliott Rnad Paradise, California 95969 Mr. Steve Lambert 3159 Nelson Avenue Orovi#le, Califiornia 95965 Mr. Bill Connelly 5280 Lower Wyandotte Road Oroville, California 95966 Ms. Maureen Kirk Post Office Box 1087 Chico, Califomia 95927 vMr. Stuart Ede[# 7 County Center Drive Oroville, Gaiifornia 95955-3397 Mr. Merritt Rice DWR Central Valley Flood Planning office 3464 EI Camino Avenue, Suite '150 Sacramento, California 95821 Mr. Dan McManus DVtfR Special lnvest#gativns Branch 2440 Main Street Red Bluff, California 96080 Mr. Roger gutty MWH Upper Sacramento Work Group 3321 Power lnn Raad, Suite 300 Sacramento, California 9582fi Mr. Mike Crump, P.E. September 1, 2010 Page 5 Mr. Scott Rice 2870 Gateway Oaks Drive, Suite 300 Sacramento, Califomia 95833 - Mrs. Michele Ng QWR Central Valley I`iood Planning Offce 3464 EI Camina Avenue, Suite 15Q Sacramento, California 95821 Mr. Les Neringer IVI&T Ranch 3964 River Road - Ghico, California 95928 Mr. Jason Larraljee Post Office Box 172 Butte City, California 95920