One member shares their perspective.
An excerpt.
Board's action on flood issues commendable
By Cheryl Bly-Chester - Special to The BeePublished 12:00 am PDT Sunday, September 17, 2006
Cheryl Bly-Chester, former vice president of the state Board of Reclamation, is responding to the Sept. 10 editorial "Governor can salvage Wreck Board he created."
I appreciate The Bee's lead editorial last week reiterating my campaign promise to "rein in the out-of-control regulatory agencies."
Improving regulatory responsiveness is a passionate goal of mine that I hope your readers will remember when I run for office again in 2010. Although it has been five months since my last Reclamation Board meeting, I am flattered that The Bee remembers my accomplishments bringing levee permitting into compliance with the California Permit Streamlining Act.
I am proud of my part in extracting numerous projects from wallowing in bureaucratic inaction from the pre-Katrina days.
For example, the Highway 160 guardrail in the Sacramento Delta protects traffic safety but hinders levee maintenance and could decrease the levee's flood protection capability. This important issue had reached an impasse with the pre-Katrina board continuing its meeting after meeting for years without resolution.
During last winter's storms, the levee bank eroded under the guardrail requiring immediate repair. After inspecting it, I was able to convey the urgency to all parties and am proud of how local reclamation districts and our state crews, both Caltrans and the Department of Water Resources, quickly responded to protect public safety.
Under my leadership, all parties came to the table agreeing to language for interagency cooperation, which finally resolved the guardrail issue.
For the first time in Reclamation Board history, the current board approved applications for privately financed construction of levee improvements designed for 200-year flood protection.
Although it is humbling to be given full credit for leading that effort, the contributions of the people protecting the public, especially the board staff, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Water Resources certainly overshadow my small part.
In approving these enormous super-levees and setback levees, we provide some of the best flood protection and environmental restoration available in California while saving our taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
