Probably not the best thing to be arguing about during the important discussion about weak levees, and one would think the state would have had a policy in place about this long ago.
An excerpt.
Levee dispute over 3 inches
By Daniel Witter/Appeal-Democrat
State Reclamation Board officials have delayed ruling on a request by the Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority to add 3 more inches of soil to a levee.
Three Rivers made the request last month to alter the Yuba River Levee between Simpson Lane and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks in Linda to provide 200-year flood protection.
At its Oct. 20 meeting, the Reclamation Board delayed a decision until Nov. 17.
During a special Three Rivers meeting Tuesday, Director Dan Logue asked why the state is hesitating.
Board Chairman Richard Webb, who attended the Reclamation Board's meeting, said the state doesn't have a uniform policy about levee raising.
“Until they make that policy, they don't want to (handle requests) piecemeal,” Webb said.
In a memo to the Three Rivers board, Executive Director Paul Brunner said the Reclamation Board is concerned that additional water would be passed downstream through the higher levees, “thus causing liability issues for the state.”
The state board is developing a policy for levee raising, but it may not be ready until next year.
Three Rivers, citing its own hydraulic analysis, contends there would be no impact from the levee raising, Brunner said in the memo.
