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The Honorable Edmund G. Brown Jr.
Governor of California

State Capitol, First Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814

John Laird, Secretary

California Natural Resources Agency
1416 Ninth Street, Suite 1311
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor Brown Secretary Laird:

We are a coalition of community groups, local governments and agencies, businesses, labor, and individuals
who have been affected by the recent Oroville Dam crisis.

The State, in partnership with local agencies, has greatly improved public safety of Oroville Dam
through the investment of hundreds of millions of dollars in levee repairs and other ?ood management
measures?-this investment has proven to be effective and timely in light of recent high water events. Oroville
Dam itself plays a critical role in metering ?ood ?ow on the Feather River. However, while we are cognizant
and appreciative of the many ?ood control bene?ts of Oroville Dam, we are greatly concerned by the physical
constraints and operational decisions that have negatively impacted our communities.

Oroville was built with the anticipation of Marysville Dam providing an additional ?ood control buffer that
was never realized. In the last ?fty years, atmospheric rivers occurring when there is a large snowpack have
fueled large in?ows into the dam requiring large discharges from the spillway. Climate change has made this
worse. Levee failures, ?ood ?ghts, emergency evacuations and loss of life and property during high water
events in 1986,1997 and 2017 have all been borne by our residents who live and work immediately

 of Oroville Dam. This latest ongoing incident dramatically highlights the fact that those who
suffer the greatest consequences from dam malfunction or failure have little or no say in the construction,
operation or maintenance of that structure.

Oroville spillway conditions negatively affect our communities communities that are composed
of low?income, minority and economically depressed constituencies. In the City of Oroville for example, 24%
of the population lives in poverty. Just in Marysville, the poverty rate is nearly 29%.The bene?ts
of the Oroville Dam project are signi?cant throughout the state, providing water to 24 million people in
California. But the extreme danger and burden of?ood water is shouldered by our disadvantaged communi?
ties alone. We view this as a social, economic and environmental justice issue that must be addressed.

Accordingly we have the following requests and questions:

1. This emergency has demonstrated that the Oroville Dam lacks the operational ?exibility and
reliability to provide adequate ?ood protection to communities It is not clear how DWR is adapt-
ing both the dam itself and/or reservoir operations to accommodate these de?ciencies. We believe options
need to be explored to provide for large releases well in advance of high water events and well below the
service spillway crest elevation. Or, overall ?ood protection could be improved by providing additional ?ood
buffer when there is a large snowpack and the potential for warm storms. 

2. outreach to the communities directly impacted has been inadequate at
best. Our best sources of information have been informal and indirect sources rather than through of?cial
DWR channels. DWR must immediately shift its thinking in how, when, and to whom it shares information.
There is already a strong community distrust of DWR due to this event. A lack of communication and transpar?
ency only makes it worse. DWR could do much more to improve trust and credibility with the community by
providing greater transparency and providing formal, consistent communication with the com?
munities.

3. Design and construction ofthe necessary repairs to the dam and related infrastructure must be
paramount and other considerations must be secondary. The number one priority must be to protect the lives
of 200,000 people living immediately be abundantly clear: ?sheries protection, water supply
issues, State Water Contractor priorities, FEMA reimbursement, politics and other issues must take a distant
backseat to public safety. We urge DWR to publicly acknowledge this priority.

4. The overall infrastructure of the dam is old and, in the case of the spillways, river valves and
turbines, failing.There must be a longer term plan for ensuring that Oroville Dam and all appurtenant features
are repaired and brought up to 21 st century standards.This plan should include not only the gated spillway
and the emergency spillway, but also ensuring the plant facilities and low level release valves are adequate
and fully operational. All construction plans should be reviewed by independent experts to ensure that this
infrastructure is well planned, soundly built and supported.This modernization should be paid by the owners
of the project, which we understand to be the State Water Contractors.

5. There must be a full and thorough review of how the Department ofWater Resources designed,
constructed, operated and maintained the dam. This review should include not only the existing, indepen?
dent consulting board review and regulatory review, but also legislative oversight hearings and reviews by
the State Auditor. Full disclosure and transparency of these proceedings and documents is essential.

6. There must be a public discussion as to how Oroville Dam should be operated in the future and
who should operate it. Without prejudging the conversation, some of the questions are as follows:

a. Should DWR continue to be the operator of Oroville Dam? There are other alternatives
and they should be analyzed and discussed.

b. Should the Division of Dam Safety remain under the Department ofWater Resources or
should it become an independent body or moved to another agency to avoid perceived con?icts? Many of
the most important technical regulators in the State serve under a publicly accountable board?DSOD should
be no different.

Are the rrent inspections, maintenance, repair, and replacement activities associated
with tW?atSWr% amine? Sam suf?cient to provide for public safety?

d. How canwsure more local input on Dam operations?

e. Should therebe a more robust public safety obligation on the part of DWR to provide
for law enforcement and emergency response at the Oroville Dam and Reservoir? As of now this is obligation
is largely shouldered by Butte County which has limited resources. FERC and DWR need to treat Butte County
fairly for all the services provided to Lake Oroville facilities.

f. Should the operations at Oroville Dam be modi?ed to provide for increased flood space
during seasons in which there is a large snowpack?

9. How has coordinated reservoir operations and predictive forecasted reservoir
operations bene?tted our communities? How could these tools be better utilized? Forecasting during this
crisis has been signi?cantly inaccurate.

7. Improving Flood Protection 

a. There are several constrictions ofthe Feather River that could be improved
to better contain ?ood ?ows from the spillway. A cost?bene?t study should be conducted to analyze projects
that might alleviate these constrictions.

b. There are also several critical repair sites along the Feather River levee system that
should be improved in order to better contain future ?ood flows from the spillway, including but not limited
to sites in District 10, south of Yuba City, and south of Nicolaus. These were the sites of signi?cant seepage
during the recent crisis.

c. We have also seen large?scale erosion ofthe river banks as a result of quick draw downs
of the spillway in the aftermath ofthe crisis. This erosion could ultimately threaten levees and, combined with
the debris from the spillway collapse, has contributed to signi?cant debris in the river channel. The debris
impact to the carrying capacity of levees must be analyzed/measured and removal/mitigation
measures must be taken to protect property, lives, and the ecology and ?sh habitat of the Feather River.

8. As a result of the crisis and evacuation, there were business and property losses, lost wages, and
damages to public and private property. These damages are harder to take for communities that are already
struggling and families that are already living paycheck to paycheck. Emergency relief dollars may provide
some compensation for these losses but it will not be complete. We would like to see some discussion as to
how these gaps can be covered to help make our communities whole.

The undersigned jurisdictions and organizations would appreciate a response to each of the concerns and
questions outlined above. Additionally, we formally request that our coalition be briefed and consulted as
conditions change, recovery plans are being crafted and other critical short and long?term issues are being
discussed. As an initial matter we would like to have a brie?ng from the technical staff (not PR staff) tasked
with design and construction of spillways ?xes that are scheduled to be completed before November ist.

While we are resolute in pursuing our demands, we appreciate that DWR faces tremendous challenges, and
we stand ready to collaborate with DWR to successfully complete necessary construction before next ?ood

season.

We look forward to an ongoing discussion with you.



mes Gallagher
Ly/lState 
Third District

Bill Connelly 
Chairman

Butte County Board of Supervisors

 

 

Randy Fletcher
Chairman
Yuba County Board of Supervisors

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Stan Cleveland
Mayor
City onuba City



Angela Thompson
Mayor
City of Biggs

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Jim Nielsen
State Senator
Forth District


k?im Whiteaker

Chairman

Sutter County Board of Supervisors

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Linda Dahlmeier
Mayor
City of Oroville

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Ricky Samayoa
Mayor
City of Marysville

 

 

Frank Hall
Mayor
City ofGridley

Jason Banks
Mayor
City of Live Oak

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Rick West
Mayor
City of Wheatland

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Sean Morgan"
Mayor
City ofChico

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Rikki L. ShafferL?
CEO
Yuba?Sutter Chamber of Commerce

 

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Annette Bertolini

President
Live Oak District Chamber of Commerce

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David Burroughs
President
Yuba?Sutter Farm Bureau

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Randy Chapman
President
Oroville Association of Realtors

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President/Chief Operating Of?cer
Yuba?Sutter Economic Development Corporation

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Sam Escheman
President
Yuba City Police Of?cer?s Association

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Francisco Reveles, 
Superintendent of Schools
Yuba County Of?ce of Education

 

 

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Sandy Linville
President CEO
Oroville Area Chamber of Commerce

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Lisa Van DeHey
Board Member
Gridley Area Chamber of Commerce

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Clark Becker
President
Butte County Farm Bureau

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?Holly?IShacklefordr?;
President
SutterYuba Association of Realtors

 

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Brendon 
President
Sacramento Valley Landowners Association

 

Lester E. Eaton
President
Sutter Deputy Sheriff /Association

/ll'im Taylor/
Superintendent of Schools

Butte County Of?ce of Education

 

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Dr. Baljinder Dhillon
Superintendent of Schools
Sutter County Of?ce of Education

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Ron Roman
District Representative
Operating Engineers Local #3

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Robert D. Ward
Business Manager
IBEW L.U. 340

 

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Gino Patrizio
Chief Executive Of?cer
Rideout Health

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Mark Mulliner
Business Manager
United Association Local Union 228
Plumbers, Pipe?tters, HVAC

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(Q John T. Harris
airman of the Board of Directors

Orchard Hospital



Robert imz
President/CEO
Oroville Hospital

 

 

Robert Bateman
President
Roplast Industries Inc.

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Gary Kim
President
Twin Cities Rod Gun Club

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Robert Scheiber

President
Reclamation District 1001

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John Cassidy
Chief Executive Of?cer
Sierra Central Credit Union


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President/CEO
Geweke Ford Kia

Mike LeggI/ns
Vice President General Manager
Recology

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AlexBumpus

President/CEO
Bi?County Ambulance

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James Stone
President
Nor?Cal Guides Sportsmans Association