Levee cash hinges on override

Marysville levee repairs could get a $41 million boost if Congress overrides a threatened presidential veto.

The Water Resources Development Act authorizes more than $1.3 billion for more than 50 flood-control and restoration projects in California, including $41.7 million toward Marysville levee repairs that is in a Senate conference report.

The Senate passed the legislation last month. It is now in the hands of President George Bush, who has threatened a veto.

But Congress may have the final say if enough legislators vote to override the President’s veto. Both the House and Senate approved the WRDA by wide margins and plan an override vote in case of a veto.

Local legislators who approved the WRDA included U.S. Rep. Wally Herger, R-Chico, who says further delay will push back the construction start for Marysville levee repairs.

Yuba County Water Agency Chairman Don Schrader said in an e-mail statement that Herger’s support for appropriations bills and WRDA language in the House made flood-control progress possible. Sen. Barbara Boxer also supported WRDA language as chair of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, according to the statement.

Curt Aikens, general manager of the Yuba County Water Agency, believes the WRDA could speed up Marysville levee repairs by a year or two.

“The WRDA language is a potential tool in speeding up the process to construct levee improvements in Marysville,” said Aikens.

The Yuba County Water Agency has been seeking federal help for levee repairs ever since the 1986 Flood, said Aikens.

The WRDA may be too late for the levees that broke in that flood.

Yuba County officials bypassed the typical federal levee repair process and formed the Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority to fix RD 784 levees. Money has come from fees on new-home construction in Plumas Lake and developer contributions. More funds may be on the way from the state’s Proposition 1e levee bonds passed in November.

That leaves Marysville’s levees. The state Department of Water Resources is studying the 7.6-mile ring levee and plans to wrap up its investigation by March. Some repairs will probably be needed to give Marysville a 200-year level of protection against flooding from the Feather and Yuba rivers.

Appeal-Democrat reporter John Dickey can be reached at 749-4711. You may e-mail him at jdickey@appealdemocrat.com