Congresswoman Matsui Announces Initial Funding Levels for Sacramento Flood Protection Priorities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 15, 2011

CONTACT: MARA LEE
(202) 225-7163

Congresswoman Matsui Announces Initial Funding Levels for Sacramento Flood Protection Priorities
Praises Continued Federal Commitment to Protecting Area Residents, Businesses

Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) announced that four of Sacramento's top flood protection priorities were funded in the House Energy and Water Fiscal Year 2012 Appropriations bill. The bill was passed by the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee earlier in June, and the full Appropriations Committee approved the bill today.

In this current economic climate, several regions throughout the country are seeing significant project cuts or are receiving no funding. However, the Sacramento region is slated for only very modest decreases in their requests from the amount President Obama requested in his FY12 budget. Most importantly, each of the projects is slated to receive over 90 percent of the requested totals. This will allow each of the projects to continue without delay.

Even in this austere budget environment, it is critical that Sacramento's basic flood protection needs are met, Congresswoman Matsui said. We cannot afford to put thousands of Sacramento homeowners and businesses at risk. The federal government must continue to fulfill its commitment to protect the lives and livelihoods of the capital area of the largest state in the union, and I appreciate my colleagues willingness to do so.

Each one of our projects is a critical component in improving the flood protection of our entire region, Matsui added. Taken together, these projects help us achieve the flood protection levels that families and businesses throughout the Sacramento area need and deserve. I will continue to push for higher levels of funding to meet our flood protection priorities. Sacramento deserves no less.

Congresswoman Matsui has been a tireless advocate for federal support for Sacramento's flood protection priorities since she was sworn into office in 2005. In the last year alone, she has been in constant contact with leaders of the Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the State of California, the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA), and other agencies to ensure that construction continues on time and on budget, and has continued to argue Sacramento's case to her colleagues on the Appropriations Committee through both conversations and formal letters.

The current funding levels, as written into the legislation before the Appropriations Committee, are as follows:

American River Common Features $23,149,000
For work within the American River Watershed, including the American River Common Features General Re-evaluation Report, further design work in support of levee improvements in Natomas and levee improvements on the American River.

Folsom Dam Joint Federal Project $19,028,000
To continue construction on the auxiliary spillway, which will provide greater efficiency in managing flood storage in Folsom Reservoir.

South Sacramento Streams $4,530,000
To improve flood protection in the South Sacramento area, some of which still does not have 100 year protection.

Folsom Dam Raise $906,000
To raise Folsom Dam to help achieve 200-year-flood protection for the region.

In addition, the Energy and Water Appropriations bill will include a Reserve Fund that will allocate over $350 million to the Corps for the purpose of funding flood protection projects. Upon enactment of this legislation, the Corps will have 45 days to craft a plan informing Congress how they intend to use the additional funding. Each project, whether in the President's Budget or not, will have an opportunity to compete for funding included in this Reserve Fund.

I will work vigorously to secure additional funding in any potential Corps Reserve Fund for Sacramento's flood protection projects, Matsui stated. Because of the hard work we already put into our Corps priorities, I believe we are in a strong position to be successful in securing additional funding for Sacramento flood control projects.

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