Congresswoman Matsui Emphasizes Need for Full Funding for Sacramento Flood Protection Priorities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 8, 2011

CONTACT: MARA LEE
(202) 225-7163

Congresswoman Matsui Emphasizes Need for Full Funding for Sacramento Flood Protection Priorities
House Bill Would Provide 90% of Requested Funding But Is Below Corps Capability

Today, Congresswoman Doris O. Matsui (D-Sacramento) spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives during debate on the rule for the Fiscal Year 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations bill. Sacramento's top flood protection priorities are each slated to receive 90 percent of requested funding, but Congresswoman Matsui continued to make the case to her colleagues for full funding so that Sacramento flood protection projects continue without delay.

In this current economic climate, several regions throughout the country are seeing significant project cuts or are not receiving funding at all. The Sacramento region, however, is slated for only very modest decreases in their requests from the amount President Obama requested in his FY12 budget. Still, full funding is needed to give Sacramento residents the protection they need and deserve.
House debate on the bill is scheduled to resume on Monday. Congresswoman Matsui's prepared remarks from today's debate are below, and video footage is available HERE.

Since I was elected to office, I have been a tireless advocate on behalf of Sacramento's flood protection priorities. Sacramento is the most at-risk metropolitan area for major flooding, as it lies at the confluence of two great rivers the American and the Sacramento. The city is home to California's State Capitol, an international airport, the state's water and electric grids and most importantly half a million people.

If Sacramento were to flood the economic damages would range between $28 and $40 billion dollars. The consequences of such a flood would be felt across the nation.

Even in this austere budget environment, it is critical that Sacramento's basic flood protection needs are met.

I want to applaud the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee for including funding for four of Sacramento's top flood protection projects. Each one of these projects is a critical component to improving the flood protection for the entire Sacramento region. Taken together, the completed projects will bring us closer to the level of flood protection that families and businesses throughout the area deserve.

Moreover, these projects are already in the midst of construction, a lapse of funding would not only postpone the safety that the completed projects will provide, but would also increase project costs something we cannot afford.

In fact, these projects have already been funded on the local and state level and are awaiting a sustained federal match: a match that Congress has previously authorized.

For example, federal funding will help finish the Folsom Dam Joint Federal Project (JFP), where continued construction on the auxiliary spillway will provide greater efficiency in managing flood storage in the Folsom Reservoir, and critical dam safety work.

The hundreds of thousands of residents living below the Dam will be better protected once the project is finished. The JFP is on the path to completion and has a tremendous benefit cost ratio. The JFP and our levee improvements will go a long way toward preventing flooding in Sacramento.

But I am concerned that the funding in this bill does not fully support Sacramento's flood protection needs. The levels in this bill are actually below the Corps of Engineers full capability.

This winter, we had a record breaking snow pack in the Sierra Nevada mountain range which rests just above Sacramento. We were fortunate that the snow pack did not melt all at once, as has happened in previous years. When this occurs, our dams and levees are put to the test. Mr. Speaker, luck is not something that the American people should have to rely on.

The damage of Hurricane Katrina and this year's flooding in the Midwest taught us that we need to take large leaps forward in shoring up our nation's flood protection infrastructure. Unfortunately the funding in this bill is only half a step forward.

Let's take the opportunity to fix our nation's flood protection system while the sun is out and not watch another American community get swept away in high water.

# # #