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California Flood Policy Is Like...Gymnastics?
By Gary A. Patton
Executive Director
Planning and Conservation League
Negotiations are in full gear, primarily concerning the interim land use measures which would be put in place until a flood control plan for the Central Valley is completed in 2012. (These discussions principally affect AB 5 and SB 5.)
PCL staff member Jonas Minton is playing a key role in these negotiations. He is seeking to ensure that new flood policy incorporates wise land use into the flood control plan and provides complementary benefits to both public safety and the environment.
Nail-biting...
Tracking the flood negotiations right now feels like judging a complicated gymnastics routine on the balance beam. With each move, we can't help but hold our breath until the gymnasts land safely. And we know that we won't be able to breathe easy until Senator Steinberg and the other flood bill authors finish their routine (i.e. release the negotiated package of flood legislation).
Among other crucial aspects of the package, we're focused on bill language that requires the adoption of flood control measures that also provide ecosystem benefits. This specifically includes:
Setback levees – These levees preserve land that can be used as a floodway during strong storms to relieve flood pressure from existing urban areas, and provide habitat for wildlife during non-flood events.
Flood bypasses – These areas preserve land that can be used as a floodway to relieve flood pressure from existing urban areas. Because bypasses can be quite large, during non-flood events the bypass is managed for agriculture and/or habitat for wildlife.
Are you sensing a theme, here? (Relieving flood pressure = Win-Win.)
Glancing back at the balance beam, we see that Jonas is spotting as best he can. We're all chewing our fingernails down to the quick, hoping that these legislative gymnasts dismount with grace and ease.
Next week: The debut of the consensus flood package...how does it score? We hope we can report that the package deserves a perfect 10. Stay tuned!
Gary Patton is the Executive Director of the Planning and Conservation League, a statewide, nonprofit lobbying organization. For more than thirty years, PCL has fought to develop a body of environmental laws in California that is the best in the United States. PCL staff review virtually every environmental bill that comes before the California Legislature each year. It has testified in support or opposition of thousands of bills to strengthen California's environmental laws and fight off rollbacks of environmental protections.
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