County officials in Santa Cruz are fed up with the stalemate with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over how to fix the Pajaro River levees. The Army has offered $163 solution to repair the aging levees, but county officials led by Supervisor Tony Campos say that this is not enough, and demand a more thorough overhaul of the system. Since their negotiations with the Army have gotten nowhere, they decided to raise the stakes a notch by appealing directly to the federal government. Meetings are now planned with California’s senators Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein, as well as with local Congressman Sam Farr and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo.
For its part, the Army has stated that its proposal is more than adequate to meet local needs, and it does so at a reasonable cost. They are committed to funding 75 percent of the project, with the remainder coming from the county and state. County officials are concerned that unless the overhaul is really adequate, local residents will not be willing to pick up the tab. Read more at the Mercury News.
County Appeals to DC to Help Fix the Levees
The 1995 flood swamped the Pajaro River levees.
