Local Oroville Dam oversight committee sends suggestions to DWR

Group highlights items from independent forensic report

SACRAMENTO – The local oversight committee spearheaded by Assemblyman James Gallagher and Sen. Jim Nielsen had some suggestions this week for the state Department of Water Resources on its assessment of the Oroville Dam.

This comes about a month after the committee met for the first time on July 18.

Gallagher, R-yuba City, said the committee plans to send DWR feedback after each of its quarterly meetings. After having time to reflect, the committee wanted to highlight some things, such as recommendations made in the independent forensic report, which aren’t currently included in the scope of the department’s comprehensive needs assessment.

The forensic report, which was released in January, found that human and organizational factors contributed to the failure of the Oroville Dam spillways in February 2017. Although the comprehensive needs assessment is focused on infrastructure, Gallagher argues that these issues are related and should be considered together.

“Infrastructure has to be operated, right?” Gallagher said. “In many cases, it’s a human that’s going to operate it.”

In its letter to DWR, the committee raises the concern that the term “comprehensive needs assessment” may be misleading to the public, as the assessment currently includes six specific tasks related to infrastructure.

Some of those tasks include looking at possible alternatives to “restore spillway design capacity to pass the probable maximum flood” and considering ways to make the spillway more reliable.

Gallagher said he hoped DWR wouldn’t be “pigeonholed” into the six tasks.

“We’re all working together to ensure this should be as comprehensive as possible,” he said.

Erin Mellon, a spokeswoman for DWR, said that, as outlined in the charter, the department would respond to the committee’s feedback before the next meeting.

“As a reminder, the Oroville Dam safety comprehensive needs assessment will identify priorities and appropriate solutions to bolster the integrity and resiliency of the Oroville Dam complex to ensure public safety,” Mellon wrote.

DWR’S John Yarbrough is co-chair with Gallagher and Nielsen, R-red Bluff, on the committee. Other committee members include: Rep. Doug Lamalfa (R-richvale), Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea, Butte County Supervisor Bill Connelly, Matt Mentink, Ron Stork, Mike Inamine, Larry Grundman, Sean Early, Rune Storesund and Sandy Linville.

The assessment should be complete by the end of 2019.

Citizens can send feedback to the committee by emailing orovilledamadhoc@gmail.com.

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