Letter might be symbolic, but it’s still a good idea

Request to hold off on Oroville Dam relicensing sends a message about very real concerns

Sure, it’s mostly a symbolic gesture, but it could be noticed by some of the right officials. We need Sacramento and Washington to take and maintain (that’s the tricky part) attention on the Oroville Dam repairs.

The state Department of Water Resources is currently in the process of relicensing the reservoir, dam and power generation facilities. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is the entity in charge of making sure it all meets copious guidelines and modifications before reissuing a 50-year license. Typically, relicensing any dam (even those that are run well and develop no apparent problems) takes years, maybe decades.

Once a license reaches the end of its term, temporary licenses are renewed yearly until everything is up to snuff. It can take that long because it’s a once-every-50-year process and FERC may require extensive and complicated upgrades that require extensive and complicated studies and engineering and financing.

So that’s where DWR was at with the Oroville Dam. Efforts at relicensing have been going on since 2005 and the actual license expired in 2007. As of last year, DWR was apparently nearing the end of the long process. Then came the February crisis.

Now, a coalition of area local governments and officials is asking FERC to hold off on issuing a new license until all the causes and remediation plans are reviewed and the actual construction going on up there is thoroughly vetted and approved.

“We want to make sure DWR is looking at dam safety as being paramount, and that the new license reflects that,” said Sandy Linville, president and chief executive officer of the Oroville Chamber of Commerce.

The coalition start taking form after the February crisis, when, after the main spillway of the dam had been shut down, it was feared that extreme erosion might cause the collapse of the emergency spillway, sending a wall of water downstream. That’s when we were all evacuated.

The worst of our fears didn’t happen. But many of us were left with the eerie feeling that the worst didn’t happen because we got lucky. Of course operators finally figured out the proper procedures and put them in place in time to avert the disaster. But that still seems like luck.

And this request to FERC to hold up licensing is a way of communicating that feeling – that it was pure luck that saved us and that luck is not good enough.

Construction is going full-tilt now. DWR’s contractors are working around the clock to fix the main spillway and have it operational before the next rainy season starts. That alone seems like a tall, though doable, order. But there needs to be more work done the following season. Maybe more after that. The main spillway of the tallest dam, as well as remediation work beneath the emergency spillway … it’s a big deal. And it needs to be paid attention to.

Coalition members, it was reported last week, have drafted a letter to FERC and are gathering signatures. “It would be prudent for the commission to issue a new license only when there is clarity on both the configuration of the project and its potential effects and how the damage from the February incident will be addressed by the licensee.” Amen.

Those signing on include county supervisors, the YubaSutter Economic Development Corp., the local Realtors association and area city officials. Others should join the team.

Though symbolic, this request is perfectly reasonable and meaningful and county and local governments and legislators should work to get a response from FERC.