Posted on 02/12/2017 4:26:47 PM PST by janetjanet998
Edited on 02/12/2017 9:33:58 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
This development comes a day after the SacBee article about David Gutierrez’ role in the investigation and history with the agency.
They know we’re watching.
I sense frustration via your distinct commentary, including the "I'm only half-joking here". The postings on this long thread have so far been "commentary", "discussion", "engineering", all within a "professional" sense. It would hope that this thread will maintain this sense of distinction in "critical thought" & "dissent".
Duly noted, ER333 - I will not post again. Sorry.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article159789184.html
They’ve demolished most of Oroville Dam’s troubled spillway. What’s next?
By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com
July 05, 2017 2:47 PM
The preliminaries are just about over. Permanent structural repairs are about to begin at Oroville Dam.
Five months after an unprecedented emergency forced a mass evacuation, state officials said Wednesday they’re ready to start replacing the now-demolished lower portions of Oroville’s main flood-control spillway.
Construction contractor Kiewit Corp. plans to install the first slabs of concrete Thursday in the lower 350 feet of the spillway chute. The so-called “leveling concrete” will create a smooth foundation for structural concrete that will be poured on top, said Jeff Petersen, Kiewit’s Oroville project director.
snip
Concrete placement in the spillway has begun using concrete pump.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/live/lakeorovillesra_spillway
An interesting development. Kiewit has been shut down in blasting as FERC discovered blasting in an area that was not permitted. Now analysis is underway to determine the damage from this blasting. The "PR" version statement is it was from a "miscommunication".
Kiewit is known to have their act together. Kiewit likely is depending on communications and engineering info coordination between DWR & FERC. The fact that FERC discovered this and shut it down (blasting) is telling. Someone is not paying attention to details. The inference is it's DWR (given their past performance on the QCIP fumbling).
Shutdowns like this hurt schedules. Paying attention to details, and with competency, are the life blood of good engineering organizations. No time to "cut teeth" in learning the ropes.
Prior DWR debacle in QCIP with FERC:
= = Article Clip Oroville >> Blasting has been halted temporarily on the Oroville Dam spillway reconstruction, apparently because someone blew up something they weren’t supposed to.
But officials expect blasting to resume in a couple of days and say the spillway reconstruction is still on schedule.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission sent a letter to the state Department of Water Resources on June 15 noting it had learned “blasting was performed in an area specifically identified in the blasting submittals as an area blasting was not to be performed.”
It ordered an assessment whether the blasting caused any unwanted damage, and if so how it would be fixed. It also ordered steps to make sure unauthorized blasting didn’t happen again.
In a media call Wednesday, Jeanne Kuttel, project manager for DWR, said the blasting had been stopped. She said DWR and Kiewit, the lead contractor on the spillway reconstruction, were meeting this week with FERC and the Division of Dam Safety, and as soon as approvals were obtained blasting would resume.
She and others on the call insisted the construction was on schedule to be completed by Nov. 1 as planned.
The unauthorized blasting was blamed on “miscommunication.” No damage impacting the reconstruction was said to have occurred.
= = end clip More at link
http://www.orovillemr.com/article/NB/20170705/NEWS/170709887
There are many possible reasons not to be blasting in an area. Some might cause damage, but there are plenty of others. No blasting in a wetlands. No blasting where ejected material might enter a wetlands or a body of water. I was at a site where the dirt was not allowed to enter the water. (We tried our best, but didn’t worry too much about it if a few rocks made it that far.)
Hi 21twelve, I did some digging and located the original FERC letter to DWR discussing the Blasting issues.
Looks like DWR slipped up again on the Quality Control Inspection Program (QCIP) that DWR is responsible for maintaining full procedural observance of issues & plans.
The full letter is posted below. What is interesting is that DWR is reassuring to FERC that they will insure that "new staff" and "key personnel" will have QCIP review sessions during construction team meetings. This is "code" for, "we are green in this experience" and will "train and remind" as we go.
I suspect that Kiewit is fuming in the background. They are the ones that are being guided by DWR via recommendations by the BOC as "new defective" issues are being discovered in the Upper Main spillway (i.e. the recent saw cuts of the slabs in the drains revealed horribly corroded rebar to where there wasn't any steel left). Kiewit has to move quickly on construction developments to keep to schedule and is critically dependent on the QCIP guidance & restrictions that DWR MUST be fully competent with.
FERC document: 20170626-5055(32231416) Page 1
FERC document: 20170626-5055(32231416) Page 2
FERC document: 20170626-5055(32231416) Page 3
I am not a scientist in this field only a citizen who despises bureaucracy and its petty, pilfering, politicized mini-minds! Like the ones who let our great dam and aqueduct system fall apart like this. Mankind has created works of sheer genius and as the creative ones pass on, the nihilists who hate Mankind and our beautiful orderly well thought out system of reservoirs are now, today, at Oroville, working to stymie the excellent professionals. If I sound enraged, I offer no apology. Even though I was raised in America's Marxist loving public schools, I spent my twenties studying the other side of the story—the truth. See my tagline.
Note: Discussion information
I still am amazed at this Forensic Team's announcement for a form of a hotline for "tips" or "information". If you think about it, any information that is of actionable substance requires a substantiation (records, dates, names, companies, events, etc) to be of any impact in the Forensic Team's report. This means that the level of evidential proof has to meet a high standard, to a Civil Liability Court Level standard, as the consequences of significant information will likely end up in the courts (i.e. Lawsuits on funding liabilities of Water Customers of DWR - besides the FEMA funding forfeiture risk).
It's possible that this action by the Forensic Team was enacted to allow current DWR employees to confidentially contact with information. What a scary dilemma. You could lose your job and career if there is any "unmasking" and if there is an organizational contingent that could form a degree of "retribution" (just discussion info here...).
The fact that the Forensic Team set up a "Legal" form of an attempted firewall (see clip below), indicates that they desire real "evidence", not just "tips".
Because of the DHS designation of CEII, this factor could be the reason for designation "a) a legal requirement arises to do so". Why? If someone deems the evidence, records, information, etc provided is CEII level access, then a person faces a Catch-22. They could be "unmasked" from someone saying that this information was protected and they violated DHS directives in providing it through a public contact channel.
Thus ANY information that would be of "high evidential value" may be counter attacked or the person "unmasked" for having such knowledge/information & sharing it.
How is anyone (including retired DWR and/or past contractors) going to get over the "trust" factor on this?
= = Legal Protections (both ways) in announcement:
All information received will be treated with confidentiality, and sources of the information will not be shared with DWR or any other parties outside the six members of the forensic team unless either (a) a legal requirement arises to do so, or (b) the individuals providing information give permission to share their identity.
= = end clip
I have to question the sincerity of the “confidentiality” claim when their point of contact is a gmail account. How did that work out for Colin Powell or John Podesta?
Let’s get real: these curious busy bees need only spend this weekend reading ~ slowly ~ the mounds of data, photos, blueprints you and the FR unpaid investigators assembled on this long thread.
As I’ve said, I’m no engineer, just a child of the sixties who studied “Conservation” and the genius of the Calif. Aqueduct system which made California the (former) “breadbasket” of the world. I understood enough to feel pride in this great achievement and security in the future water supply for a semi-arid state. This thread has made clear that a kind of 9-11 is being perpetrated on innocent Californians by the anti-progress econazis who have let Oroville rot!
I recently had the chance to review the NDA issued to DWR employees, that they must sign, before being hired and the one that is issued to contractor employees. Both are detailed and contain very specific remedies and invoke a long litany of penalties for violation. Reminds me of the one most people with clearances sign when exiting the military. Point is that unless and until this group obtains status as a journalistic or a law firm I don’t believe a whistleblower status will stand for an NDA covered individual that gives them some information. There is also an active program within DWR to report your concerns about safety etc to your supervisor or an 800 number. Clearly an attempt to contain leaks.
The damage control and political containment is in full effect.
ER333, I also have pointed a few people in the water business to your work here. Two have told me that they are “very concerned” about the deficiencies you have found.
I hope you have already started your book regarding this disaster and are copywriting the material you can.
Outstanding effort on your part.
A large crane is used to place materials needed for the Lake Oroville flood control spillway recovery efforts. Jul 7, 2017
Pumped concrete is placed between the stay-in-place concrete forms on the lower chute of the Lake Oroville flood control spillway. Jul 7, 2017
Pumped concrete is placed between the stay-in-place concrete forms on the lower chute. Jul 7, 2017
http://www.chicoer.com/opinion/20170708/letter-oroville-council-needs-to-take-critical-look-at-dwr
Letter: Oroville council needs to take critical look at DWR
Posted: 07/09/17, 2:55 AM PDT
The June 20 Oroville City Council agenda, included a vote to sign an agreement with the Department of Water Resources.
Signing any agreement with DWR at this time sends the message to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, their overseer, that Oroville is satisfied with their relationship with DWR. Signing implies approval of the agency’s record of disregard for the city of Oroville and criminal negligence regarding the operation and maintenance of the dam. They have been unwilling to maintain the spillway and unable to repair the multiple problems with the gates at the top.
A failure of even one gate, described by experts as a “when” not “if” situation, will likely lead to a cascade of failures that undermines the entire gate structure (a breach at the top that will take out the dam and Oroville as well).
The city’s attorney, Scott Huber, has traditionally advocated in favor of supporting PG&E, Cal Water, DWR, or whoever’s pounding at the door wanting to have their way with Oroville. He suggests that if FERC doesn’t relicense DWR to continue their willfully inept upkeep and dangerously inept operation of the dam, Oroville could be left without anyone to manage it. We are to believe that the state can build a dam and then walk away without decommissioning it. Fat chance.
I suspect he got this talking point from the same water vendor that gives the mayor her talking points.
The mayor advocated for signing the agreement throughout the evening. God help us all.
— Don Fultz, Oroville
It’s time for a third party to take over the dam operations, whether it be PG&E, BPA, Corp of Engineers, or whomever. Based on the evidence I’ve read, DWR doesn’t seem to be as capable as they like people to think.
Stay safe, Oroville - there are wild fires in the area. I know this isn’t on-topic, but if you’re there and reading, watch out.
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