Oroville Chamber of Commerce asks for Oroville Dam relicensing delay
Josh Copitch
Posted: Jul 13, 2017 04:41 PM PDT
Updated: Jul 13, 2017 07:18 PM PDT
OROVILLE, Calif. - The Oroville Chamber of Commerce initiated a letter from the Oroville Dam Coalition to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asking for a delay in the relicensing of the Oroville Dam.
A delay in the relicensing of the Dam would allow for the Board of Consultants and the Forensic Team, tasked by FERC to investigate the spillway, to be completed. This way relicensing participants could assess the impacts of the spillway incident.
“We are asking for a pause to allow the forensic report to come back and allow FERC to thoroughly vet their findings,” said Sandy Linville, President and CEO of the Oroville Chamber of Commerce. “We want to make sure DWR is looking at dam safety as being paramount, and that the new license reflects that.”
Signers hope that the Commission will issue a new license only when there is clarity on the current spillway reconstruction project and how the damage from the spillway incident is going to be addressed by the licensee.
Current signers of the Oroville Dam Coalition letter to FERC are: Oroville Area Chamber of Commerce, City of Biggs, Town of Paradise, Feather River Recreation and Parks District, City of Wheatland, Sutter County Board of Supervisors, Live Oak Chamber of Commerce, Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce, Yuba-Sutter Economic Development Corporation, Sutter-Yuba Realtors Association, American Whitewater, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, and Citizens for Fair and Equitable Recreation.
http://www.water.ca.gov/oroville-spillway/pdf/2017/BOC%20Memo%208.pdf
BOC MEMO SUMMARY #8
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Released July 13, 2017
Lake Oroville Spillways Emergency Recovery Board of Consultants Memorandum No. 8 – June 23, 2017
Prepared by the California Department of Water Resources
Update on investigation of existing FCO spillway chute foundation condition.
The BOC was provided an update to findings on the investigation of the interface between the concrete and rock material. Four concrete cutouts were excavated and exposures described. Subsequently, and as part of the concrete removal, the Contractor created a 200-foot-long centerline
exposure of the interface from Stations 25+00 to 27+00. Where present, the soil material that did exist appeared to be semi-consolidated fines and angular rock debris that was not removed as part of the initial (1960’s era)foundation surface cleanup. The interpretation of the investigators was that the localized occurrence of the soil and its angular nature did not appear to be fill that was purposefully placed as bearing material. A photo of this material is shown as Figure 8.