ITEM 9. Agenda of August 15, 2013

Transcription

1 ITEM 9 TO: FROM: SUBJECT: Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency Board of Directors Richard M. Johnson, Executive Director (916) INFORMATION - NATOMAS LEVEE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM UPDATE OVERVIEW: This update includes the status of construction, design, permitting and right of way activities for the Natomas Levee Improvement Program. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Board receive and file this report. MEASURES/EVALUATION: This is an ongoing item and success will be measured by implementation of the Program on schedule and according to budget. FISCAL IMPACT: This informational item does not have fiscal impacts. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: This informational item does not have environmental impacts. DISCUSSION Overview The entire Natomas Levee Improvement Program (NLIP) is currently divided into four major project phases, as shown in the attached Figure 1, Construction Phasing Map. The project phases are further subdivided for the purpose of grouping project elements for environmental documentation and permitting purposes. These are further subdivided and identified by levee reaches for the purpose of grouping work for efficient construction contracting, as is also shown in Figure 1. Levee embankment construction is complete for the Natomas Cross Canal South Levee and the Sacramento River East Levee Reaches 1-12A (Natomas Cross Canal to just south of Power Line Road). Construction of the habitat elements of the program, which include native grasslands and woodlands and planting of the marsh habitats, is about 99 percent complete and is anticipated to be fully complete by the end of Habitat areas where planting has

2 Page 2 been completed are now in an establishment and maintenance period as required by environmental permits. Construction of Reclamation District No (RD 1000) Pumping Plant 2 has been completed and the contractor is working on the final punch list items. SAFCA staff is working with the Natomas Central Mutual Water Company (NCMWC) on permitting and identifying funding for replacement of their Pritchard Lake Pumping Plant. It is currently anticipated that construction will start in There are over 400 post-construction obligations related to the NLIP that SAFCA is required to meet. These obligations are being catalogued and tracked by the SAFCA team. While many of these obligations may be met in the next one to five years, others cannot be met for several more years due to minimum time period requirements (i.e., habitat monitoring time frames), court actions, and complex and/or layered processes. These obligations vary in professional discipline, timing, level of effort, and level of funding. The report documenting compliance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) A99 Zone requirements has been completed and was transmitted to the City of Sacramento, County of Sacramento and County of Sutter, and in turn submitted to FEMA in November The only remaining requirement to achieving A99 Zone status is Congressional authorization of the NLIP. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is taking the lead on completion of the NLIP. Once Congress authorizes Federal participation in the program, the USACE will commence construction of levee improvements along the southern and eastern portions of the Natomas Basin leading to 100-year and 200-year levels of flood protection over time. The USACE has included a schedule for implementation of the improvements identified in the Natomas Post Authorization Change Report (PACR). However, that schedule assumed a Congressional Authorization in Once Congress authorizes the project, the USACE will develop a new schedule for construction of the remaining authorized improvements. The following is a summary of the status of key elements of the program. Status of Construction Efforts The final phases of levee embankment construction for the portion of NLIP being constructed by SAFCA (i.e., NCC south levee and Sacramento River East Levee Reaches 1-12A) were completed in 2012, thus bringing SAFCA s future focus to completing remaining minor construction activities and non-construction activities such as project documentation and reporting, contract close-out, real estate actions, and processing of after-the-fact encroachment permits for individual encroachment owners. The following list presents some of the remaining actions associated with levee work: Minor Construction Activities (punch list items, seeding, pumping plants);

3 Page 3 Documentation and Reports (O&M Manuals, Floodplain Management Plans, Credit documentation, construction documentation); Contract Close-outs; Real Estate actions; and Post-construction processing of encroachment permits. In addition to the remaining efforts associated with levee work, vegetation plantings and marsh habitat creation activities remain to be completed as well as a significant effort related to habitat mitigation establishment, monitoring, and reporting. Completion of the plantings and marsh habitat is anticipated by the end of The following list presents some of the remaining actions associated with habitat work: Monitoring and maintenance to ensure establishment and survivability; Documentation and Reports (Construction Completion Reports, Annual Establishment surveys); Annual Coordination with both Federal and State resource agencies; and Contract close-outs. Details of this ongoing work are described in SAFCA s weekly construction updates that are provided to the community and interested parties. Attachment 1 hereto, is a table of all construction and planting contracts which SAFCA has undertaken to date for the NLIP. This table reflects the original contract amount, change order amounts and final contract acceptance dates as appropriate. Staff will update this table monthly. Work in Progress/Public Updates Gualco Consulting continues to distribute weekly construction updates to interested members of the public via and these updates are also posted on SAFCA s website at in order to keep the public informed of current and pending impacts to their community, including anticipated contractor working hours and impacts on traffic. Gualco Consulting continues to respond to a regular stream of inquiries from individual property owners who are in close proximity to construction, as well as interested members of the public related to program planning, permitting, field studies, traffic, construction activities and significant changes in the program schedule. Right of Way / Utility Coordination Updates As the process for acquisition of each individual property is completed, staff prepares and processes the final accounting packages for delivery to the State Department of Water Resources (DWR) in order to allow full funding of the right of way component of the Program. Settlement negotiations and court proceedings are continuing with each property owner associated with the Resolutions of Necessity passed by the SAFCA Board. Staff is also working on preparing easements for RD 1000, NCMWC, and others, and transferring title to the DWR and Central Valley Flood Protection Board (CVFPB) on property SAFCA has acquired for the NLIP.

4 Page 4 Planning, Permitting, and Design Updates Phase 4b Project Update The Phase 4b Project includes the Sacramento River East Levee Reaches 16 through 20; the American River North Levee; the Natomas East Main Drainage Canal West Levee; additional improvements to the Pleasant Grove Creek Canal West Levee; any water supply and drainage pumping station improvements which are needed but have been deferred from SAFCA s construction program; and other improvements needed to provide 200-year level of flood protection to the Natomas Basin. SAFCA staff is currently working with the USACE and the State on an evolving plan for completing the Phase 4b work using a combination of USACE, State and SAFCA resources. The project identified by the USACE in the PACR includes strengthening of the entire Natomas perimeter levee system, but does not include raising of any levees. It is anticipated that levee raising will be supported by the USACE once the USACE and staff complete an update to their hydrologic and hydraulic system modeling and are able to re-evaluate the economic viability of raising the height-deficient levee segments. Thus, the Federal-Statelocal partnership currently envisions seeking full Federal authorization in a two-step process: (1) with the work covered by the current scope of the PACR; and (2) with the work supported by a General Re-evaluation Report (GRR) for the entire American River Common Features Project added as soon as possible. This scenario provides the most expeditious approach to authorizing full USACE participation in program implementation. The PACR will be the basis for Congress to authorize Federal participation in the Natomas program. This participation includes authorizing credit for SAFCA and State expenditures for the NLIP, increasing the cost ceiling (Section 902 limit) for the American River Common Features Project, and authorizing the USACE to construct the remaining elements of the program. Public Review of Encroachment Evaluation Policies and Procedures For several years, SAFCA, RD 1000, CVFPB, and USACE have worked together to develop policies and procedures for addressing visibility and accessibility concerns arising from encroachments and vegetation along the Garden Highway. In August 2010, members of the public were invited to comment on and ask questions about the draft policies and procedures. Shortly thereafter in September 2010, USACE issued its Periodic Inspection Report for the Natomas levee system. The report identified vegetation, encroachment, and erosion/bank caving as unacceptable deficiencies. Under terms of the California Central Valley Flood System Improvement Framework Agreement (Framework), although these unacceptable items were identified during the periodic inspection, the system remained eligible for rehabilitation assistance under the PL Rehabilitation and Inspection Program (RIP) which provides funding assistance following flood events. However, with the Framework s expiration following the CVFPB s adoption of the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan in

5 Page 5 June 2012, the system s eligibility was changed from active to inactive, and thus became ineligible for rehabilitation assistance. In November 2011, USACE issued guidance for development of a System-Wide Improvement Framework (SWIF) which allows non-federal sponsors to maintain or retain eligibility for rehabilitation assistance while implementing a long-term, worst-first plan for addressing system-wide levee deficiencies. In response to the issuance of the USACE guidance, and the expiration of the Framework in 2012, SAFCA and RD 1000 have chosen to pursue development of a SWIF which would include the policies and procedures for addressing encroachments and vegetation along the Garden Highway. Because the SWIF will in large part assume that the USACE completes construction of the NLIP in the remainder of the Basin, the SWIF will primarily focus on addressing short and long term encroachment and vegetation issues. The CVFPB took action on RD 1000 s letter of intent to prepare a SWIF at their March 8, 2013 meeting and transmitted it to the USACE on March 11, In a letter dated July 1, 2013, the USACE notified the CVFPB that it had approved RD 1000's notice of intent to prepare a SWIF and had upgraded the RD 1000 PL eligibility to a "Minimally Acceptable - Active" status. To reinitiate discussions with the CVFPB, USACE, Federal and State resource agencies, and members of the public, SAFCA and RD 1000 have refined the previous draft policies and procedures paper into a SWIF discussion paper. Obtaining input on these draft procedure policies from the CVFPB, USACE Sacramento District, Federal and State resource agencies, and members of the public prior to submitting the SWIF will be important for finalizing of the SWIF and securing its approval by USACE Headquarters. SAFCA and RD 1000 intend to begin outreach efforts on the new discussion paper later this year. The encroachment database continues to be available upon request. Additional comments can be directed to Jay Davis, Gualco Consulting, via telephone, or regular mail: Jay Davis, NLIP Ombudsman jdavis@gualco.com (916) Gualco Consulting Gold Express Drive #310, Gold River, CA FEMA A99 Update NLIP construction has progressed to the point that FEMA s completion of 50 percent of the critical features requirement for A99 Zone floodplain designation has been met. The NLIP team has completed the A99 Report documenting that the adequate progress criteria has been met and SAFCA transmitted the Report to the City of Sacramento, County of Sacramento and County of Sutter for their submission to FEMA, which was done in November The only remaining requirement to achieving A99 Zone status is Congressional authorization of the NLIP. Remapping could occur after Federal authorization and Federal participation in the NLIP can be secured. The adequate progress requirements

6 Page 6 include: (1) authorization of all the improvements needed to provide 100-year flood protection to the Natomas Basin; (2) appropriation of 60 percent of the funds needed to complete the 100-year improvement program; (3) expenditure of 50 percent of the total cost of the 100-year program; and (4) completion of 50 percent of the critical features of the 100- year program. The criteria for an A99 Zone designation will not be achieved until Congress fully authorizes the Natomas improvements and thereby satisfies the fully authorized adequate progress requirement. On May 15, 2013, the Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2013, which had language in it that would authorize the project. The House of Representatives is currently working on their version of WRDA. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS This report is an informational update on implementation of the NLIP and does not have an inherent fiscal impact. Costs associated with the NLIP will be shared by the State under the Proposition 1E Early Implementation Project agreement. The State is expected to reimburse SAFCA for 70 percent of the project costs pursuant to the Early Implementation Program. SAFCA s share will be funded from the Consolidated Capital Assessment District. Also, SAFCA has secured conditional Federal credit approval under Section 104 for its share of the cost of the larger project that is anticipated to be authorized by Congress. POLICY IMPLICATIONS There is no change in policy as a result of this report. RECOMMENDATIONS Staff recommends that the Board receive and file this report. RJlr/NLIP Update August 2013.doc Attachment(s)