- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Supervisors updated on Middle Creek restoration project challenges
On Tuesday, Deputy Water Resources Director Marina Deligiannis and Peter Windrem of the Middle Creek Restoration Coalition gave the board a progress report on the Middle Creek Flood Damage Reduction and Ecosystem Restoration Project.
The goals for the project include removing failing levees built between 1918 and 1933 and returning 1,650 acres of farmland between the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff and Upper Lake to Clear Lake to improve the watershed and water quality.
Reducing sedimentation and phosphorus loading is key to improving Clear Lake’s health. All by itself, the project would reduce an estimated 28 percent of the 40 percent of phosphorus that needs to be reduced in Clear Lake, Windrem said during the discussion.
The project’s initial phase began in 1995, when the county requested the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate flood risk and improve water quality in Clear Lake.
During the meeting, the board unanimously approved sending a letter to Colonel James J. Handura of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the project’s federal sponsor, seeking his assistance in obtaining congressional funding for the project’s design and construction “at the earliest possible time.”
That letter reports that by summer’s end, three-quarters of the 1650 acres in the project zone will have been acquired.
As of April, the Lake County Watershed Protection District has acquired 40 parcels from willing sellers by securing grant funds in 2003 and most recently in 2018, when the board approved a resolution to accept a $15 million grant from the California Department of Water Resources. Assemblywoman Cecelia Aguiar-Curry was credited during the meeting with helping to make that grant possible.
However, challenges in acquiring the remaining properties — which total just under 50 — means the county is facing a looming deadline with the state that could have serious impacts not just on the Middle Creek project but other grant opportunities, Windrem warned.
A long road ahead
Board Chair Bruno Sabatier said the project has been an “arduous” one for the county to pursue, but it’s important due to the benefits it offers the lake, water quality and the economy.
Deligiannis said the Scotts Creek and Middle Creek watersheds make up half of the Clear Lake watershed, draining through the Rodman Slough adjacent to the project area.
Those creeks make up 57 percent of inflow and 71 percent of the phosphorus that goes into Clear Lake, she said.
Deligiannis said the county is working on extending the Department of Water Resources grant deadline, which goes through the end of 2022.
She said the Water Resources Department's highest priority is land acquisition. In 2020, the county used $997,000 to acquire two priority properties and she said she will be coming back to the board over the course of the next few months with four more proposed property purchases from willing sellers totaling $2 million.
She said the project has many moving parts, adding, “We have a long road ahead of us.”
Windrem noted he was last before the board nearly two years ago to discuss the project.
On Tuesday, as he had two years previously, Windrem spoke directly to the board about the need to complete the work, but this time he focused on what the county needs to do in order to keep moving forward.
“There’s a real tendency for us to want to paint the most positive picture of every situation that we encounter,” he said.
Windrem said the county’s situation with regard to the project is grave, with a need for more support in order to overcome bureaucratic inertia.
“Our failure to perform this contract as promised on our part would have a devastating effect to the reputation and credibility of county government to administer further grant funds,” he said, adding it’s imperative to succeed.
“We’re understaffed and we don’t have money behind this project from you all,” Windrem said, explaining that of the 49 parcels needed, only two have been purchased, with only about $2 million of the $15 million spent.
He said the deadline to complete purchase contracts is March 31, 2022, with all funds needed to be expended by Dec. 31, 2022.
Windrem supported seeking an extension from the state because otherwise the county can’t meet the deadline.
His ask of the board was “that you own this project.”
Windrem said the project needs a full-time manager that answers directly to the board. In his estimation, county staff requires $1 million a year to do everything needed to complete the work.
There will be a challenge getting federal funding for the project, and Windrem — hearkening to a suggestion Congressman John Garamendi made during a tour of the area — suggested that a dedicated project manager could work with the state on taking the project over from the Army Corps. He said the California Department of Water Resources already has spent $27 million on the Middle Creek project.
“We’ll get it done but we need to get it done sooner rather than later,” he said.
It was also noted during the discussion that the county is using two consultants, Paragon Partners Ltd and Paramount Inc., for appraisals, land acquisition and relocation.
Windrem faulted Paramount for its performance and said the company has put the county in a very precarious position.
Supervisor Tina Scott said the board needed to bring the matter back for further discussion.
“It is definitely a project that we need to complete for the health and welfare of our lake,” Scott said.
Supervisor Jessica Pyska suggested that if the board can come up with an action that it can take for developing capacity, it would make for a stronger request for help from other government agencies.
Sabatier said they also need to speak with state Sen. Mike McGuire about assistance.
Supervisor Moke Simon said he supported the letter, but as for the estimate of needing $1 million a year, he said they needed to break it down and have a better conversation.
Simon said throwing money at a problem doesn’t solve it, adding that they’ve paid for services and need to get the product.
Victoria Brandon, a member of the Sierra Club and the Middle Creek Restoration Coalition, said she thinks it will be difficult for the county to get the extension from the state Department of Water Resources.
Instead, she suggested the county needed to put the project in high gear because if it doesn’t succeed, the county is less likely to get money for this and other projects.
Sabatier said the board would bring the project back for more discussion at its meeting on Tuesday, June 8.
Supervisor EJ Crandell moved to approve the letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Scott seconded and the board approved the motion 5-0.
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