Bond
Expenditure Criteria or Process:
With passage
of the Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Act of 2006 (Proposition
1E), the State enacted Section 75030-75034 of the California Public Resources
Code. This law provides that funds be
made available through the Department of Water Resources (DWR) for projects
that improve levees which are part of the State Plan of Flood Control (SPFC)
for the Central Valley. Bond 1E Chapter
1.699, Article 4, Section 5096.821(a) provides for the use of bond funds for
the evaluation, repair, rehabilitation, reconstruction, or replacement of
levees, weirs, bypasses, and facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control by repairing erosion sites, removing sediment
from channels or bypasses, evaluating and repairing levees and other
facilities, and implementing mitigation measures. Non-Urban Flood Risk
Management Program (NFRM) proposes to implement policies which the Central
Valley Flood Protection Plan (CVFPP) laid out.
NFRM ties into the Flood Risk Reduction Projects section of the CVFPP’s
State Systemwide Investment Approach (SSIA).
Both rural and small community projects must be multi-benefit flood
projects that are consistent with the CVFPP.
DWR has made
$31 million available for performing flood risk reduction projects under the NFRM
Program beginning in fiscal year 2012-2013. A draft Program Guidelines document
is anticipated for publication Spring 2013.
Final Program Guidelines and a Proposal Solicitation Package (PSP) are
planned for the Summer of 2013.
There are
many non-urban areas protected by the facilities of the SPFC. These
include small and rural communities and agricultural areas which are
economically disadvantaged. A large portion of the non-urban levee system
within the Central Valley does not meet current levee performance standards,
either due to geotechnical weaknesses, erosion, encroachments, penetrations, excessive
vegetation, or other concerns. The NFRM Program will provide grant
funding to small communities within the floodplains of the Central Valley for
the flood risk reduction projects, including levee improvements and/or levee
extensions, needed to provide 100-year flood protection, as defined by FEMA’s
National Flood Insurance Program. NFRM
will sponsor structural improvements, such as strengthening existing levees,
raising levees, constructing new internal levees, J-levees or floodwalls. The Program will also encourage the use of
non-structural methods, including projects that are intended to reduce or
eliminate susceptibility to flooding by preserving or increasing the
flood-carrying capacity of floodways, and include such measures as levees, setback
levees, enhancement of emergency response capabilities, flood proofing
structures, zoning, and designating flood prone areas. The NFRM Program
also provides for proactive repairs and support for sustainable operations and
maintenance practices.
Under this
program, DWR will evaluate various projects on a case-by-case basis to identify
appropriate flood risk reduction measures and provide funding for feasible
projects. Support will be prioritized based on flood frequency, proximity
to source, depth of flooding, levee integrity, financial return,
sustainability, and environmental stewardship.
Proposition
1E requires that grant funds be expended while (1) securing the maximum
feasible amounts of federal and local matching funds, (2) ensuring prudent and cost-effective
use of the funds to the extent that doing so does not prohibit timely
implementation of disaster-preparedness and flood-prevention projects, (3)
prioritizing selection and project design to achieve maximum public benefits
from the use of the funds, and (4) supporting an investment strategy that meets
long-term flood protection needs and minimizes state taxpayer liabilities from
flooding.
NFRM
Guidelines and Project Solicitation Package (PSP) are currently under
development. These documents will
provide detailed information on the following:
- The timeline for criteria and
process development of the NFRM Program
- The criteria used to select
successful applicants
- The timeline for selecting,
evaluating and approving NFRM projects
- Outreach activities to notify
Agencies within non-urban areas as to when and how funding availability
will be made
- Criteria for funding accountability
and work performance
- Identifying flood risk management
needs
- Performance History of the Levees
- Potential for Levee Improvement
- Flooding Characteristics
- Local Participation
The State
intends to use the Grant Review and Tracking System (GRanTS) to document the
processes of reviewing and awarding the funding agreements to successful
applicants.
DWR will
report its bond expenditures under the program to the public via the Bond Accountability
website that is maintained by the Natural Resources Agency.