Barbara Lee Announces 111th Congress Water Resources Development Project Requests for California's Ninth Congressional District
Washington, D.C. – On behalf of the Ninth Congressional District of California Congresswoman Barbara received and submitted the follow requests for projects as part of the process for developing the 2009 Water Resources Development Act:
Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
San Lorenzo Creek Flood Damage Reduction – to make improvements along the creek and the Don Castro Dam.
Improvements include: raising the Don Castro Dam 5 feet, modifying the outfall structure, de-silting at Don Castro Reservoir at the upstream end, and constructing floodwalls along the downstream of San Lorenzo Creek.
The improvements will provide increased flood protection to contain 100-year design flow within San Lorenzo Creek, reduce potential for future flooding, enable the District to apply to FEMA with a Letter of Map Revision to remove the 100-year floodplain designation, and eliminate the mandatory requirement to purchase flood insurance.
There are approximately 2,500 parcels that are located in the FEMA high hazard flood zone.
City of Berkeley
Berkeley Marina Dock Replacement Project – to replace 270 berths and keep them in a safe, operable, accessible, and rentable condition.
The Berkeley Marina is the largest municipal marina in Northern California and supports a variety of recreational and commercial activities. Due to the age and condition of the D/E and O docks replacement is required to keep them in a safe, operable, accessible, and rentable condition. The project would replace 270 of the Berkeley Marina’s 1,000 berths.
The D/E and O dock are some of the oldest docks in the Berkeley Marina dating back to the 1960’s. They are rapidly deteriorating and require significant ongoing maintenance, with costs escalating to where the City’s Marina Fund spends approximately $200,000 annually to replace dock sections which can no longer be repaired or maintained in a safe or serviceable condition. Replacement of the dock would allow the Marina to continue to offer recreational activities and enhanced access to the San Francisco Bay.
Additionally, these docks were designed and constructed before the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and thus fail to meet current ADA standards. The new construction would allow not only disabled access to the docks but would include accessible berths for disabled boaters. Programs at the Berkeley Marina provide and encourage boating water related experiences for a variety of disabled persons.
Maintenance Dredging of the Berkeley Marina’s Channel, Entrance and Fairways – to achieve a depth of -10 feet and remove 90,000 cubic yards of dredge volume
The Berkeley Marina is the largest municipal marina in Northern California with 1,000 berths supporting a variety of recreational and commercial activities, including 100 legal aboards. Year-around marina access is not available, especially at low tides, unless dredging to maintain a depth of -10 feet below mean low water occurs. Dredge volume for this project would be approximately 90,000 cubic yards.
Maintenance dredging of the entrance channel and fairways will allow year-around access to the Berkeley Marina for both commercial and recreational vessels. The marina is home port to the Hornblower fleet of cruise and events boats ranging in size from 40 to 120 feet in length. There is also an active fleet of commercial charter fishing boats that operate out of the Marina.
Due to its proximity to the central bay and consistent winds, more than 70 percent of the boats berthed in the marina are sailboats, and approximately 40 percent of the Marina berths are for larger vessels. The depth required for these vessels is significantly greater due to their deeper draft.
City of Emeryville
Restoration of Emeryville Marina Harbor Wetlands – to create a natural habitat for the wildlife that inhabits the marina mudflats and shoreline.
The shoreline at the Marina is approximately 1100 feet with mudflat extending approximately 60 feet from the shoreline at low tide. The entire mudflat appears blighted, especially during low tide, with concrete landfill debris strewn about. The project would remove the concrete landfill debris in addition to any non-native invasive plants from the mud-flat wetlands and shoreline before installing new native vegetation within the coast and tidal zone. Emeryville seeks to work with a wetlands restoration specialist to prepare concept plans and facilitate the issuance of Regulatory Permits from the USACE, Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Department of Fish and Game, and BCDC.
The shoreline’s current condition is unattractive to visitors in addition to harming the environment. The benefits of the project will be cleaning up an environmental hazard, returning the shoreline to its natural use, and serving as a destination and attraction to residents and visitors of the East Bay. An additional benefit is the shoreline, once repaired, will be a classroom for the students of Emery Unified School District, Berkeley School District, and Oakland Unified School District to learn about the natural habitat of the San Francisco Bay and Marina while supporting additional earth science lessons.
City of Oakland
Oakland Inner-Harbor Tidal Canal Easement – to clarify permitting jurisdiction and allow for construction of a continuous San Francisco Bay Trail.
The City of Oakland is constructing a pedestrian/bicycle trail along its shoreline as part of the 500-mile San Francisco Bay Trail. At three locations, the trail needs to be built on boardwalks into the Federal-owned Tidal Canal, in order to pass under bridges that span the Canal from Oakland to Alameda. These are critical gaps in the continuity of the trail. The City of Oakland would like Congress to require the Secretary of the Army to grant permanent easements for the trail, authorize construction of the trail by the City, and clarify permitting jurisdiction. The City of Oakland intends to build the trail with its own funds, so no request for Federal funds is being made.
The City of Oakland’s proposal would require the Secretary of the Army to (1) grant a permanent public access easement to the City of Oakland through those portions of the Inner Harbor Tidal Canal property located within the boundaries of the City of Oakland; (2) authorize the construction of pedestrian and bicycle trails along those portions of the waterfront located within the Inner Harbor Tidal Canal property; and, (3) clarifies that the Secretary of the Army has sole jurisdiction under section 10 of the Rivers and Harbor Act of 1899 to grant permits for the construction of boardwalks under and around the Oakland-Alameda bridges protruding up to thirty (30) feet beyond the current bridge fenders and pilings at the Fruitvale Bridges and in-line with the current bridge fenders at the High Street and Park Street Bridges.
Oakland Inner-Harbor Tidal Canal – feasibility study to undertake improvements within the Federal-owned Oakland Inner-Harbor Tidal Canal
The City of Oakland requests authorization to conduct a feasibility study as a first step in providing necessary improvements to the Oakland Inner-Harbor Tidal Canal. Proposed improvements would include: bank stabilization, removal of navigation hazards/encroachments, environmental remediation of soil and sediments as needed, construction of boardwalks/bridge fenders to provide safe public access under bridges as part of the 500-mile San Francisco Bay Trail, and dredging.
East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD)
EBMUD Regional Seismic Protection Upgrade Program – to increase seis