Garamendi Secures Funding for Central Valley Water and Flood Control Projects

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) applauded the House passage of the annual appropriations legislation (H.R.2740) funding the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Defense, State, and Energy, and the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation for fiscal year 2020. Garamendi voted in favor of the legislation, which passed by a vote of 226 to 203.

"This legislation will provide critical support for local flood control, water storage, and habitat restoration projects. I was proud to fight and secure funding for key projects for our community, including an additional $6 million for the Sites Reservoir Project and $89 million for water storage across the American west. This vital water storage project will help improve our water supply and support local farmers. I am working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to ensure this funding for our region signed into law," Garamendi said.

Congressman Garamendi helped secure funding in the bill for Central Valley water and flood control priorities, including:

• $7.39 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers (Civil Works), rejecting the $2.53 billion proposed cut in President Trump's budget request for fiscal 2020 and a $357 million funding increase above fiscal year 2019.

• $15 million for the National Levee Safety Program, a three-fold funding increase and the first such increase since the program was authorized by Congress in 2014. The National Levee Safety Program identifies levees through the nation that require repairs or reconstruction and urges the federal government to accept the responsibility for the safety of all federal and state levee safety programs.

• $13 million for the Aquatic Nuisance Control Research Program, supporting work in California and nationwide to combat invasive species and harmful algal blooms in waterways. President Trump's budget request for fiscal year 2020 proposed eliminating nearly all federal funding for this program.

• $7.5 million for Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Pilot Program, funding the Resilient San Francisco Bay Project with the California State Coastal Conservancy. Congressman Garamendi was instrumental in establishing this Army Corps pilot program in 2016. President Trump's budget request for fiscal year 2020 proposed eliminating all federal funding for this program. The Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Pilot Program identifies projects to maximize the beneficial use of dredged material to promote public safety.

• $1.63 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation, rejecting the $528 million proposed cut in President Trump's budget request for fiscal year 2020, and a $83 million funding increase above fiscal year 2019, including:

• $89.3 million for West-wide Water Storage, including surface and groundwater storage projects for the Central Valley and State Water Projects. Congressman Garamendi led a bipartisan effort in the House to secure this funding for critical water storage projects across the American west.

• $33 million for the California Bay-Delta Restoration (CALFED) Program, funding the federal share of water supply improvements and habitat restoration work across the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed, in partnership with the California Resources Agency.

• $6 million for the Sites Reservoir Project (North-of-the-Delta Offstream Storage), the same funding level requested by the federal Bureau of Reclamation. Congressman Garamendi sponsored the Sites Reservoir Project Act (H.R.1435) in March 2019.

• $3.4 million for the Solano Project, the same funding level requested by the federal Bureau of Reclamation earlier this year. The Solano Project was designed to irrigate approximately 96,000 acres of land in and around Solano County. The project also furnishes municipal and industrial water to the principal cities of Solano County. Putah Creek is the source of water for the Solano Project.

• $873,000 for the Orland Project, the same funding level requested by the federal Bureau of Reclamation earlier this year. The Orland Project incorporates parts of neighboring Glenn, Tehama and Colusa counties. Orland is the epicenter of the project. The project irrigates 1% of the Sacramento Valley's total irrigable soil, 20,000 acres. The project, one of the oldest federal reclamation projects in the country and one of the first undertaken in California, was authorized by the Secretary of the Interior in October 1907 after a finding of feasibility by a board of engineers. The Orland Project comprises two main dams to store water, East Park and Stony Gorge, two diversion dams, almost 17 miles of canals, and 139 miles of laterals.

The House Appropriations Committee will negotiate a final funding bill for the President's signature, once the Senate passes its own appropriations bills. Congressman Garamendi continues working with his colleagues on the House Appropriations Committee to safeguard funding for these California priorities and others.