To all individuals living down-stream of the Magma Flood Retarding Structure (Magma Dam):
As you are aware the Magma Flood Control District (“District”) has been working for several years to 1) engineer/design the needed repairs to the Magma Dam (an unsafe structure according to Dam Safety Regulators) and 2) secure the funding needed to repair the Magma Dam.
In January 2011, the District received a commitment from a federal agency (USDA-NRCS) to provide $10 million (65% of the total) of the funding needed to repair the Dam—leaving only 35% to be raised via property taxes from those living within the District boundaries. The District has already raised its portion of the repair costs and has taken the approved Dam repair construction plans out to bid. The current construction schedule anticipates the construction repairs would likely begin within 65 days and be completed within 18 months.
Unfortunately, the District learned this morning that the US Senate appropriations committee’s current Continuing Resolution cancels the federal program that was providing the District with $10 million. If this happens, the District may have no other option but to fund 100% of the Dam repair costs itself. This would require that the current Dam repair schedule be put on hold and that the rather heavy property tax burden born by property owners within the District to fund just 35% of the Dam repair costs be continued until 100% of the Dam Repair Costs could be raised. This scenario could result in a delay of the Dam repairs for up to 8 years.
The e-mail attached below outlines the specifics of the language in the US Senate appropriations committee’s current Continuing Resolution that is so devastating to our Dam repair efforts.
The appropriations committee will likely take action on this item within 48 hours. It is critical that all of the property owners downstream of the Dam take action now! Please Call, Email and/or FAX our Senators John Kyle (http://kyl.senate.gov/contact.cfm) and John McCain (http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm) as soon as possible. Please request that our Senator’s ask the Appropriations Committee to eliminate Section 1265 (found on page 187) of the current Continuing Resolution (as it is unacceptable for USDA/NRCS to withdraw from work in progress), and ask that funding for the Watershed Rehabilitation account be restored to $20 Million.
To read more on this topic see the attached e-mails.
e-mailfromAssociationofStateDamSafetyOfficials.msg
SenateapproriationscommitteeContinuingResolution.msg