OROVILLE DAM'S SAFETY PLANS DELAYED -

By: Elita Goyer

A new state audit released Thursday, Jan. 30 reveals dozens of dam owners failed to submit flood maps to the state.Posted: Jan 31, 2020 1:01 PM

SHOCKING!!!! The original article and the video that went with it have been taken down by the publisher. The article was brought to my attention after dozens of people had read the article and watched the video! They were concerned. Apparently there was a clairification. Now the reality….no one in the inundation zone is aware of the plan or what role the OES plays in making sure the plan is followed. In fact there was no link to any plan. Of course if you live above the inundation zone YOU have nothing to worry about. Its nice to have a plan but if the public is unaware of the plan then the plan useless. Evidence mounts that the OES refuses to even let the public know what the plan is because when the public inquire in the OES offices they’re told they’re terrorist! So the public the OES serves and who pays their salary with tax dollars are now called terrorist and we still don’t know what the plan is! By the way in Hawaii and the south where there are tsunamies, hurricanes and storms their emergency plans are well know by the public! They even have SIRENS, and LARGE EVACUATION ROUTE SIGNS. I seems the only terrorist Californians need to be concerned about is the Office of Emergency Services.

OROVILLE, Calif. – A new report from the California State Auditor shows that the Oroville Dam is one of more than 600 high-risk dams in the state that do not have approved emergency plans.

The report criticizes two state agencies – The Department of Water Resources and the Office of Emergency Services – for not doing enough to ensure public safety.

When the Oroville Dam’s spillway nearly failed three years ago, it created massive traffic jams as 180,000 people tried to flee from the Feather River and today some who experienced that incident wonder if an emergency evacuation plan even exists.

“I’m not aware of a plan. I have my own plan,” said Yuba City resident, Sharon Smith. “My own plan is this time I’ll stay home. Last time I was stuck in traffic. It should have taken me two and a half hours to travel to Orland to my brother-in-law’s house and I was in traffic for six hours.”

A new state audit released Thursday, Jan. 30 reveals dozens of dam owners failed to submit flood maps to the state.

The audit also finds only 22 of 400 emergency plans submitted have actually been approved by the office of emergency services.

OES disputes that, staying under statute, Cal OES has 60-days to review a completed emergency action plan with approved inundation maps and return it for revisions to approve. There are currently no EAPS under review at Cal OES that have failed to meet that 60-day deadline.

The Department of Water Resources is responsible for approving flood maps.

In a statement, the DWR said its division of safety of dams “is updating its inspection protocols to identify previously unknown safety risks and work with owners to mitigate those risks.”