Levee Permit
|
Levee Permit
|
In order to maintain the levees, landowners are required to obtain a permit from the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). Often, obtaining permits can be a Each year, the RCD gathers information from each landowner on the work done in the previous year and work to be done the coming year, and submits it to the Corp. The permit includes restrictions as to when levee maintenance work can be completed and how much work can be done at a time. It also ensures that the environment and endangered species are protected. Under this permit, landowners are not allowed to construct new levees or expand an existing levee. With the assistance of the RCD, the landowners and regulators have reached an agreement to make maintaining levees an easier process for all parties. For further questions with regards to the levee permit, please contact Paul Sheffer at 707-794-1242 x 5.  |
©2004 Southern Sonoma County Resource Conservation District |
During the late 1800’s the tidelands bordering San Pablo Bay , including those of Sonoma Creek, were "reclaimed" for farm land. Levees were constructed to keep out the bay waters and the lands were drained and allowed to dry out. Rain water flushed out the salts from the land and hay crops were planted to use as feed for the growing dairy industry. Currently, most of the reclaimed land and the levees protecting the land are lower than the surrounding creeks and sloughs. As a result, the levees must be capped about every eight to ten years to prevent this land from flooding.
lengthy and costly process. For example, receiving an individual permit for levee maintenance could take approximately 2 years to complete and cost the landowner approximately $12,000. One way to save the landowner time and money and to streamline the time spent by the regulatory agencies reviewing the permit applications was for the Corps to issue one permit for numerous landowners to be administered by the Southern Sonoma County Resource Conservation District (SSCRCD). The effort of creating a permit for maintaining the levees required the cooperation of many agencies, landowners, politicians and the SSCRCD. The permit application was reviewed by various local, State, and Federal agencies and with the cooperation of the Corps and Congresswoman Woolsey the permit was approved. The first permit was issued in 1980 covering 5 years and is reissued every 5 years until it expires in 2011.