The Trump administration is proposing to cut the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ construction budget next fiscal year by more than half, a move that could devastate levee restoration projects in the Delta.
The proposed cuts, which would reduce the construction budget by 53% compared to the amount previously allocated, could include work on the San Joaquin Basin Project in Stockton, said U.S. Rep. Josh Harder, D-Tracy. The basin project is directed at protecting 300,000 residents from flooding.
Harder is one of 12 members of Congress who sent a letter urging that funding be restored. The congressional members sent the letter to the chairperson and ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Energy and Water Subcommittee.
“We are concerned that the $1.56 billion requested for construction in the President’s Budget is seriously insufficient to meet the flood risk management, navigation, ecosystem restoration, and other needs of communities across the country,” the letter states.
Harder says the Delta is more at risk of flooding than New Orleans was before Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 disaster that killed 1,833 people and caused more than $161 billion in damage. The San Joaquin River Basin project is estimated to deliver $13 in benefit for every dollar spent.
More than 1,100 miles of Delta levees are in need of repair, Harder added. And the need is long term. The Delta Stewardship Council reported earlier this year that more than $10 billion in farmland, homes, businesses and infrastructure assets are at risk. They produce nearly $2 billion in annual economic activity.
“Yanking flood protection funding at the last minute makes no sense and puts our valley communities at risk,” Harder said in a statement.
“We face flood threats every year because of aging infrastructure, and we worked across the aisle to finally get the flood protection we need. Now, Washington is trying to steal back funding for our levee and I refuse to let them get away with it,” he added.
Besides the San Joaquin Basin Project, the letter lists other environmental works that are in jeopardy. One involves 42 miles of American River levees protecting Sacramento and the Natomas Basin. Another includes 41 miles of levees along the Sacramento River and its ship canal that would protect West Sacramento.
In April, construction began on a $2 billion levee project in Stockton. The work at Tenmile Slough in Brookside, part of the Lower San Joaquin River Improvement Project, will reduce the flood risk for over 120,000 residents, officials said.
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