The bill would allow the state to treat a case of a compromised levee or blocked access to a levee as cities deal with code violations –with a warning notice, cease-and-desist order, and an enforcement order.
The Central Valley Flood Protection Board’s Bill Edgar says the state can currently only take legal action.
“In many cases the current system takes literally two-to-three years and costs a lot of money because attorneys are involved. This system -depending upon where the person takes care of his encroachment in the process- it could be like a couple of months.“
Edgar says unauthorized pipes, retaining walls and an underground wine cellar are among the encroachments the Army Corps of Engineers has found in Sacramento, Yolo, and Solano County levees.
Engineers have identified 485 encroachments on levees from Shasta to Bakersfield.
The legislation will now go to the Assembly.
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