FEMA Refuses to Fund Portion of Oroville Spillway's Rebuild
While the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved $205 million in federal funds to reimburse California for costs to reconstruct the Oroville Dam spillways damaged by 2017 flooding, it declined to pay the remaining $306 million that the state’s Dept. of Water Resources (DWR) had requested. The decision “should not come as a total surprise,” says Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) in a statement. An independent forensic report “cited insufficient maintenance and initial design flaws as playing a part in the failure of the spillway.” DWR says it will appeal the decision. The portion of approved funding is in addition to $128.4 million that FEMA previously approved to cover the emergency response and other costs.
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