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Home Resource Center In the News Home Greenbelt Alliance in the News |
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Greenbelt Alliance In the News
April 12, 2006 Lawsuits Filed To Stop Building Near Levees Laura Anthony, General Assignment ReporterKGO - Levee breaks and the potential for failure are at the center of two new lawsuits filed against state and local governments. One of them against Oakley in eastern Contra Costa County, by an environmental group, says the city's plan to put thousands of new homes in a flood plain protected by questionable levees is just plain unsafe. A lawsuit, filed by the Greenbelt Alliance, claims the city of Oakley's plan to build 4,300 homes along the east Cypress corridor violates state environmental and public health and safety codes. David Reid, East Bay Greenbelt Alliance: "This is a fundamentally unsafe place to build houses. It's below sea level, with rising sea levels and a major quake on the horizon, it's just not a smart place to build houses." Rebecca Willis, Oakley development director: "First we want to thank Greenbelt Alliance for calling attention to this problem because that is one of the first things that we looked at." But Oakley city leaders say the project meets or exceeds all environmental standards and improves safety for those living in the flood plain, now and in the future. Rebecca Willis, Oakley development director: "We've looked at the existing levee and said that's not good enough. It needs to be much stronger. And actually what we're proposing out there is a double-strength, a double-walled levee, the existing perimeter levee, as well as an interior levee which would be much stronger and would meet all the FEMA standards." Besides new levees, the project requires at least $700,000 dollars per year be spent to improve and maintain the existing levees. The Greenbelt suit seeks to prevent future construction in these flood plains, but what about all the houses already here? David Reid, East Bay Greenbelt Alliance: "Yes, there's a development that's underway in the Hotchkiss tract, but that doesn't mean you should add insult to injury by putting more houses in harm's way." Railway Company filed suit in San Joaquin County against the state Department of Water Resources for failing to maintain a levee near the Jones tract. That failed in June 2004. The Railway claims the break cost them $13 million dollars when a section of track between Richmond and Stockton was temporarily closed. Copyright 2006, ABC7/KGO-TV/DT. Aired on the 6:00 evening news, Channel 7. ### |
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