Chico backs dam-watchdog effort

Members of the Chico City Council on Tuesday (May 15) followed the lead of the Oroville City Council and Butte County Board of Supervisors by voting unanimously to sign onto a letter of support for Senate Bill 955, which calls for a state-mandated Citizens Advisory Commission for the Oroville Dam.

The bill, introduced by state Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber), calls for an independent entity within the Department of Water Resources (DWR) composed of 14 members, including Senate and Assembly members representing Oroville, and others appointed by the city of Oroville, specified counties and county sheriffs.

If approved, the DWR would be required to provide the panel with on-site tours of the dam and its grounds and “all information reasonably requested by the commission regarding the construction, rehabilitation or reconstruction, operation, maintenance, and management of the dam.”