Shown is a drone view of Oroville Dam and the main spillway at Lake Oroville in Butte County. Photo courtesy of Department of Water Resources

OROVILLE, CA (MPG) - The Sutter County Board of Supervisors has approved a contract with a Sacramento-based law firm to help address concerns over flood risks tied to the operations of Oroville Dam.

On April 22, the board authorized a $21,600 retainer agreement with Somach, Simmons and Dunn to provide legal services related to a permit application filed by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The agreement will cover services through June 30.

The county is seeking to ensure that the dam’s operations do not increase flood risk for communities along the Feather River, particularly in light of past infrastructure concerns and changing conditions not fully accounted for in existing operational plans.

The Oroville Dam, completed in 1967, is one of California’s largest reservoirs and a key part of the State Water Project. It holds about 3.5 million acre-feet of water and plays a major role in managing water supply and flood control throughout the state.

When the dam was first planned, a second dam known as Marysville Dam was supposed to be built downstream on the Yuba River to help control flooding. Based on this assumption, the Army Corps of Engineers developed a plan in 1970 with two sets of rules for how Oroville should operate: one for after Marysville Dam was built and a temporary one for before. Since the Marysville Dam was never constructed, the temporary “interim” rules have remained in effect for more than 50 years.

Under these rules, the Oroville Dam has occasionally relied on “surcharge operations,” allowing water levels to temporarily rise above normal during large storms. This requires using an emergency spillway that, as it turns out, wasn’t built for regular use, and that became a major issue in 2017. That year, heavy rainfall caused significant damage to the main spillway and led to uncontrolled flows over the emergency spillway. Severe erosion threatened to undermine the structure, risking a catastrophic flood event that prompted the mass evacuation of nearly 200,000 people across the region, including those in Sutter County.

Despite this incident, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has yet to issue a new long-term license for the dam's operations. Department of Water Resources continues to operate under annual temporary licenses while the relicensing application, first filed in 2005, remains pending.

According to Sutter County, the continued use of outdated flood plans puts local residents at unnecessary risk. The county argues that Department of Water Resources’ operations on the Feather River, which runs through the county, have changed water flow patterns in ways that could undermine levees and increase flood threats.

Back in 2005, the county hired attorney Stuart Somach to represent it in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proceedings. At that time, the county asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to require Department of Water Resources to develop a new flood control plan that reflects today’s conditions (without Marysville Dam); investigate and fix safety issues with the emergency spillway; and assess and maintain the integrity of Feather River levees that are impacted by the dam’s operations.

Despite raising these concerns, no formal action has been taken by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on the license application. With this new contract, the county will again work with attorney Somach to revisit these concerns, assess the current status of the licensing process, and explore options to advocate for improved protections.

The legal services will be funded using existing appropriations from the 2024-2025 county budget, with no additional impact to the general fund. County officials expect that the work will be completed by the end of the fiscal year.

This effort supports Sutter County’s broader goal of enhancing public infrastructure and achieving the highest possible flood protection standards to maintain flood insurance availability for local residents and businesses.