Congresswoman Doris Matsui's bill would require that the federal government spend 920 million dollars to complete levee repairs in Natomas. The levees were decertified in 2008 by the Army Corps of Engineers.
City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby says there has been a de-facto building moratorium in the area ever since, "It's defacto because you can build, but you have to be at or above the flood plain, which for Natomas is about 33-feet, which sounds impossible, although it has been done once. We built a fire station. The first floor of the station is a garage for of the staion is a garage for the truck and engine and medic. In other words, it's floodable and the living quarters are all up top."
Ashby says passage of the bill would allow the City to apply
for an end to the moratorium as the Army Corps upgrades the levees
to provide 100-year flood protection. Until the work is
completed, people in the area would still be required to have flood
insurance.
Matsui introduced the same legislation in 2011, but it died in
committee.