River stakeholders urge pause, peer review and more in-person engagement on American River Contract 3b

At the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency board meeting on May 15, two public commenters urged the board and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to pause work on Contract 3b of the American River bank-protection program and restart local technical review.

Joseph O'Connor, who identified himself as a member of the Bank Protection Working Group representing the Parkway Coalition, told the board he has raised similar concerns previously and cited personal experience with flood damage. He said Contract 3b was developed during the COVID period with limited, irregular meetings and that the project team "could more be done to the parkway to limit damage?" and urged a pause to allow additional technical vetting. "Let's reconstitute the technical resource advisory committee, a subcommittee, bank protection working group," O'Connor said, adding that he also recommended "some more soil borings to be sure where the erodible soils are and have in-person meetings with full discussions."

Nancy Neisker, who addressed the board as a stakeholder with interest in the river, said the Corps' use of virtual meetings left many local questions unanswered and that answers promised during earlier virtual sessions were only later included in the May 12 final SEIS/SEIR. "The result is public comments may not be sufficient as they may be based on misunderstanding of the information," Neisker said. She said the one-way virtual format reduced opportunities to clarify misunderstandings, obtain public support, educate the public, and "learn from the public," and urged the Corps and local sponsors to meet directly with stakeholders to capture local knowledge about river conditions and past use.

Neither commenter proposed a specific procedural stop by the board; they requested the board press project sponsors and the Corps for additional review and more interactive stakeholder engagement before proceeding with the Contract 3b construction work.

Background: Speakers at the meeting referenced a recently released environmental document, described in public comment as the May 12 final SEIS/SEIR for the project. Commenters said earlier stakeholder briefings on Dec. 12, 2023 and Jan. 10 and Jan. 16 (virtual) deferred many technical questions to later responses that are now part of that environmental document. The contract is part of a broader American River bank-protection and levee program that has been discussed for multiple years.

The board did not take formal action on Contract 3b during the May 15 meeting; public comments were recorded during the public-comment portion of the agenda and the meeting proceeded to closed session and subsequent agenda items.