Write to the Oregon Senate Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources.
Take action to let them know that SB 431 is unacceptable as written and the last thing we need is a powerful new government agency to manage our levees and river that lacks clear accountability or clear commitment to ecological and equitable outcomes.
Take ActionSenate Bill 431 proposes to create a new governmental entity to manage the Columbia River Levee System and oversee needed repairs. Unfortunately the legislation is a mess.
Nobody questions the need to keep our communities safe from flooding, but a 21st Century approach to flood management needs to integrate ecological health, environmental justice and climate change. SB 431 creates a new layer of government with broad new powers, including assessing taxes and condemning land, but which is lacking in accountability and transparency and with an exceedingly weak commitment to ecological health, environmental justice and climate change adaptation.
