A couple of Years ago Robert Bendorf, Yuba County Administrator, was quoted in the Appeal democrat Newspaper as “Finding “ several millions of Dollars. I asked County Auditor Dean sellers where Mr. Bendorf could have found many Millions of Dollars , but no answer from him was forthcoming. a couple of years before that “Find” Mr. Bendorf “Found” some more millions as reported by The A-D. and to this day no report of where the Money came from has surfaced. I may have located the Source in Recent dealings with State DWR Engineers , Chiefs, and other workers in unraveling why DWR would issue six encroachment permits for TRLIA levee work on the South bank of the Yuba River from The Confluence of the Feather River and the Yuba River just west of the Highway 70 bridge. The DWR Engineer who created “ All those permits” as he told us, was Steve Dawson PE, and he never explained why he created the Revised permits but he did tell us why the Section of levee that broke in 1986 can not be repaired. Dawson said the giant boulders dumped into the levee break to stop the flow of flood water had destroyed the Foundation under the levee and would take acres of work to restore the foundation. He never answered our question of why he continued creating permits to upgrade that levee knowing with the Foundation gone, the levee could not be certified under Federal law of levee safety, 44 CFR 65.10 and in fact The US Army Corps of Engineers had withdrawn their certification of 2007. This remains a mystery especially since TRLIA project Engineer RIC Reinhardt of MBK engineers recently certified the Levee as a 100 year level levee after the Corps Of engineers withdrew their certification as not meeting federal requirements.! Even more of a mystery is why the FEMA accredited the levee using Ric Reinhardt s certification after the Corps withdrew.
One thing led to another and soon a series of E-Mails flowed under the freedom of information Act 6250 et.seq. The series ended with Steve Dawson PE when I inquired of him who asked him to revise the permits to show only the work TRLIA did , why did they especially since FEMA accredited the levees apparently not knowing TRLIA had not done any work on the waterside of the South Yuba levee , required under 18095GM, and certified by Ric Reinhardt?
I asked a DWR Chief Engineer if he could help me in getting a Engineer to accompany me on to the Yuba River left bank and determine if TRLIA did work or not, and DWR advised me a Engineer named Charles Rabamad, Project engineer would be in my area on June 16th and he could briefly meet with me. DWR contacted me again and asked to move the meeting up to the 15th and I agreed. On the 15th at 9:30 am, Mr. Rabamad and Two other DWR officials met with me and two other interested citizens at my home where we moved to the Yuba River Left bank levee.
I had in my possession Documents sent to me by DWR Engineers showing TRLIA had requested $43,000,000 aggregate in reimbursement from DWR for Sand/ seepage Berms supposedly constructed by TRLIA using Local funds and requesting DWR to reimburse the local funds spent from Prop 13 and IE tax funds. The Six of us in attendance observed the described site TRLIA has stated they did the levee work at and used for juistification . We could not see the Sand berms described by TRLIA as constructed. We had in our possession spread sheets showing DWR had reimbursed TRLIA for the work TRLIA claimed done in the amount listed above.
The question is, since no work was done, and TRLIA filed for work done and were reimbursed, what did Yuba County do with the Money? Under the Yuba Levee Finance Authority it appears The County Administrator, Robert Bendorf, Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority, Paul Brunner. and County Auditor Dean Sellers are the finance authority that find Money and those who receive TRLIA funding are Dan Meirzwa, county Treasure , Tib Belza , Yuba County Water Agency , Curt Akins Yuba County Water Agency, and Robert Bendorf , County administrator, who sits on both agency’s, I am told.
The State of California needs to audit TRLIA/Yuba County to see if TRLIA through MBK engineer Ric Reinhardt and others, filed a false claim for our tax funds ASAP, IMO.
RD 784 Levee Work 2004 2009
Levee work in Yuba County historically was conducted by the U.S.A. Corps of engineers, the State department of water resources and RD 784 . Each entity shared in the cost and The Yuba County water agency put up RD 784′s Share of the cost.
In 2004, Yuba County officials formed a Joint project called Three rivers levee Improvement Authority, consisting of Yuba County and RD 784 to seek funds to upgrade RD 784 levees in South Yuba County
In 2006, TRLIA applied for a state reclamation Board permit to encroach on the States levees with the goal of upgrading the Yuba River south bank levee to a 100 year level of levee safety. The state reclamation board issued permit NO. 18095GM on August 24, 2006, listing upgrades needed to meet the Goal from the start of the Yuba River to the Simpson lane Road. A section, requiring Rip Rap to be stacked, exposed along the waterside levee 3 feet thick, to protect against water erosion, was listed for work at the Junction of the Feather And Yuba Rivers, another section was to be a flattening of the Levee waterside slope to a 3: 1 for Erosion control, work to be completed by October 31, 2006. TRLIA contracted the Levee work out to Nordic industries, of Linda.
It was discovered in December of 2006 , and brought to the attention of TRLIA, Yuba County and RD 784 Board of directors, as well as the State Reclamation board, that none of the work between just west of the Highway 70 Bridge and the UPRR/SPRR tracks had been constructed even though TRLIA had announced the Levee was completed.
In March of 2007, The State reclamation board issued another permit, 18095-Rev. GM, which only listed the work beginning at the UPRR/SPRR tracks east to the Simpson lane Road, which was already listed on the original permit 18095GM.
On September 25, 2009, another permit was given to TRLIA to Flatten the levee waterside 18095-R1 GM, which also was already listed on the original 18095GM, but not done in 2006.
TRLIA and DWR had a Funding agreement for Yuba River South bank Levee work signed in 2007. TRLIA was to complete performance of tasks identified in the agreement and submit final Construction Documents to the Corps in March 2007.
Contract number 4600004326, executed in October 2005, The Amount was not to exceed $15,653,562.
Contract Number 4600003890, Yuba River south bank was to be constructed with seepage and stability berms on the east and west side of Highway 70 along the Land-side of the levee toe. Amount requested by TRLIA and paid by DWR under Prop 13, $4,953.550
Contract Number 460003891, Yuba river south bank construction of Seepage and stability berms on East and west side of Highway 70 bridge. TRLIA requested $ 5,307.312 and DWR paid $ 4,768,454. There are other grants using the same justification of sand berms su8pposed to be constructed but were not.
According to Spread sheets Yuba river Flood protection program ( YFFPP) , TRLIA submitted a certification of 100 year level levee, issued to them in 2007 by the Sacramento Corps and based on that and the completion of the phases 1,2, and 4 , DWR approved reimbursement to TRLIA.
AS Stated above, the Justification for the tax funds was the Sand berms TRLIA told DWR they had constructed, and the 2007 Corps of Engineers certification of the Yuba River south bank levee, Both the Sand berms and the Certification were bogus. The sand berms werte not built and the CDorps withdrew their certification, only FEMA hangs on with a accreditation based on a local engineers words who could not possibly have met Federal Rules of levee safety.
There is more than meets the eye here.
By: Rex Archer on June 30, 2011
at 7:51 pm
TRLIA as stated above, stated to DWR they constructed sand berms in 2005 between Shad Road And West of Highway 70 Bridge, on the Land side of the yUBA RIVER LEVEE. it has been shown here they filed a false claim..
TRLIA since learning they were found to be lying to DWR, posted The Following on Their website on December 12, 2011. TRLIA blatantly states they are going to do the work in August of 2012!
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority (“TRLIA”) is proposing to acquire a portion of the property located at 831 N. Beale Road in the City of Marysville (the “Property”) to allow for construction of the Upper Yuba Levee Improvement Project (“Project”). The Project will increase the Linda area’s protection against flooding by upgrading several miles of the Yuba River South Bank Levee to meet current standards for resistance to under seepage. The Property consists of one Single Family Residence (“SFR”), 13 Recreational Vehicle (“RV”) parking spaces, and one storage area. Although only a portion of the spaces are impacted by the area proposed for acquisition, all occupants of the Property may be required to move as a result of the Project. The Property is also known as Hayes’ Country Village, ShadPad RV Park, and Nathans RV Park.
Associated Right of Way Services, Inc. (“AR/WS”) has prepared and will administer this Relocation Impact Statement and Last Resort Housing Plan (“the Statement”), under the direction of TRLIA. The purpose of the Statement is to (a) describe the Project, its schedule, and its financing plan; (b) identify the impact that the proposed acquisition may have on the occupants of the Property; (c) identify the availability of potential replacement sites; and (d) explain the Relocation Assistance Program.
In November of 2010, TRLIA approved a Relocation Assistance Plan related to the displacement of a mobile home located at 6519A Griffith Avenue, Marysville, California due to the Project. TRLIA has been providing relocation assistance and benefits to the displaced persons of this property over the last year.
This Statement considers the impact of the property at 831 N. Beale Road, Marysville, California only and it does not re-address properties already described in previous Statements or Relocation Assistance Plans.
This Statement provides the results of a needs assessment survey, a housing resource study, and details of TRLIA’s proposed relocation program. This Statement sets forth policies and procedures necessary to conform with statues and regulations established by the California Government Code Section 7260 et seq. and corresponding guidelines found in the California Code of Regulations, Title 25, Section 6000, et seq. (“the governing regulations”). This Statement is being circulated for a 30-day public review and comment period and will then be presented to TRLIA’s Board for review and adoption in February of 2012. No displacement activities will take place prior to the required reviews and approval of this Statement.
This Statement addresses the specific replacement housing needs of residential and non-residential occupants (personal property only) that may need to relocate. The housing research conducted for this Statement has demonstrated that there are an adequate number of available housing units in the Marysville area and surrounding communities to accommodate the needs of the residential occupants that may need to permanently relocate. This Statement has also demonstrated that there are an adequate number of storage areas for the non-residential occupants (personal property only). TRLIA will need to provide advisory and monetary assistance to allow the residential occupants to secure and move to comparable replacement residential dwellings and non-residential occupants to secure and move to available storage facilities.
By: Rex Archer on February 18, 2012
at 10:36 pm