Land Conveyance From Beale Air Force Base to Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority

Floor Speech

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Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today I introduce legislation that would convey a small land parcel at Beale Air Force Base (AFB) in northern California to the Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority for the Congressionally authorized Yuba Goldfields Levee Improvement Project. I thank my colleague Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-CA01), the bill's original cosponsor, who represents the neighboring Congressional district.

The Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority is responsible for providing 200-year flood protection for southern Yuba County in California, protecting homes, businesses, and military infrastructure at Beale AFB. As a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, I secured authorization for the Yuba Goldfields Levee Improvement Project in the America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-270). The Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority is the non-federal sponsor for this project, which will provide 200-year level of flood protection to the community surrounding Beale AFB.

Specifically, this project extends the Yuba River South Levee and crosses Beale AFB outside the fence line. Upon completing survey work for the proposed levee improvement project, the Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority discovered that the U.S. Air Force owned a small parcel of approximately 0.3 acres outside the fence line and separated from the rest of Beale AFB by Smartville Road. In September 2020, I helped to secure a 25-year easement from the Air Force on behalf of the Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority needed to construct, operate, and maintain the levee.

However, this legislation would convey ownership of the 0.3-acre parcel from the Air Force to the Three Rivers Levee Improvement Authority, so that the non-federal sponsor can continue to ensure area flood control in perpetuity. This public interest land conveyance will ensure that the area, including Beale AFB, is better protected from future flooding.

As chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, I plan to legislate this land conveyance necessary for the long-term maintenance of the Yuba Goldfields Levee Improvement Project in the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act, if necessary. This is but one example of how Congress can make our military installations more resilient to flooding and other extreme weather exacerbated by climate change by improving coordination between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' civil works projects and the service branches.

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