Dianne Feinstein: “I am joined in the Senate by my friend and colleague, Senator Boxer. We are joined at the hip in opposition to this. If…”

“I am joined in the Senate by my friend and colleague, Senator Boxer. We are joined at the hip in opposition to this. If there ever was a disaster waiting to happen, it is the levee situation in the State of California. I will take a few minutes to explain why. Let me begin with this fact. We have a comparison of flood protection levels for major river cities. Sacramento is the only city in the Nation with 85-year protection. All comparable cities--New Orleans, 250-year flood protection; Omaha, 250 years; Dallas, 500 years; Kansas City, St. Louis, Tacoma, 500 years. The problem is, much of this area is 20 feet or more below the river, below the flood basins. I stood in a home in Sacramento on Saturday. It was 20 feet below the level of the river. That is the problem. The sedimentary base of soils there is peat, and it is easily crumbled. What you have are 2,600 miles of levees--some owned by the Federal Government, some by the State, some by private owners. These levees become eroded. And because of the heavy rain--the heaviest rainfall, I believe, that I can remember in California--there is deep concern about these levees. Let me show you the specific area we are talking about. Shown in this picture is the Sacramento Pocket Area. The Governor, Mr. Pombo of the House, and a number of other public officials were right in this area-- standing right here--a short time ago. We flew over the area. These are homes, all 20 feet below the river area.…”