HomeMy WebLinkAbout1824Resolution No. 1824
(Amending or Repealing Resolutions)
CFN = 1318 -Green River Levee Reconstruction (Howard Hanson Dam)
Passed -4/6/2010
Howard Hanson Dam -Request for Federal Appropriations
RESOLUTION NO. _j:.....~--,:....:~_1...._' ---
A RESOLUTION of the City Council of the
City of Kent, Washington, requesting the United
States Congress appropriate sufficient funds to
provide for interim and permanent repairs to the
Howard Hanson Dam, and direct the Army Corps of
Engineers to make the Howard Hanson Dam
permanent repair a priority project.
RECITALS
A. The federally owned and operated Howard Hanson Dam has
provided flood protection for residents and businesses of the Green River
Valley in Washington State since 1961. The Howard Hanson Dam has
prevented potential flood damages amounting to hundreds of millions of
dollars over the last four decades.
B. The Green River Valley contains the second largest warehouse
and product distribution center on the West Coast. The Green River Valley
Industrial Center represents thirty-seven billion and three hundred and
sixty million dollars ($37,360,000,000) in gross business income, four
thousand five hundred ( 4,500) businesses, and over one hundred thousand
jobs (100,000). The population of the Green River Valley watershed is
estimated at three hundred and fifty thousand (350,000) residents,
including many low-income families.
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C. In January 2009, following a record high level storage of
floodwater, the Army Corps of Engineers discovered damage to the right
abutment of the Howard Hanson Dam, which led to restrictions on the
operating capacity of the dam and increased the flood risk to the Green
River Valley. In the event of a flood, residents and businesses of the
Green River Valley could be displaced for weeks, months, or permanently.
Flood damage will cost individual citizens and businesses without insurance
thousands of dollars for repairs and relocation and will severely impact an
economic engine for the entire state.
D. The looming threat of a potential flood has caused some
businesses to relocate from the Green River Valley with a negative impact
on economic development. Since the damages were found, federal, state,
and local governments have worked together to provide interim measures
of flood protection until a permanent fix to the dam is completed.
Permanent repairs to the Howard Hanson dam, however, have been
estimated to take as long as six years.
E. The United States Army Corps of Engineers has identified an
interim solution that would extend the grout curtain over a deeper and
wider area of the right abutment of the Howard Hanson Dam that would
allow for the storage of water at higher levels. This interim solution, while
not a permanent solution, would reduce the flood risk threat levels to the
same level that existed prior to damage to the dam. The estimate for the
interim solution is forty-four million dollars ($44,000,000), and is a modest
investment compared to the three billion seven hundred million dollars
($3,700,000,000) that the Federal Emergency Management Agency
estimates could result from just a single flood from damage at the Howard
Hanson dam.
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NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENT,
WASHINGTON, DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
RESOLUTION
SECTION 1. -Request for Federal Appropriation for Interim Repairs.
The Kent City Council requests the federal government and the United
States Congress provide for an immediate appropriation of forty-four
million dollars ($44,000,000) for interim grout work and related repairs to
the Howard Hanson Dam so that this work can be completed before the
next flood season.
SECTION 2. -Request for Federal Appropriation for Permanent
Repairs. The Kent City Council requests the United States Congress
appropriate sufficient funds to provide for permanent repair to the Howard
Hanson Dam, and direct the Army Corps of Engineers to make the Howard
Hanson Dam permanent repair a priority project and expedite its standard
processes to assure the fastest and safest approach.
SECTION 3. -Transmit Resolution to Federal Government
Representatives. Copies of the adopted resolution shall be transmitted by
the City Clerk to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United
States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House
of Representatives, each member of Congress from the State of
Washington, and the Secretary of Defense.
SECTION 4. -Severabilitv. If any section, subsection, paragraph,
sentence, clause or phrase of this resolution is declared unconstitutional or
invalid for any reason, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this resolution.
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SECTION 5. -Ratification. Any act consistent with the authority
and prior to the effective date of this resolution is hereby ratified and
affirmed.
SECTION 6. -Corrections bv City Clerk or Code Reviser. Upon
approval of the City Attorney, the City Clerk and the code reviser are
authorized to make necessary corrections to this resolution, including the
correction of clerical errors; references to other local, state or federal laws,
codes, rules, or regulations; or resolution numbering and
section/subsection numbering.
SECTION 7. -Effective Date. This resolution shall take effect and
be in force immediately upon its passage.
PASSED at a regular open public meeting by the City Council of the
. tltJ
City of Kent, Washington, this ~7 day of April, 2010.
CONCURRED in by the Mayor of the City of Kent this __;;;_/v_· _ day of
April, 2010.
A TrEST:
'BRENDA JACOBER(,CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
T M BRUB KER, CITY ATIORNEY
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I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of Resolution No.
passed by the City Council of the City of Kent, Washington, the
-""""'----day of April, 2010.
P:\Civii\Resolutlon\HowardHansonDam-RequestFederaiApproprlatlons.doc
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