With most of the work on the Oroville Dam Spillway complete, North State's Legislators - Senator Jim Nielsen (R-Tehama) and Assemblymember James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) - thank the dedicated men and women who have worked around the clock to repair the Spillway and ask the state to clean up the sediment buildup that resulted from this crisis. They issued the following statement:

"The men and women from Kiewit Construction and the sub-contractors on site have accomplished a monumental task. Speaking on behalf of all of our constituents living downstream of the Oroville Dam complex, we say thank you to the Kiewit team for their tireless efforts.

"We want to be clear that although today's accomplishment is worthy of recognition, the work is far from complete. It's not enough to fix the spillways and move on. The impacts of this crisis have not been mitigated. Perhaps the most glaring impact not yet addressed is the massive sediment and debris buildup in the Feather River. The newly formed sediment buildups impact not only recreation, but also the channel capacity of the river and habitat for migrating salmon and other species.

"It is encouraging to hear that DWR is considering long-term infrastructure and operational changes to improve public safety and flood control. However, our community deserves a seat at the table as these plans are being discussed and plans are developed. We strongly advise against keeping the public in the dark as these discussions are taking place.

"Lastly, we agree wholeheartedly that a comprehensive needs assessment is necessary. However, this robust inspection work should be conducted completely independent of DWR and the other regulatory agencies that were responsible for the inspection work leading up to the collapse of the Oroville Dam spillways."