Marin Voice: It’s time to remove obstacles and support flood-control projects

Have you ever wondered why it is so difficult for responsible entities to combat climate change?

The reasons are varied and complex. Exasperating the issue is the reality that California has evolved into a state that makes it very difficult and virtually impossible to get this work done. As a former engineer with the Marin County Flood Control District, I would like to share some observations regarding the obstacles to dealing with flooding, climate change and sea-level rise.

Marin is fragmented into a multitude of jurisdictions. In my experience, the agencies in these jurisdictions tend to remain siloed and individualistic. This siloing is generally centered around funding – who will spend what and where.

The issues of climate change certainly cross jurisdictions, so any solutions must also be cross-jurisdictional. Funding mechanisms need to be revamped to address this. As we are all in this together, it seems to me that we should consider funding to be fungible and usable across jurisdictional boundaries.

I think the rules established by the California Environmental Quality Act have created an unintended obstacle to flood-control projects. While CEQA was created with the outstanding intention of protecting wildlife and habitat, it now appears to be used often as a weapon to block, stop and delay what many consider needed projects.

As part of CEQA requirements, every project needs to develop a document examining the possible impacts it may have on the environment. I have consistently seen these documents become an immediate target for anyone opposed. They are cited in lawsuits that cause costly delays. Rather than trying to stop these projects, we need to look at them through a lens that shows a uncomfortable future.

Additionally, resource agencies at the state and federal level can become obstacles to needed projects. The mandate is to protect wildlife and habitat, but I think these agencies need to also consider the concerns and potential impacts of climate change on humans.

It seems to me that we are currently in the “inconvenient” phase of climate change. For now, we are simply having to figure out how to navigate flooded roadways and revise personal schedules around changing weather. However, it is clear to me that we are slowly and continually moving toward a world of unprecedented human despair and desperation caused by the impacts of climate change.

With this in mind, resource agencies should develop a rubric that incorporates impacts humans may feel if a project is not permitted and completed.

Solutions to the issues ahead of us are going to take significant amounts of money. I don’t think Californians should expect to look to Washington for help. If anything, we should anticipate a clawback of existing funding.

I suspect we will need to source the much-needed funding locally through taxes. Passing new taxes at the ballot box will be a challenge, but we need to push forward. Without significantly more funding, it’s clear that we will continue to flood and experience ongoing inundation. Elected officials in Sacramento need to make funding for projects addressing the impacts of climate change a priority.

I am optimistic we can figure out a way to make our lives tenable as climate change marches forward. I take comfort in knowing that people in the Marin Flood Control District are hardworking, intelligent and innovative. They can get the work done, even in the face of navigating a system seemingly against them. They could use our help and support.

Predictions are that we will continue to feel the effects of a changing climate. As time goes forward, it will become more dangerous and challenging. I can imagine that people’s frustration will grow as problems expand. I hope the public does not take their frustration out on the people who are working to solve the problem. It already feels like they are working with one hand tied behind their back.

We should help where we can and work to ensure that, at the citizen level, we do not become so politically polarized and we cannot get projects done.

Citizens of this fantastic county should be a little less fussy and work with the people who are striving to get this done. We should not work against them. Their job is difficult enough as it is, considering California has evolved into a regulatory ecosystem that can seemingly make things impossible.

Scott McMorrow, of Inverness, is a former engineer with the Marin County Flood Control District.