The
Confluence Winter 2002
River
Restoration Set to Begin By Next Summer
 The
Bureau of Reclamation has now joined PCWA in giving final approval
to the American River Pump Station project. The Bureau will be awarding
a contract for river channel excavation work in the next several
months, with the excavation work itself getting underway by next
summer. The Bureau is now estimating that the project will be completed
by the summer of 2005, at which time the Auburn dam diversion tunnel
will be sealed and the North Fork of the American River returned
to the newly restored river channel.
A lawsuit challenging the adequacy of the pump station EIR was filed
in Placer County Superior Court in September by a group of canyon
rim residents calling themselves "Skyridge Residents for Safety."
While still pending, we believe the lawsuit is legally weak and
will have no impact on either the recreational components of the
project or the Bureau's ability to complete the project by 2005.
Excellent progress is also being made in the effort to create a
shaded fuel break along an 11 mile stretch of the canyon rim adjacent
to the Auburn community. It is anticipated that the fuel break will
be fully established by the end of 2003, giving canyon rim residents
substantially increased protection from potential wildfires.
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