Newsom Will Take Action To Expedite Approval Of Sites Reservoir

Governor Newsom announced he would take action to expedite and streamline the Sites Reservoir project by using tools from the new infrastructure streamlining package. SB149 would allow Newsom to approve streamlined infrastructure projects across the state under the California Environmental Quality Act. Newsom signed a package of bills into law to accelerate infrastructure projects across the state in July. The reservoir is planned for an area west of Williams in Glenn and Colusa Counties, and would hold up to 1.5 Million Acre-Feet of off-stream storage as a catch basin for storm water and flood flows. Last week the Bureau of Reclamation and the Sites Project Authority announced that plans have been finalized to begin construction. The Sites Reservoir Project has already received $46.75 Million from the state. The Federal Government has authorized a total of $234 Million and the Environmental Protection Agency said last year that it would loan the project nearly $2.2 Billion to cover about half of the total cost. California Voters had floated nearly a Billion Dollars in bond money as well.