Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel) came to San Benito County on Jan. 25 to see for himself the aftermath of three storms that swept through the area in the past two weeks. Kevin O’Neill, the county’s deputy director of the Office of Emergency Services (OES), along with Supervisor Mark Medina, took Panetta through the Lovers Lane and San Felipe Road area so he could begin to assess damages and gather information for further state and federal response.
As Panetta stood near the levee that gave way along the Dara Farm property during the earliest storm and caused much of the flooding north of Pacheco Creek, O’Neill told him the water that rushed through the 60-foot breach covered orchards at the farm and across Lovers Lane.
“It covered Lovers Lane in six to seven inches of water,” O’Neill said. “When Supervisor Medina and I went out to get some video, as I knelt down I said we’ve got to back up because the water was coming up so fast. Sometimes it was coming across the road at about 15 miles an hour.”
O’Neill went on to describe the flooding to Panetta.
“There were essentially two things that caused the flooding on Lovers Lane,” he said. “One, is the levee break here and the second, upstream near the San Felipe Bridge, the water overtook the banks and caused the flooding on the south side that first Wednesday morning. Then the Friday and Saturday after the initial flooding, (further flooding) was all caused from this breach.”
O’Neill said that with the governor declaring a state of emergency, county officials hope to leverage state resources and expertise to help in the recovery and repair.
“We’ve contacted the Army Corps of Engineers to see if they can come out and give us a hand,” he said, “but there’s restrictions because it is private property, so we need to work with property owners and try to come up with a solution that works for everybody. Our priority right now is to make sure we protect all the houses that don’t own this levee.”
Panetta expressed gratitude to the first-responders for helping flood victims.
“I thank people like Kevin and Mark, who have been out here full-time working their tails off making sure that everything is as under control as possible,” Panetta said. “You have to realize, though, this is the force of Mother Nature at its best or worst, however you want to put it. It’s a lot more complicated than bringing some tractors in here and shoring it up. It takes the owners. It takes the state government, county government, and possibly the federal government.”
Panetta said he wanted to see the damage personally in order to act as the “bridge” between the county and state as he advocates for funding and resources. He said that while there is the possibility of funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which could reimburse the state and county governments for costs such as bridge and road repairs, it does nothing for homeowners.
“I think right now we had 60 homes (damaged) and 108 people who were removed,” he said. “That does not meet the qualifications for FEMA funding.”
Medina said he had spoken with the director of California Fish and Wildlife about the possibility of clearing out the trees and undergrowth in Pacheco Creek. He said there will be an in-depth discussion next week to determine what can be done under existing regulations.
“Right now we’re concerned about short-term solutions,” Medina said, adding that the rainy season will continue through March. “Long-term, we need to figure out a plan. The number one priority is to clean out the creek bed.”
Panetta said state and county OES offices will coordinate to come up with the data that is needed for FEMA to react.
“I want to be here so I can let them (FEMA) know there is serious damage here,” he said. “Then we can pump it down from the top to bottom as they (county and state) work from the bottom-up. Any time you have to deal with the federal bureaucracy I should be right there advocating, acting as that bridge from the people here to Washington and back. That’s how I see my responsibility.”
O’Neill said he appreciated Panetta coming to San Benito County because when the federal government becomes involved, “…nothing beats having your congressman in your corner.”
“We know by his initiative to come out and meet with us and see the damage he’s going to work hard for us,” O’Neill said, “so we can get through the bureaucracy and help the people in this county.”
Medina said Panetta’s office called him on the first day of flooding to ask what assistance was needed.
“Having watched a congressman deal first hand with the flooding back in the 70s, I remember the hard work and hands-on he did,” Panetta said, eluding to his father, Leon Panetta, who served in the House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993. “That’s what it’s about, to do as much as we can do.”
O’Neill said early estimates of losses to county infrastructure are approximately $4 million.
“This is a big question mark,” he said. “How much is something going to cost to repair? Who is going to shoulder the burden? Whether it’s going to be the state, the property owner, whatever. We also know the ag commissioner for the county said previously to these first two rounds of storms there was a $3.7 million loss in revenue to agriculture community due to the recent storms. And we’re still gathering information from property owners on what was lost, including everything from their fences to landscaping to the homes and their contents. That will be an on-going process.”
O’Neill said that he and Medina are planning another community meeting with local residents, most likely on Jan. 31, at the corner of Shore Road and Lovers Lane.
“Information is trickling in and we’re doing our best to help these residents,” O’Neill said, adding that residents want to know what is going on with the status of the levee and clearing the creek. “They also want to know about replacing the roads and culverts. There’s just a lot of questions that we don’t have the answers to yet.”
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