State Still Owes Funds for Dam

* Your Aug. 10 editorial spelled out the need to raise Prado Dam to prevent massive destruction and loss of lives in Orange County. You were correct in stating that the federal government is willing to assume an additional cost of the project, but only if the proper federal authorizations can be obtained this coming fiscal year.

However, we still have a big problem obtaining funds from the state under the State Subvention Fund Program. This program has been in place for many years and is supposed to provide state funding of 70% of the local costs of federally funded projects.

Many other counties throughout the state are also depending on this program to help defray the costs of their projects. When the funding formulas were crafted many years ago for the Santa Ana River Project, of which the Prado Dam is part, the expected revenue from the State Subvention Program was a key part of the total funding program.

The state has failed to budget any subvention funds in their annual budget for many years. This year, for the first time in many years, $9.3 million was originally included in the draft general budget, but has now been deleted.

Proposition 204 did provide $60 million of statewide subvention funds last year. Of that amount, Orange County received about $38 million, and the state still owes Orange County about $72 million. There may be a new bond issue proposed next year for additional funding, but this has not been formalized and will depend on a two-thirds approval by the voters statewide.

DON MARTINSON

JAMES WAHNER

Santa Ana River

Flood Protection Agency