Title
AN ORDINANCE relating to emergency declarations; amending Ordinance 3441, Section 5, as amended, and K.C.C. 4.16.050, Ordinance 12163, Section 3, and K.C.C. 12.52.010 and Ordinance 1058, Section 3, as amended, and K.C.C. 12.52.030; and declaring an emergency.
Body
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. After the flooding in January of this year, the United States Army Corps of Engineers ("the Corps") discovered two depressions on the right abutment adjacent to the Howard Hanson dam. The Howard Hanson dam, which is owned, operated and managed exclusively by the Corps, is the primary flood protection facility for all of the lower Green River valley.
2. The Corps is currently assessing the damage to the right abutment and has determined that until the assessment can be completed, the Corps will reduce the amount of water that it will allow to be stored behind the dam in order to protect the integrity of the dam.
3. Reducing the amount of stored water means that during large rain events there is a higher risk of flooding in the Green River valley.
4. Public safety is the most fundamental purpose of government, and citizens rightfully expect government to respond rapidly in the face of significant threats to life and property.
5. Thousands of citizens live in the Green River valley, which is also a major high-tech manufacturing center and the largest warehouse and distribution center in the Pacific Northwest. An independent study by EcoNorthwest determined that a shutdown of the county's floodplains would result in lost economic output of at least forty-six million dollars per day.
6. The Corps has exclusive jurisdiction over the Howard Hanson dam, and levees and other flood protection facilities along the Green river were designed only to supplement - not replace - the flood protection provided by the dam. Nonetheless, King County and the King County Flood Control Zone District ("the district") want to ensure that they are doing everything within their autho...
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