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Supervisor Ranalli recommending the Board consider the following:
1) Accept grant/project funding from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services for California Disaster Assistance Act (CDAA) funding, which will provide 75% cost share of total eligible costs for projects related to the tree mortality emergency, plus a 10% administrative fee; and
2) Approve the attached budget transfer increasing revenues and appropriations by $825,000 for the Fiscal Year 2016/17 CDAA Grant for the tree mortality emergency. (4/5 vote required)
FUNDING: 75% State Grant and 25% Local Match.
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DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATION
Supervisor Ranalli is recommending that the Board accept CDAA funding regarding the tree mortality emergency. In addition, approve a budget transfer to establish additional appropriations and revenues for Fiscal Year 2016-17 for the CDAA Grant.
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
On October 30, 2015, Governor Brown proclaimed a State of Emergency due to unprecedented tree mortality caused by the conditions of extreme drought and related bark beetle infestations. The Governor's Emergency Proclamation contains 18 distinct actions that direct state agencies, utilities and local governments to remove dead or dying trees in high hazard areas across the entire State of California.
On March 28, 2016, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency due to pervasive tree mortality in El Dorado County.
Data collected by State and federal agencies demonstrates that, due to drought conditions and bark beetle infestation, over 66 million trees in the State of California are dead and that tens of millions more are likely to die over the next five to six years. Surveys conducted by the U.S. Forest Service in May estimate that new tree mortality (between October 2015 and May 2016) in the County of El Dorado has affected an estimated 177,000 conifer trees. Many of these trees are located in the Eldorado National Forest or on private lan...
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