Sac Bee Denied Access to Public Records Surrounding Oroville Crisis

Not long after the crisis that nearly led to the collapse of the emergency spillway that a public records request for design, inspection and other technical info on the Dam, as well as for some internal communications on how Governor Jerry Brown's office handled it, was submitted by the Sacramento Bee to the Department of Water Resources and the Governor.

Much of it was denied over concerns the records could give someone what they need to do real damage to the Dam. 

Republican Assemblyman James Gallagher of Yuba City says he understands the need to maintain security, but that doesn't mean entire reports need to be withheld.

"There's information in there about what the Board of Consultants has observed up there, and how we're going to fix it that needs to be open and transparent to the public," says Gallagher. "The Administration and DWR need to make sure that happens."

The Governor's office says the Administration provides regular updates on the Dam that balance transparency and security, and that it would never release anything that involved its lawyers or the "deliberative process".


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