Sen. Feinstein Leads Landmark Shoreline Restoration Project Launch

Sen. Dianne Feinstein led a group of local, state and federal officials in a ceremony Friday in San Jose’s Alviso neighborhood launching the South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Project—a massive $177 million effort to build four miles of new levees and restore 3,000 acres of wetlands near San Jose. It’s the largest wetland restoration project outside the Florida Everglades. Bay Area Council CEO Jim Wunderman attended the event, where the Council was recognized for our stalwart support of the project and a 2015 report that highlighted the region’s economic vulnerability to extreme flooding. The Council also received praise for helping lead the successful 2016 regional Measure AA campaign, which will raise $500 million over the next 20 years for multi-benefit restoration and flood protection projects along the San Francisco Bay shoreline.

The Shoreline project has been in the works since at least 2005, following Sen. Feinstein’s leadership in facilitating the historic acquisition of the South Bay Salt Ponds from Cargill and the Council’s effective advocacy in securing federal funding. With funding in place, construction is slated to begin next summer with completion in the next 3-5 years.

Enormous thanks are due to the hard work of the Bay Area Council partners who helped make this announcement a reality, including Sen. Feinstein, San Mateo County Supervisor David Pine, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, the California Coastal Conservancy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, and Save the Bay. To learn more about the Bay Area Council’s work on climate resilience, please contact Vice President of Public Policy Adrian Covert.