House Passes Garamendi Bill to Expand Delta National Heritage Area for Rio Vista

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Congressman John Garamendi’s (D-CA) legislation (H.R. 1230) that expands the boundary of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area to include approximately 62 acres of publicly owned land in unincorporated Solano County. Earlier this month, the Mayor of Rio Vista requested that Garamendi legislate this boundary adjustment to support the City’s redevelopment of the decommissioned United States Army Reserve Center (Rio Vista).

In March 2019, Congress enacted Congressman Garamendi and U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) bicameral legislation into law designating the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as California’s first National Heritage Area to provide $10 million for community-based efforts to conserve the Delta’s cultural heritage, historic landmarks, and natural beauty.

Garamendi introduced this legislation (H.R. 1230) at the request of the City of Rio Vista to expand the National Heritage Area’s boundary to include approximately 62 acres of adjacent publicly owned land encompassing: the decommissioned United States Army Reserve Center (Rio Vista), U.S. Coast Guard Station Rio Vista, Beach Drive Wastewater Treatment Plant (City of Rio Vista), and Sandy Beach County Park (Solano County).

Two of these parcels—the decommissioned United States Army Reserve Center and Beach Drive Wastewater Treatment Plant—are owned by the City of Rio Vista.

“The Delta is a crown jewel of our state and an iconic working landscape, which my family has been fortunate to call home for over 40 years,” Garamendi said. “It is the most productive watershed in the western United States and among the most ecologically important in the Western Hemisphere.

“We must safeguard the Delta and the historic communities that make it such a special place. That’s why I worked with U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to designate the Delta as California’s first National Heritage Area, making up to $10 million in federal grant funding available for local projects like the proposed redevelopment of the decommissioned Rio Vista Army base. I’m pleased that the House has passed my legislation to expand the Delta National Heritage Area so this adjacent publicly owned land is eligible for federal grant funding,” Garamendi concluded.

As confirmed by the National Park Service, which administers the National Heritage Area grant program, designations do not impact individual property or water rights in any way nor do they restrict local land use decisions, landownership, or hunting and fishing within the designated heritage area.

Congressman Garamendi worked with U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) since 2010 to designate the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area Act.

The full text of Garamendi’s legislation is available here.

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