Butte County Supervisor Bill Connelly has been openly opposed to the Department of Water Resources’ actions for over a decade and is hoping the national spotlight will now push forward things the county has sought for years. Butte County filed a petition Wednesday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the agency which allows the DWR to operate the dam. The county asked FERC to order the DWR to hire its own public safety personnel or reimburse the county for its losses because of Oroville Dam’s damaged spillway.