Posted on Categories Land Use, WaterTags , , Leave a comment on Efforts to clean up Russian River could impact rural septic systems

Efforts to clean up Russian River could impact rural septic systems

Mary Callahan, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

North Coast water quality officials are seeking public input on efforts to reduce contamination of the Russian River watershed through a plan that’s likely to have broad impacts on rural residents dependent on septic systems for waste disposal.

Studies indicate the river and its tributary creeks are polluted with bacteria from human and animal feces traced to a variety of sources — from dairies to homeless encampments, wastewater treatment facilities to beachgoers using bushes for toilets, according to staff from the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board.

But longtime concerns about older, on-site septic systems that may be permitting untreated waste to reach local waterways means remediation strategies will doubtless have implications for rural homeowners with septic systems, especially in lower Russian River communities like Monte Rio and Camp Meeker, said board Executive Officer Matt St. John.

“We’re still evaluating what improvements are needed, but I think what we can say at this point is that (in) areas with a high density of on-site septic systems, we’re seeing significant contribution of fecal indicator bacteria,” St. John said.

Stretches of the Russian River in Healdsburg and from Guerneville to Monte Rio, as well as Santa Rosa, Atascadero, Dutch Bill creeks and an unnamed tributary near Healdsburg’s Fitch Mountain, are all listed as impaired waters under the federal Clean Water Act, and have been since 2002, because of high levels of bacterial concentration indicative of fecal contamination, the water quality board said.

via Efforts to clean up Russian River could impact | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Land Use, WaterTags , , Leave a comment on Landfill neighbors sue over compost operation

Landfill neighbors sue over compost operation

Kevin McCallum, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Neighbors of Sonoma County’s central landfill who threatened two months ago to file a lawsuit over wastewater from compost piles polluting Stemple Creek have made good on their promise.

The group Renewed Efforts of Neighbors Against Landfill Expansion, or RENALE, filed a federal Clean Water Act suit recently against three entities involved in the 25-acre composting operation atop the landfill.

The goal of the suit is to convince a judge to do what other government agencies are either unwilling or unable to do — shut down the compost operation to protect the creek, said Roger Larsen, a resident of the Happy Acres subdivision on Mecham Road west of Cotati.

“Despite the fact they know they are polluting Stemple Creek, they decided to continue to do so,” Larsen said. “Hopefully, this suit with stop them from polluting Stemple Creek anymore.”

via Landfill neighbors sue over compost operation | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Land Use, WaterTags , , , Leave a comment on County stream protection rules back for debate

County stream protection rules back for debate

Angela Hart, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

August 28 Planning Commission Agenda

For decades, property owners, environmentalists and policymakers in Sonoma County have been split over how to protect 3,200 miles of streams and creeks outside city boundaries.

The ongoing debate, which some landowners view as a direct threat to their property rights, took a turn in 1989, when the county drafted a new general plan that mandated protections for year-round and seasonal creeks and rivers.

The debate grew especially heated eight years ago, when the county began discussions that would ultimately lead to increased general plan restrictions on farming, grazing and building near streams. Two public hearings at the time drew hundreds of people and packed a theater at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa.

Now county planning commissioners are expected to take the next step in settling the standoff, weighing an ordinance that would align county zoning rules with the land-use restrictions spelled out in the general plan. The Planning Commission’s public hearing on the zoning changes is at 1 p.m. Thursday. Any final decision would be up to the Board of Supervisors.

County officials said the proposed zoning changes were designed to reinforce practices already underway.

“We’ve heard a lot of concerns raised by the public, so these new zoning rules would clear up any misunderstanding about what this ordinance would and would not do,” said Jennifer Barrett, a deputy director with the county’s Permit and Resource Management Department. “It might look like we’re adding a whole new code, but what we’re actually doing is changing the language to make it more clear.”

via County stream protection rules back for debate | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories ForestsTags Leave a comment on Crews thin forest in bid to protect oaks of Jack London State Historic Park

Crews thin forest in bid to protect oaks of Jack London State Historic Park

Eloísa Ruano González, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

To protect the majestic centuries-old oaks at Jack London State Historic Park, state workers have this week begun cutting down invasive vegetation and bay laurel trees known to harbor sudden oak death, which has killed millions of oaks and tanoaks throughout Northern California.

As oak trees have died and toppled from the disease, canopy openings have widened at the park in Glen Ellen. That has let more light seep through some areas of the forest, fueling the growth of dense and more flammable plants, according to environmental officials.

Chainsaws and shears in hand, nearly a dozen workers with the California Conservation Corps made their way Tuesday up a section of the park near the Wolf House ruins to tear out broom and other brush that could act as “ladders,” allowing flames to climb onto tree canopies during a fire. They navigated their way around dead oak trees and poison oak to get to young bay laurels that threaten tanoaks and black and coast live oaks, which are more “vulnerable” to sudden oak death, according to Cyndy Shafer, a senior environmental scientist with California State Parks.

“We’re definitely not removing all of the bay trees. It’s very targeted and strategic,” Shafer said about the $150,000 project, funded by the state and aimed at reducing the fire risk and spread of the disease in the oak-dominated section of the forest.

“It’ll make it less inviting for sudden oak death,” she added. “(But) we will not be removing any mature, healthy trees.”

via Crews thin forest in bid to protect Jack | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Agriculture/Food System, WaterTags , , , , Leave a comment on Grape growers grappling with prolonged water supply issues

Grape growers grappling with prolonged water supply issues

Bill Swindell, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

To get a sense of how the state’s three-year drought has created a new normal in the wine industry, consider the truck that Rued Vineyards purchased this year.

Almost daily, Tom Rued would drive the stainless-steel tanker, with a capacity of 6,400 gallons, about 15 miles to a city of Healdsburg filling station to load up on recycled wastewater.

The entire operation takes about five hours, including the round trip between the Alexander Valley vineyard and the plant, the time filling up the tanker, and offloading the water into a drip irrigation system to keep 19 acres of sauvignon blanc vines moist enough to make it through another harvest.

Rued Vineyards has been pressed into such a drastic action after state water regulators this spring curtailed some of the vineyard’s water rights in the upper Russian River watershed along with more than 600 other junior water-rights holders. Officials with the state Water Resources Control Board have been following up with growers to make sure such orders are being followed, but no enforcement actions have yet been taken, said board spokesman George Kostyrko.

via Drought fears in Wine Country | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Land Use, Sustainable Living, WaterTags , , , Leave a comment on Shutdown of Sonoma County's compost facility averted

Shutdown of Sonoma County's compost facility averted

Kevin McCallum, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A shutdown of the composting facility at Sonoma County’s central landfill was averted Wednesday when the public agency in charge of the program voted to continue trying to find a way to solve the water pollution problems plaguing the site.

The alternative facing the 10-member board of the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency was to begin winding down operations before the rainy season and start hauling to other counties the 100,000 tons of yard waste and food scraps collected from residents’ bins every year.

“Do we want to just stop and say, ‘No — no more compost at this point and 100 percent out-haul’?” asked Healdsburg Mayor Jim Wood, the board chairman. “Or do we want to continue working on a plan?”

He said efforts by the agency’s staff and others to find a solution had been “extraordinary” and he felt the work should be allowed to go on. State water quality regulators have tentatively endorsed a plan aimed at minimizing wastewater in the short term while efforts to find a new site for the operation move forward.

via Shutdown of Sonoma County's compost facility averted | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Climate Change & Energy, Local OrganizationsTags , Leave a comment on Update on anti-community choice proposed law, AB 2145

Update on anti-community choice proposed law, AB 2145

Climate Protection Campaign

The anti-community choice bill, AB 2145, is now before the full Senate for a vote. Our work facilitating a statewide coalition removed the worst of the bill. Two problematic elements remain: a three-county restriction and inclusion of a CPUC complaint process. Calls to senators urging a “no” vote are still encouraged.

No on 2145

Posted on Categories Water, WildlifeTags , , Leave a comment on Unpaving the way for steelhead in Stuart Creek

Unpaving the way for steelhead in Stuart Creek

Sonoma Land Trust newsletter
After three years of planning and fundraising, the concrete fish barrier (see above right) on Stuart Creek at Stuart Creek Run in Glen Ellen has been demolished! And the two additional barriers that we discovered after purchasing the property in 2011 will soon follow the same fate so that we can restore the creek’s historic steelhead run.
concrete dam on Stuart Creek

Before restoration (photo Sonoma Land Trust).

Removing all three barriers is essential to improving juvenile and adult steelhead passage, according to stewardship project manager Tony Nelson, to give the fish access to more than two miles of high-quality spawning and rearing habitat. Next week, our contractor will begin constructing a series of five 40-foot-long chutes and 20-foot-long pools at this site to provide fish with easier passage and places to rest. Look forward to reading more about this exciting project in our fall newsletter.
via Sonoma Land Trust Today…to protect the land forever.

Posted on Categories Sustainable Living, WaterTags , Leave a comment on City program helps Amy’s Kitchen cut water use

City program helps Amy’s Kitchen cut water use

Kevin McCallum, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Amy’s Kitchen is scrupulous about cleanliness at its main processing plant in southwest Santa Rosa.It takes millions of gallons of water a month to clean the equipment used to cook, assemble and freeze the company’s vegetarian food before it is shipped all over the country, making Amy’s Kitchen one of the largest water users in the city.

But in the face of one of the worst droughts in state history, Amy’s has taken a hard look at its water use and has been surprised by what it has found.

With the help of a city-funded water audit and ideas solicited from its 800-strong workforce, Amy’s has been able to reduce its water use by 30 percent with minimal investment. That’s 1 million gallons of water saved per month, or the equivalent of 154 households.

“It’s really a part of the culture of this company now to be more efficient with water,” said Kevin Haslebacher, vice president of manufacturing for the Petaluma-based company.

via City program helps Amy’s Kitchen cut water use | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Agriculture/Food SystemTags Leave a comment on Four indicted in Rancho Feeding slaughterhouse scandal

Four indicted in Rancho Feeding slaughterhouse scandal

Robert Digitale and Derek Moore, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Two former owners and two employees of a Petaluma slaughterhouse at the center of an international meat recall have been charged with selling meat from diseased cattle and concealing the elaborate scheme from federal inspectors by swapping out the heads of cows with eye cancer.

Rancho Feeding Corp. co-owner Robert Singleton, 77, of Petaluma, is cooperating with prosecutors and expected to plead guilty to a single count of distribution of adulterated meat, according to court records unsealed Monday.

His former partner, Jesse “Babe” Amaral Jr., and two Rancho employees are accused of circumventing U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection procedures and processing the diseased meat in violation of federal law, according to an 11-count federal indictment.

The charges cap an eight-month federal investigation that followed a massive meat recall at the former Rancho plant on Petaluma Boulevard North. The slaughterhouse closed in February after recalling 8.7 million pounds of its beef and veal sold in the United States and Canada — all that was processed there in 2013.

via Four indicted in Rancho Feeding slaughterhouse scandal | The Press Democrat.