Enviro Updates

SuzanneFebruary 12, 2025February 17, 2025Habitats, Water, WildlifeEel River, Lake Mendocino, PG&E, Potter Valley diversion, Russian River, salmon, salmon habitat, Scott Dam, water flows, watersheds

Historic pact reached on future Eel River water flows into Russian River

Mary Callahan, PRESS DEMOCRAT

A historic agreement has been reached to manage water flow from the Eel River to the Russian River.
The deal establishes limits on diversions, focusing on fish protection.
Water rights are transferred to the Round Valley Tribes, supporting river restoration efforts.

Officials from three counties and the Round Valley Indian Tribes have reached a historic agreement that paves the way for continued diversions from the Eel River to bolster flows in the Russian River.

The agreement represents a critical development for anyone whose water comes from the Russian River.

The complex accord resulted from years of negotiations to preserve supplemental flows in the Russian River, the water lifeline for residents, ranchers and wildlife in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. The agreement also supports the restoration and fish recovery in the Eel River, which was crucial to securing support from environmental interests, tribes and Humboldt County residents.

It is, at last, the “two-basin solution” envisioned by regional stakeholders in 2019 and even earlier, when Pacific Gas & Electric first raised questions about whether to continue operating the small, aging hydroelectric plant in Potter Valley through which Eel River flows have been redirected.

The utility is now on track to decommission the plant, tear down Scott Dam, which impounds Lake Pillsbury in Lake County, and Cape Horn Dam 12 miles downstream, where Eel River water has long been diverted.

SuzanneFebruary 11, 2025February 17, 2025Forests, Land UseDouglas fir, protected lands, redwoods, Save the Redwoods

Save the Redwoods League signs $24 million deal to purchase Monte Rio redwood forest and expand county park

Martin Espinoza, PRESS DEMOCRAT

The $24 million acquisition by Save the Redwoods solidifies a 22,000-acre block of protected land stretching from Monte Rio to the Sonoma Coast.

A San Francisco-based conservation group has agreed to purchase 1,517 acres of redwood and Douglas fir forest near Monte Rio for $24 million, with the goal of transferring the property to Sonoma County Regional Parks for public use.

The deal — between Save the Redwoods League and Mendocino Redwood Company, which owns the property — is aimed to dramatically expand Monte Rio Redwoods Regional Park and Open Space Preserve, from its current 515 acres to more than 2,000 acres.

It also would create a contiguous swath of more than 22,000 acres of protected land, from the Bohemian Highway to the Sonoma Coast and north to the Jenner Headlands.

SuzanneFebruary 8, 2025February 10, 2025Watergroundwater, well ordinance, wells

Judge grants Sonoma County temporary window to issue well permits

Emma Murphy, PRESS DEMOCRAT

Sonoma County government has a two-week window to issue permits for non-emergency wells under a temporary stay granted by a Sonoma County Superior Court judge.

The county’s permitting department announced in a Friday press release that it resumed issuing permits in light of the reprieve. The department so far has issued 12 permits and have another 43 in process, said Tennis Wick, director of Permit Sonoma, the county’s planning and permitting department.

“If they’ve already submitted their application they can anticipate issuance of the well permit soon,” Wick said of applicants. “We will responsibly process new applications as we receive them.”

The temporary stay, which expires near the end of February, is the latest development in a yearslong legal fight centered on a county ordinance governing wells and groundwater use.

The county had to stop issuing permits for non-emergency wells last December after a judge determined the county violated state environmental law in its attempt to draft the controversial ordinance. The court ordered the county to halt non-emergency well-permitting until it can complete an environmental review of the ordinance in alignment with state law.

SuzanneFebruary 4, 2025February 25, 2025Local OrganizationsMendocino County, Pomo

Mendocino museum highlights injustices, resilience of Pomo people

Karen Misuraca, PRESS DEMOCRAT

The Kelley House Museum showcases the history and resilience of the Northern Pomo people through artifacts and contemporary art.

Thousands of years before Russian fur trappers, Spanish missionaries and American settlers arrived to the Northern California coast, the Northern Pomo Indians called area from the Noyo River to the southern part of Mendocino County home.

With the influx of immigrants in the 1800s, the lives of the indigenous tribes were forever changed, and their population decimated.

Today, there are about 5,000 Pomo people living in several rancherias and reservations, comprising 11 Pomo bands in Mendocino County, according to Visit Mendocino County’s Land Acknowledgement.

SuzanneJanuary 29, 2025February 25, 2025Climate Change & Energybattery fire, battery storage, CPUC

California PUC proposes energy storage safety, emergency response requirements

Brian Martucci, UTILITY DIVE

Published 10 days after a fire at Vistra’s 300-MW battery installation near Santa Cruz, the California Public Utilities Commission’s proposal would set new standards for energy storage facilities.

The Jan. 16 fire was the most destructive of three safety incidents to occur at the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility since 2020. A fourth incident occurred in September 2022 at an adjacent 182.5-MW battery installation owned and operated by Pacific Gas & Electric.

No injuries or deaths were reported in the Jan. 16 incident. Federal air quality monitoring concluded Jan. 20 after finding no risk to public health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said.

But local elected officials nonetheless raised alarms about the facility and the broader safety profile of battery energy storage facilities, with Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church calling the fire a “worst-case scenario” and California Assemblymember Dawn Addis, D, vowing to “[explore] all options for preventing future battery energy storage fires from ever occurring again on the Central Coast.”

SuzanneJanuary 27, 2025February 17, 2025Air, Climate Change & Energyair quality, battery storage, fire danger, grid battery, soil pollution

Why we don’t need to worry too much about the latest grid battery fire

Julian Spector, CARANY MEDIA

Safety standards and industry practices have improved considerably since construction of the Moss Landing battery plant that recently burned up in California.

The fire that ripped through what was once the world’s largest standalone grid battery on January 16 left clean energy fans and foes alike wondering how it happened and what’s preventing another disaster.

Energy company Vistra built the Moss Landing energy storage facility, on the California coast south of Silicon Valley, as a shining example of the clean grid of the future. The facility stored solar power by day and delivered it in the pivotal evening hours when California’s households need the most energy — an emissions-free alternative to burning fossil gas for energy.

The mid-January fire all but eradicated a building that housed 300 megawatts of battery capacity. Investigators are just beginning to sift through the smoldering remains to ascertain the cause of the fire.

SuzanneJanuary 21, 2025January 22, 2025Habitats, Water, Wildlifechinook, coho, Eel River, endangered species, Potter Valley diversion, Russian River, steelhead

Rep. Jared Huffman secures $15 million for Eel River Dam removal and Russian River diversion plan

UKIAH DAILY JOURNAL

Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, recently announced that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has awarded Round Valley Indian Tribes and the Sonoma County Water Agency $15 million toward implementing the Two-Basin Solution for water diversions from the Eel River to the Russian River.

In a press release, Huffman explains that “the funds through the Inflation Reduction Act will fund a major Eel River estuary project supported by the tribes, and put a down payment on construction of a new wintertime diversion to the Russian River following the removal of two salmon-blocking dams on the Eel.”

“This funding shows what can be accomplished thanks to the strong partnerships in the Eel and Russian river basins. We’ve now reached a significant milestone in restoring salmon and other aquatic life in the Eel River while protecting a key water supply for communities in Mendocino, Sonoma, and Marin counties,” Huffman is quoted as saying in the release.

Explaining that “the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. plans to remove Scott and Van Arsdale dams that no longer produce electricity but prevent salmon from reaching 200 miles of spawning habitat, Huffman also notes that “Round Valley Indians Tribes and Sonoma Water worked together on the application and are also working with Mendocino Inland Water and Power Commission on a plan that will benefit both basins.”

SuzanneJanuary 19, 2025January 22, 2025Climate Change & Energy, Forests, Land Usefire resilience, house hardening, rebuilding after fire, wildfire, wildfire hazard

Why are lone homes left standing after the Los Angeles fires? It’s not entirely luck

Ed Davey & Ingrid Lobet, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Emails and videos of burned buildings in Los Angeles next to those left standing have been flying back and forth among architects, builders and fire safety specialists around the world.

For many homeowners, like Enrique Balcazar, the sometimes scattershot nature of the carnage can seem like random chance. Balcazar, a real estate agent, posted video that showed little more than chimneys remaining of most homes on his block after fire leapt through his Altadena neighborhood. Balcazar stood on his neighbor’s destroyed classic Mustang to douse his smoldering roof, but his home was otherwise fine.

“It’s an older house and it still has the old wood sidings,” Balcazar said. “To me there’s nothing explainable in logical or scientific reason of why my house would not have burned.”

Many experts say luck does play a part. After all, wind can shift 180 degrees in a split second, pushing fire away from your house and towards a neighbor’s. But they also say there are many ways that homes can be made less vulnerable to fire.

SuzanneJanuary 17, 2025January 22, 2025Climate Change & Energy, Forests, Land UseBoard of Forestry, defensible space, fire resilience, house hardening, rebuilding after fire

California is years behind in implementing a law to make homes more fire resistant

Tran Nguyen, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Reeling from destructive wildfires, including the deadliest in California history, state lawmakers in 2020 passed new requirements for clearing combustible materials like dead plants and wooden furniture within 5 feet (1.5 meters) of homes in risky areas.

The rules were set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2023. But as Los Angeles grapples with blazes that have destroyed thousands of homes in what could be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, the regulations still haven’t been written. The state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection has no firm timeline for completing them.

“It’s frustrating at every level of government,” said Democratic state Sen. Henry Stern, who was part of a group of lawmakers who authored the legislation. “I feel like a failure on it, being quite frank.”

Most of the neighborhoods ravaged by the Palisades Fire are in areas that must follow state requirements to keep the immediate surroundings of their homes free of combustible materials and would be subject to the new rules because they are deemed at highest fire risk by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The fire, driven by hurricane-force winds that spread embers by air, destroyed at least 5,000 structures across areas including Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Topanga Canyon.

SuzanneJanuary 16, 2025January 18, 2025Climate Change & Energy, Forests, Land Usefire, fire warning, wildfire evacuation

How Santa Rosa-based app Watch Duty became an indispensable tool during Los Angeles’ wildfires

Martin Espinoza, PRESS DEMOCRAT

It combines updates from authorities, some gleaned from their own internal dispatches, with fire maps, photos, live video from fire lookout cameras, notices of evacuation orders and weather warnings, road and school closures.

On a mid-August afternoon three and a half years ago, a handful of volunteers monitoring emergency radio traffic about a wildfire start in Lake County sent out their first coordinated public safety alert through a startup cellphone app.

That first message on Watch Duty reached about 6,000 enrolled users in the original three-county territory, including Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties.

Today, Watch Duty, based in Santa Rosa and powered by a network of wildfire monitors that stretches across the globe, covers 1,476 counties in 22 U.S. states.

It has about 16 million active users, more than half of whom have downloaded the app since the start of the devastating wildfires a week ago in Los Angeles.