Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
May 24, 2007
3. Watersheds
Water quality at issue in Pathway plan - Tahoe Daily Tribune
Bill allots $47 million for Salton Sea -
Editorial: Cost of saving
QUAGGA MUSSELL:
Costly freshwater mussel may be in lake - Lake County Times
Water quality at issue in Pathway plan
Tahoe Daily Tribune – 5/24/07
By Andrew Pridgen, staff writer
The League to Save Lake Tahoe has questioned whether a proposed regional plan does enough to reverse
During a workshop on the Pathway 2007 plan at
Others were reluctant about sitting at a round-table to diagram their wants, needs and concerns, an exercise oft-employed by Pathway 2007 consultant and agency heads.
"I think what you're doing is manipulative," said Jerome Evans, a Pathway Forum parks and recreation chairman representing
"We sit here in these tables and draw on paper and then you don't come up with what we say - some of our names shouldn't be on this."
The document Evans referred to is the Draft Regional Vision document - which, according to Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Executive Director John Singlaub, "has taken into consideration input from literally thousands and thousands of people."
But the end results, specifically the draft plan's solution to preserve the lake's health and clarity, wasn't what some basin environmental watchdogs expected.
"I lot of things we talked about didn't make it into this plan," Nason said. "I think some of the ideas are there, but it's a plan with lots of holes. Why don't we just take a step back and create a much more succinct plan that everyone can get behind?"
Dinsmore SIERRA consultant Bruce Race acted as the group facilitator for the room of 30 participants. He explained to the participants that the purpose of the workshop was to pick out the plan's shortcomings and determine ways to fix them - not to dwell on the process.
"There are going to be things in the draft report you don't agree with, that the public doesn't agree with," Race said. "These are not policies - this is just a draft guide and a summary of work that you've done so far."
Nason said she was concerned most with the draft plan's "treating water quality like a separate threshold (goal) of the TRPA."
The current TRPA ordinances address water quality thresholds separately from other environmental goals, which Nason said may not be the best way to look at creating a cleaner, healthier lake.
"We see clarity as inextricably connected. Issues like soil conservation, forest management, urbanization - all of these impact water quality."
The draft plan calls for:
-- Restoration of watersheds;
-- Restoration of forest plants and soils;
-- Restoration of wildlife and fish habitat;
-- Development of transportation solutions that reduce traffic and improve water quality.
"People have to keep in mind that specific goals and policies come next," Singlaub said. "This is a draft plan and we are still engaged in the process." #
http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20070524/NEWS/105240051
Bill allots $47 million for
By Jonathan Athens, staff writer
The state Senate Appropriation Committee on Monday passed a bill that would allocate $47 million to help pay for restoration and revitalization of the
Authored by state Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-San Diego, Senate Bill 187 would take money from a voter approved water bond to pay for the first measures to revitalize the sea.
The committee vote comes as stakeholders anxiously wait for California Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman to unveil in a matter of days a final draft plan to fix the sea.
The draft plan, estimated to cost $6 billion and take 75-years to implement, has been a bone of contention among
Chrisman’s office has not released any details of the changes being made to the draft plan.
A spokesman for his office has said engineers are evaluating the changes they have made to the draft plan.
The cost to repair the sea, which has been degrading for decades, will likely exceed the $6 billion initial price tag, owing to engineering changes.
Ducheny’s bill goes before the full Senate next. #
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2007/05/24/news/news07.txt
Editorial: Cost of saving
Desert Sun – 5/23/07
A
Luckily, the Senate Appropriations Committee did not let such a non-issue cloud its thinking over the real issue: securing funding for the
In fact, Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, should know that promoting the cause to save the state's largest lake is of paramount importance considering what is at stake. The possible loss of the
Daniels has done a masterful job generating support in the valley for the restoration, and he is working tirelessly to sell the rest of the state on the idea. The book the authority produced is one way to help make the case for the sea.
Ashburn's comments were made prior to the bill being passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee earlier this week. Such negativity about the presentation shouldn't cast a shadow on the fact that the bill has cleared an important hurdle - and that is great news.
But securing funding to restore the sea in a meaningful way is an ongoing challenge. The bill, which calls for saving the Salton Sea from drying up and becoming one enormous dust bowl that will blow sand and carry toxins throughout the
Although the senate committee passed SB 187, it was difficult for those in favor of the restoration to talk about it and influence others because there's no specific plan. They are waiting for Resources Secretary Mike Christman to release his restoration recommendations, which is believed to be a course of action that will cost $6 billion. The plan is expected to become part of SB 187, which also sets aside $47 million from a water bond approved by voters to help fund the initial work on the project.
We're all waiting for Christman's recommendations, but in the meantime, we should all continue efforts to save the
Saving the sea will save our quality of life and possibly boost the economy if the lake is redeveloped in a way that would make it a major attraction once again.
So we're not embarrassed to push efforts to ensure restoration of the
http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070523/OPINION01/705230312/1047/opinion
QUAGGA MUSSELL:
Costly freshwater mussel may be in lake
By Tiffany Revelle, staff writer
LAKEPORT -- For such a small creature, it caused a lot of commotion at the Tuesday Board of Supervisors meeting. After a PowerPoint presentation spelled out the threat posed to
The quagga poses a particular threat to
The species was first found in the
Ruttan said while she's hopeful that the creature won't invade
The mussel disrupts the ecosystem, clogs intake pipes for drinking water and other uses, encrusts boats and clogs engines, and litters beaches, boat docks and ramps with sharp, smelly shells.
Chairman Jeff Smith pointed out that the county's water systems stood to face higher maintenance costs, meaning higher rates.
He noted that the pest, especially in its microscopic, larval form, would be hard to flush out of hard-to-reach areas on a boat.
The idea of prohibiting any watercraft at all on the lake was discussed, though it went no further than that.
Ruttan and Deputy Director Pamela Francis asked the board for $10,000 for public education about the mussel in an effort to prevent its spread to the county's centerpiece lake. The board granted the request, along with funding for testing 10 of the county's most popular boat ramps for the mussel. It also voted to require inspection and decontamination when necessary for watercraft in upcoming water sporting events. #
http://www.record-bee.com/local/ci_5963853
####
No comments:
Post a Comment