A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 25, 2007
3. Watersheds
Vote shows ‘legislative priority’ on Salton Sea -
Wind takes care of fish - for now; Only hundreds of rotting tilapia left on sea's shores - Desert Sun
DELTA SMELT:
Push is on to cut pump exports, refine smelt count - Stockton Record
LAKE DAVIS PIKE:
Pike project continues - Plumas County News
Vote shows ‘legislative priority’ on
By Jonathan Athens, staff writer
Despite weeks of wrangling and a stalemate over the
Lawmakers fell short by two votes Friday to approve a proposed $145 billion budget, but within that hefty sum is a proposal to spend $25.5 million on early start habitat restoration efforts for the
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing $12.5 million and the state Senate is proposing an additional $13 million.
“It shows there is a legislative priority to get going and speed up the effort,” said Mark Newton, director of resources and environmental protection with the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
The nonpartisan group, based in
“These are ‘no regrets’-type of actions” among lawmakers,
Sen. Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego, said she hopes Schwarzenegger will approve the $25.5 million for the
“We’re hoping the governor will sign off on that. … We need to encourage people to support this,” Ducheny said.
Schwarzenegger’s office on Monday gave a neutral response and would not comment specifically about the extra money for the
“The governor recognizes that restoration of the
The money, which would pay for habitats to be established around the decaying sea, comes from past voter approved bonds and Proposition 84, a $5.4 billion natural resources bond that was approved by voters in November.
“I think it’s excellent. It’s long overdue. It’s good to see them start moving on this,” said Michael Cohen, senior associate with the Pacific Institute, an Oakland-based natural resources and advocacy group.
When asked if the proposed Salton Sea restoration money could get axed in the course of continuing budget debates, Ducheny said she does not think that will happen because the money comes from voter-approved bonds, not the general fund.
Lawmakers and the governor are at a political stalemate over the proposed state budget — the Assembly and the Senate were supposed to approve a budget in mid-June and Schwarzenegger was supposed to sign off on a final budget by July 1.
News of the proposed additional money for restoration comes as lawmakers are also grappling with creating a governing body to oversee a proposed $8.9 billion 75-year restoration plan written by the California Resources Agency.
“It’s another step in the right direction of the 75-year vision,” said California Resources spokesman Sandy Cooney. #
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2007/07/25/news/news04.txt
Wind takes care of fish - for now; Only hundreds of rotting tilapia left on sea's shores
Desert Sun – 7/25/07
By Michelle Mitchell, staff writer
A day after announcing one of the
Strong overnight winds apparently blew millions of dead tilapia back out to sea, where waves beat them to the bottom, effectively cleaning the beaches naturally.
"I didn't spend a dime," said Salton Sea Authority project manager Dan Cain.
The agency has about $45,000 budgeted for fish-kill cleanup.
Out of sight doesn't necessarily mean the fish are gone, however.
"They do have the tendency to pop back up again," Cain said.
For now, there are just a few hundred decomposing fish on
"This is nothing," said Randy Burke, 37, who grew up in
Periodic fish die-offs are caused by a lack of oxygen in the water and are relatively common at the state's largest lake, especially in summer.
"It's part of life ... at the
Desperate for oxygen, live fish crowded in the shallow water along the shore and jumped from the water Tuesday morning, Cain said.
"The entire top of the water looked like rice crispies going off," he said. "I've never seen anything like it."
By Tuesday afternoon, the wind had picked up again, returning life-saving oxygen into the sea.
"This is just a precursor and a warning to what we're in for," Cain said. "(Another die-off) is going to happen. It's just when." #
http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070725/NEWS0701/307250003/1006/news01
DELTA SMELT:
Push is on to cut pump exports, refine smelt count
By Alex Breitler, staff writer
Saying there is "little if any" credible dispute whether water export pumps near Tracy are harming Delta smelt, environmentalists in court documents made available Tuesday proposed cutting exports by an average 1.2 million acre-feet per year.
That's enough water to halfway fill
But the environmentalists go further. They want more reliable surveys to find the tiny fish and less drastic reverse flows on rivers that run backward toward the pumps.
The proposed export reductions are misguided, say those who receive the water. Slowing down the pumps might make no difference for the smelt, they argue. The contrary points of view come as officials debate how the pumps should be operated next year. A judge in May threw out the old rules, and it will take a year to write new ones.
What happens in the meantime, especially with smelt at record-low levels and 25 million Californians relying upon Delta water?
That will be up to a federal judge who is hearing arguments from all sides.
"This species has gotten to such dire straits that we're beyond minimizing harm to a species and thinking that's going to be enough," said Tina Swanson, a biologist with the conservation group The Bay Institute.
Juvenile smelt surveys earlier this year showed a 90 percent reduction from the record lows of last year. The water contractors say the latest surveys, however, are more encouraging and that there are likely 1 million to 2 million smelt in the estuary.
"The Delta smelt population is not on the verge of extinction," attorneys for the State Water Contractors, a nonprofit association of 27 public agencies that purchase water from the State Water Project, said in court papers.
"This case has the potential to dramatically affect the way of life for tens of millions of people," the attorneys said.
The case is to be heard Aug. 21 at the U.S. District Court in
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070725/A_NEWS/707250312
LAKE DAVIS PIKE:
Pike project continues
By Diana Jorgenson, Portola Editor
At the last meeting of the Lake Davis Steering Committee on July 16, the California Department of Fish and Game, as part of its agency report, announced that it would be holding an open house in Portola on Aug. 1 to address individual questions and concerns.
Pike Eradication Project Manager Ed Pert said that there would be no presentations, as has been usual with the DFG workshops. Instead, DFG plans to have most of the original speakers manning booths where people can ask their individual questions.
As the pike eradication timetable shortens, DFG is also meeting with first responders in the near future and has planned another meeting with the medical community "specifically for coordination with those groups," Pert said.
The Economic Impact Committee will hold another meeting July 25.
Pert also reported that DFG is working with the air quality board to develop an air monitoring plan, which he believes is coming along well.
The number of required permits still to obtain lessened by one when the California Regional Water Quality Control Board of the Central Valley Region reached a final decision at its June 21 meeting. The board's permit referenced and required water quality monitoring of
At their Portola meeting in June, the
The first option is to shut off the dam for up to 45 days to allow the chemicals to disperse and neutralize naturally. The second option would allow DFG to engineer stream treatment pools and use potassium permanganate to neutralize toxins with a water flow of 1/2 cubic foot per second.
The third option seeks permission for in-stream neutralization of Big Grizzly Creek below
The Central Water Quality Control Board members had, in writing and verbally, expressed their reluctance to approve the last two measures as part of the permit, but DFG had argued that they were to be used only if the first two options failed to neutralize all toxins. In the end, the board approved all four options requested by DFG.
Plumas County Environmental Health Director Jerry Sipe announced that the water sampling for isotope testing was nearing completion, with results expected near the end of August.
Isotope testing is being performed at the Lawrence Livermore laboratory and compares the amount of two naturally occurring forms, or isotopes, of oxygen.
According to DFG's explanations, surface water, such as that in
By testing each well in the area for naturally occurring oxygen isotopes, the water source of the well can be determined.
County environmental health staff continues the water-quality monitoring program of 76 wells in the
U.S. Forest Service Project Manager Lori Wood (who is new to the eradication project) reported on the Forest Closure workshop held June 26.
The Forest Service expects to close the forest around Lake Davis one or two days before CFT-Legumine arrives at the lake area after Labor Day and will not reopen until the streams and lake are tested free of the rotenone and its chemical dispersants.
Pike project personnel currently anticipate that the area will be closed for six-eight weeks, and the Forest Service anticipates that the lake will be re-opened mid-November.
Access by residents to their homes will be exclusively via
http://plumasnews.com/news_story.edi?sid=5294
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