A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
May 6, 2008
3. Watersheds -
Bill may establish
Wildlife agency gives nod to 241 toll road extension
Road would not harm Pacific pocket mouse and other species, U.S.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Bill may establish
By Brianna Lusk, staff writer
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
The Senate Appropriations Committee will hear a Senate bill that could be one of the critical components of the
Authored by Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-San Diego, Senate Bill 1256 would establish the Salton Sea Restoration Council to oversee the project and issues regarding the sea.
The Salton Sea, plagued by environmental issues and shrinking due to a lessened supply of agricultural runoff due to water transfers, is lacking in direction of how and who is going to pay for its salvage.
The Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to take up SB 1256 on Monday.
Ducheny could not be reached for comment Monday.
As it stands, the bill would establish a state agency to head the restoration and make other decisions pertaining to the sea.
It would also give the secretary of the Resources Agency final say in decisions made by the council regarding potential restoration strategies.
The council would be made up of an executive and science committee and local and stakeholder forums. Fourteen voting members would include two local officials including a director of the Imperial Irrigation District and a supervisor from the Imperial County Board of Supervisors.
The state-approved restoration plan could cost an estimated $9 billion dollars.
The Salton Sea Restoration Council is just one component of a larger solution. The question remains of how the funding will be paid for to actually restore the sea.#
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2008/05/06/local_news/news04.txt
Wildlife agency gives nod to 241 toll road extension
Road would not harm Pacific pocket mouse and other species, U.S.
Orange County
By Pat Brennan, staff writer
A federal wildlife agency has given a green light to the proposed Foothill South toll road – the southern extension of the 241 – saying it would not jeopardize a variety of threatened and endangered species – including the Pacific pocket mouse.
The conclusion, part of an April 30 biological opinion by the agency, contradicts those of the state Coastal Commission staff and its biologist, who said the mouse could be driven to extinction. It also bolsters arguments by the toll road builder that it would provide sufficient protections for the endangered mouse, as well as other species.
After a dramatic public hearing in February that drew thousands, the Coastal Commission rejected the toll road proposal based in part on the staff's contention that it would cause serious biological damage.
The toll road builder has appealed the commission's decision to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
"This is really significant, because a lot of the criticism of the project centered around whether it is environmentally sensitive," said Jennifer Seaton, spokeswoman for the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency. "This is the word from the federal agency responsible for that. They say that it is."
Mark Delaplaine, the author of a Coastal Commission staff report that condemned the toll road, said the staff must analyze Fish and Wildlife's conclusions before making a comment.
It was unclear Monday what effect the Fish and Wildlife ruling will have on the commerce secretary's deliberations.
Under the federal Coastal Zone Management Act, the secretary can overrule a state body if he finds that a proposed project meets larger national policy or national security goals.
Commerce officials have said it could take 265 to 325 days from the Feb. 8 filing date to process the appeal and render a decision.
Ben Sherman, a spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who was handling queries about the appeal process, said actions by all government bodies concerning the toll road will be considered by the commerce secretary.
But if the secretary rules against the toll road, Fish and Wildlife's opinion would be rendered moot, he said.
Dan Silver, an activist who has been involved in the controversy, said he believes the biological opinion does not cancel out the Coastal Commission's finding that the toll road would violate the state Coastal Act, and therefore should not be built.
"This is really apples and oranges," said Silver, director of the Endangered Habitats League. "It in no way undermines the Coastal Commission decision."
The 16-mile Foothill South, which would complete the county's network of toll roads, would slice through San Onofre State Beach park and across some of the last large expanses of wild habitat in southern
Toll road builders say it is vital to relieve future traffic congestion, but the proposal drew strong opposition from environmental groups, conservationists, surfers and the state Parks Commission. The route proposed by the agency passes near one of the last known strongholds of the pocket mouse.
Tollway officials contend that building the road could actually save the pocket mouse from extinction, not hasten it. By protecting remaining habitat and managing the species to try to increase its numbers, the toll road builder argues it would have a beneficial effect on the mouse.
Fish and Wildlife also found that the road would not harm other troubled species, including two species of fairy shrimp, three bird species – the southwestern willow flycatcher, the
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had previously ruled that the road would not jeopardize stream habitat for the steelhead trout.
While the wildlife agency's action is not technically considered a "permit," it is the final authorization needed under the Endangered Species Act, said Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Jane Hendron.
"As far as the Endangered Species Act is concerned, there will be no jeopardy to the species we analyzed," she said.
The toll agency must still obtain approvals from a number of other government bodies, in addition to succeeding in its Commerce Department appeal, before the road can be built.#
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/road-toll-species-2035038-agency-wildlife
No comments:
Post a Comment