A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
October 23, 2008
3. Watersheds –
Order lets seals stay at cove until mid-2009
Pupping season starts in December
Jellyfish jam forces reactor shutdown
Nearly 1,000 jellies swarm a system designed to keep debris from entering the cooling water at a nuclear power plant, surprising operators
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Order lets seals stay at cove until mid-2009
Pupping season starts in December
San Diego
By Mike Lee
LA JOLLA – Score one for the harbor seals in the legal chess match over their
Animal-rights advocates yesterday won what amounts to a stop-work order at the cove, where more than 100 seals live, effectively preventing
“The seals have been given a reprieve, and they will be able to relax,” said Bryan Pease, a
U.S. District Court Judge William Hayes issued the temporary restraining order after hearing arguments over whether the city needs a federal permit under the Marine Mammal Protection Act before it disturbs the colony.
Pupping season starts in December, and city officials don't want to scare away the animals during that period for fear of causing miscarriages and getting into more legal trouble.
“In our view, dispersal is probably off the table until the end of the pupping season” May 15, said Rachel Laing, a spokeswoman for Mayor Jerry Sanders.
Until yesterday, many people close to the case figured the city would be forced to start removing the seals by the end of the week. Superior Court Judge Yuri Hofmann is expected to spell out any day what the city must do to comply with a 2005 ruling.
That document said the city must “employ all reasonable means to restore the Children's Pool . . . by removing the sand build-up and further to reduce the level of water contamination in the Children's Pool to levels . . . safe for humans.”
Tomorrow, Hofmann is to consider the city's schedule for beach restoration and related issues.
But yesterday's restraining order would trump any demands by Hofmann that the city immediately clear seals from the beach, Pease said.
Hayes set the next hearing in the federal case for Nov. 25. The central question is whether the city needs a permit under the mammal protection law before scaring away the seals. A spokeswoman for the National Marine Fisheries Service did not immediately know how long it would take to obtain such an approval.
Federal lawyers representing the fisheries service said repeatedly yesterday that the law includes some exceptions – for example to alleviate a public health threat – and the city doesn't need a permit. The seals' fecal matter has polluted the water in the cove.
However, Pease told the judge that federal officials have issued conflicting statements about permit requirements. He asked Hayes to maintain the status quo at the beach until the question is settled.
At City Hall, Laing welcomed the ruling. “It's appropriate that the issue will get a full airing in federal court,” she said. “That is what is important. We don't want to be in the position of violating federal law while we are complying with the state judge's order.” #
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20081023-9999-1m23seals.html
Jellyfish jam forces reactor shutdown
Nearly 1,000 jellies swarm a system designed to keep debris from entering the cooling water at a nuclear power plant, surprising operators
A swarm of nearly 1,000 jellyfish floated into the cooling water cove at
Plant operators shut the unit down at 8:51 p. m. Tuesday after the mass of moon jellies clogged the plant’s cooling water intake screens, impairing the ability of pumps to circulate enough cooling water through the system.
Plant operators planned to begin returning the unit at half power to full power Wednesday night.
However, the other unit will stay shut down into today as plant workers perform more maintenance and tests.
Divers inspected the intake structure early Wednesday morning and removed the jellies from a rack of bars and a rolling screen that prevent debris from entering the cooling water system.
Plant workers are also inspecting equipment to see if the jellyfish caused any damage, said Sharon Gavin, plant spokeswoman.
Plant operators often ramp the plant down in the fall when the first large swells of the season clog the intake structure with kelp.
But there were no large swells and the mass of jellyfish took operators by surprise, Gavin said.
Other plants that use ocean water for cooling have had problems with jellyfish, but this is the first time jellies have caused a shutdown at
Moon jellies have been unusually prolific off the
Hundreds have washed up on local beaches. Moon jellies look like gelatinous, translucent blobs when they wash up on the beach.
Jellyfish were still coming into the intake cove on Wednesday, but not nearly in the numbers they were Tuesday night, Gavin said.
Marine biologists say conditions in the ocean this year have been conducive for jellyfish.
When conditions such as water temperature and currents combine with enough food in the water in the form of algae, jellyfish populations can explode.
The nuclear plant circulates billions of gallons of seawater daily through its cooling system in order to condense steam that has powered the plant’s two huge electrical generators.
Bar racks and rolling screens prevent kelp and other large debris from entering the circulation pipes, but these systems can be overwhelmed with a large influx of organic matter. #
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/505752.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DWR's California Water News is distributed to California Department of Water Resources management and staff, for information purposes, by the DWR Public Affairs Office. For reader's services, including new subscriptions, temporary cancellations and address changes, please use the online page: http://listhost2.water.ca.gov/mailman/listinfo/water_news. DWR operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs. Inclusion of materials is not to be construed as an endorsement of any programs, projects, or viewpoints by the Department or the State of
No comments:
Post a Comment