Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 5, 2009
3. Watersheds –
New panel to focus on Delta
Supervisor seeks hearing on S.F. power plant
San Francisco Chronicle
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New panel to focus on Delta
Wolk's district includes a majority of the estuary, which is ground zero in
Last week, she introduced several pieces of legislation focused on treating the estuary as a place, rather than simply a water source or an ecosystem.
She was chosen for the new post by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg.
In a statement, Wolk said her new role would carry a "weighty responsibility."
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http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090305/A_NEWS/90304016/-1/rss02
Supervisor seeks hearing on S.F. power plant
San Francisco Chronicle – 3/4/09
By Robert Selna, staff writer
San Francisco Supervisor Sophie Maxwell is calling for a hearing by the end of the month on environmental hazards at the city's remaining large power plant, which kills fish larvae and sits atop land that may be leaching toxic chemicals into bay mud.
The fossil fuel plant, located south of Mission Bay on the eastern waterfront, is at the center of a long-standing dispute among city officials over when and how it should be replaced with a power source that would produce fewer emissions.
But the plant's problems extend beyond its polluting smokestack. One of its generators is run under an expired permit that allows operators to draw in millions of gallons of water per day and discharge the heated water back into the bay. It is estimated that hundreds of millions of fish larvae have been killed in the process, which also stirs up polluted sediment.
The plant's property also is contaminated with coal tar from 19th century gas manufacturing operations. Some chemical experts believe that tar-related toxins have been migrating from the land to the bay mud for decades, threatening the health of marine life and people.
In January, The Chronicle reported that regional water regulators had no plans to stop the plant's owner, Mirant Corp., from using the water-cooling system even though its permit had expired. That was despite threats from Maxwell and other city officials to take legal action against the Regional Water Quality Control Board.
At the time, those regulators said that power plant restrictions had been thrown into doubt by a pending Supreme Court case, and that until the legal issues were resolved, Mirant was free to operate the cooling system.
A Chronicle report in February showed that the former owner of the site, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., has known about the coal tar contamination for more than a decade, but is just now undertaking a full study on whether the toxins were moving into the bay.
PG&E is legally responsible for any necessary cleanup. Utility officials say they are working with the
"We want to shed some public light on the facts," said Maxwell's legislative aide Jon Lau. "The public should know about these harmful practices and we should get some answers."#
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/04/BA27168KSE.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
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