Department of Water Resources
California Water News
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 14, 2009
3. Watersheds –
Sen. Sam Aanestad rips mining ban
Red Bluff Daily News
Man arrested for damming creek blames beavers
Ukiah Daily Journal
Fire chars part of forest
Santa Clarita Valley Signal
Compromise sought on canoes, kayaks at Loch Lomond
Santa Cruz Sentinel
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sen. Sam Aanestad rips mining ban
Red Bluff Daily News-7/14/09
Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley, said he was extremely disappointed by actions taken by the Senate Monday that could result in closed businesses and lost jobs in the north state.
The Senate passed SB 670, which would complicate the process for conducting suction dredge mining in California's lakes, rivers and streams.
The practice requires a permit under existing law, would be banned pending the outcome of an environmental review.
Aanestad said there is no scientific evidence or proof that the mining practice is harmful to the environment.
Make no mistake about it, Aanestad said. This bill has nothing to do with the environment and everything to do with politics. This bill will cause economic hardship to the rural communities and the small business owners who depend on this industry as a source of income.
Others claim the practice is largely recreational and damages fish habitat and stirs up mercury in bodies of water, increasing the risk to wildlife and humans.
Once again this common sense measure has earned bi-partisans support for immediate action, said Elizabeth Martin, CEO of The Sierra Fund.
We ask the governor to speedily sign this bill, and urge all Californians to support this action.
There are more than 325 small retail businesses in the state involved in small scale gold dredging, and many business owners have told Aanestad the bill would put them out of business, he said.
The ban would also impact California based manufacturers of gold dredges.
Aanestad said small scale gold dredgers spend an estimated $60 million in the state's rural economies. He urged the Senate to let scientific studies on suction dredge mining speak for themselves, rather than take a rash course of action that will cost jobs.
The California Department of Fish and Game is currently studying the environmental impacts of this industry, Aanestad said. That report is due this fall.
Why don't we let this study conclude, let Fish and Game make its recommendations, and then act on those proposals? That's how the state Legislature should work.
The bill passed the Senate with 28 votes and the ban would take effect immediately if signed into law.#
Man arrested for damming creek blames beaversBy Tiffany Revelle
Ukiah Daily Journal-7/13/09
By Tiffany Revelle
State Department of Fish and Game Lt. Loren Freeman arrested Donald Lee Doll, 52, Friday night on a charge of changing a river's course without authorization, among other charges.
Freeman said Doll was living in a dilapidated recreational vehicle with long-expired tags and no running water, no sewage disposal system and no electricity, less than 50 feet from New Long Valley Creek in Spring Valley. Freeman responded to 1733 New Long Valley Road after neighbors complained.
Freeman said the trailer had been red-tagged and that Doll allegedly removed the tags. Freeman said he was at the property Wednesday along with Lake County Code Enforcement personnel and a tow truck to abate the property, but the access way was closed and no one was at the site.
Freeman said Cal Ray Kranzler was arrested earlier this month, at the same address, on a warrant and on a felony charge of cultivating marijuana. He said 203 immature plants were found.
Only three plants were found this time, according to Freeman, but the damming was worse. Freeman said Doll allegedly used 20- and 30-pound rocks and twined willow branches to build a dam that retained between 18 and 24 inches of water, where it had been only six to eight inches high before.
"They tried to say it was done by beavers, which I thought was comical because beavers don't use saws. All of the branches were clipped with pruning shears," Freeman said.
Two boys, ages 10 and 7, were with Doll. Freeman said they were the sons of Rhonda Roper, who owns the property. He attempts to contact Roper by phone and by mail were unsuccessful.#
Fire chars part of forest
More than 500 firefighters battle wildfire over 400 acres
Santa Clarita Valley Signal-7/13/09
By Brandon Lowrey
Firefighters made some progress in battling a blaze near Pyramid Lake that had quickly spread to more than 400 acres, briefly threatening oil, gas and power lines in the area, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman said.
More than 500 firefighters had the wildfire about 50 percent contained at 7:30 p.m., but two lanes on a mile-long stretch of the Interstate 5 south of Vista Del Lago would probably remain closed overnight, said spokeswoman Dee Deckert.
The "Osito" fire began in the Angeles National Forest about 12:15 p.m. and spread to more than 100 acres within an hour in winds of up to 10 miles per hour.
On Monday afternoon, traffic on the freeway had slowed to a crawl as firefighters used the two right lanes on the northbound I-5 to park their vehicles.
The blaze was burning grass and brush covering rugged terrain east of the freeway. No structures were threatened, nor were any evacuation orders issued.
Officials do not know what caused the blaze and have not contained it, Deckert said.
"We won't leave any stone unturned, nor any leaf or pine needle or anything," she said.
The blaze comes just days after the Angeles National Forest issued a "very high" fire danger alert for the forest areas, citing hot weather and dry fuel.
Officials have battled more than 80 fires in the forest since mid-May.#
http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/15556/
Compromise sought on canoes, kayaks at Loch Lomond
Santa Cruz Sentinel-7/14/09
By Genevieve Bookwalter
Loch Lomond, the popular Lompico reservoir that closed to outside boats last spring, could open once again to personal canoes and kayaks, provided their owners will leave them at the Lompico lake for the entire season.
"We kept getting e-mails and calls from, primarily, kayakers and canoers that say, that's the only place I take my boat,'" said Water Department head Bill Kocher.
When he surveyed those paddlers to ask if they would store their vessels at Loch Lomond for the entire season and not take them anywhere else, "We kept hearing, yeah, heck yeah,'" Kocher said.
As a result, Santa Cruz City Council should decide today whether to allow a limited number of kayak and canoe owners to store their boats at Loch Lomond provided they are not used anywhere else.
The reservoir was closed to outside boats earlier this year to protect the city's drinking water from the invasive Quagga and Zebra mussels, which have been found in San Justo Reservoir in Hollister and other lakes around the state. San Justo now is closed to the public.
Last year city leaders allowed outside boats on the water after park workers inspected them. About 5,000 boats were looked over and no mussels snuck in. The inspections cost Santa Cruz an additional $25,000.
This season, though, park rangers told city leaders they would rather not take a chance, despite last year's success. Those who wanted to go on the water were required to rent a boat at the reservoir.
Now, Felton resident Bill Jurgen, 64, said he and his wife, Francine Lapides, 63, will take their boats up today if the proposal passes.
"We only use our canoe on the lake, so its not problem with us leaving it there," Jurgen said. The couple has visited Loch Lomond about twice a month for the past 30 years, he said, often paddling their canoe back to Newell Creek for a leisurely picnic.
"We haven't gone up to the lake this year because we didn't want to rent one of their boats," Jurgen said.
If approved, anyone interested in the 12 locked storage spots would pay $25 for a mandatory inspection of the kayak or canoe and a hot-water power washing of the vessel, according to staff reports. Storage fees would be $75 for the season, and would be prorated this year.
After the inspection and pressure-washing, boats would be quarantined for two weeks to ensure they are free of mussels and larvae, according to staff reports.
After that, owners could launch them at Loch Lomond any time, provided they do not leave the reservoir. If vessels are removed from the reservoir, their owners forfeit the storage space and would need another inspection and quarantine period before being allowed back on the water.
Unfortunately fishing boats will not be able to participate, Kocher said, because staff does not have enough room at Loch Lomond to store them.
Councilwoman Lynn Robinson said she was happy an apparent compromise had been reached.
"We've been really hopeful that staff could come up with a solution that could get the kayaks back out on the lake," Robinson said. "Hopefully this is a real workable solution."#
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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 California.
No comments:
Post a Comment