Hello there, The public meeting I attended last week had a very light turnout (4 people). It would be good for many more people to be familiar with this report and to provide feedback. It lays the ground (so to speak) for much that will follow. Have a wonderful wet week, Rue —— To Interested […]
Read MoreCategory: Waste Discharge Pollution
Action on Evergreen Pulp, Inc.’s Samoa Pulp Mill
Friends and Colleagues: As you may know Evergreen Pulp, Inc. purchased the old Samoa pulp mill and promised to upgrade and make the operations green. Instead they ran the plant at as high a capacity as they could, violated their NPDES permit almost daily, then skipped town owing RWQCB a half a million dollars in […]
Read MoreSpeak Up for Clean Water in the Russian River Watershed
Speak Up for Clean Water in the Russian River Watershed!! Impaired Waterways Workshop Join Russian Riverkeeper and the California Coastkeeper Alliance for a workshop on how to use the public comment process to effectively speak up for the health of your local waterways! Monday, March 9th, 6:00pm @ the Environmental Center of Sonoma (Directions) Every two years, by federal […]
Read MoreCommentary on the RR Sediment Plume at Jenner
I remember them too. But, now these plumes last soooo much longer. Any river will discharge sediment after a big rain event. It is how fast they clean up. Alan This massive sedimentation is not a new problem. I remember seeing huge, well defined plumes out at Jenner (looking down on Goat Rock from the […]
Read MoreComments Due Feb. 26 on EPA Effluent Limits
Comments Due Now on EPA’s Proposed Construction and Development Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG) Public Comment Period Ends February 26th! This is an important reminder for all CWN Members that you have the opportunity to influence on ongoing rulemaking at EPA that is central to the regulation of stormwater from construction and development. EPA’s proposed technology […]
Read MoreWorkshop on 303(d) Impaired Water Bodies, Feb. 17th
Hi Everyone! This is a reminder that the Regional Board staff will hold a workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 17th, at their offices at 5550 Skylane Blvd. at 6 PM on the 303(d) impaired water body list and 305(b) Water Quality Assessment. The comment period was opened recently and will remain open until March 20th. Call […]
Read MoreDeadline Extended on Septic Regs to Feb. 9
Russian River Folks, The Water Board will have 2 make-up hearings to present the regs and take comments. See notice attached. Both are Feb. 9 in Santa Rosa at the Finley Theatre at the Wells Fargo Center for the Performing Arts. PLEASE BE HEARD. Also, the deadline for written comments on the Draft EIR has […]
Read MoreOn Septics and New WQ Regulations
Septic and sewer pricing: Septic systems can cost from $6,000/$8,000 on the low end to $30,000 to $50,000 on the high end. Depends on soils, elevations (and now on stream proximity). Then about every 10 years you need to pump it out for a fee of approx $400 Sewer fees, based on numerous rate payers, […]
Read MoreNorth Coast Basin Plan Proposal
Please review – open to suggestions COAST ACTION GROUP P.O. BOX 215 POINT ARENA, CA 95468 January 21, 2009 Catherine Kuhlman: Executive Officer North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board 5550 Skylane Blvd. Ste. A Santa Rosa, CA 95403 Subject: Proposal to Amend the North Coast Basin Plan by Establishing Exception Criteria to the […]
Read MoreLiquid Assets, The Film
Hey Ya’ll, I never heard if this movie ever aired on PBS around here or not? Here is a link to the trailer. DVD is available for purchase at $24.95. I may buy it?? Anyone else pondering it? Brock http://liquidassets.psu.edu/ Liquid Assets is a public media and outreach initiative that seeks to inform the nation […]
Read MoreWater Quality Regulation in California: A Day Late and a Dollar Short?
David Beckman, Senior Attorney & Co-Director, Water Program, Los Angeles, January 29, 2009 Imagine your boss gave you a deadline, a really important one. The kind of deadline that affects the bottom line of whatever it is you do profoundly. And let’s even imagine your boss tells you the deadline is imposed by federal law, […]
Read MoreNew Septic Regs on Russian River Meeting
STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD WORKSHOP AND HEARING ABOUT THE PROPOSED REGULATIONS AND WAIVER FOR ONSITE WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS (SEPTIC SYSTEMS) AND THE ASSOCIATED DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (EIR) NEW DATES AND TIMES FOR SANTA ROSA WORKSHOP, POSTPONEMENT OF SACRAMENTO HEARING, AND EXTENSION OF COMMENT PERIOD The Santa Rosa workshop on proposed septic systems regulations […]
Read MoreRegarding the True Costs of Cleanup
Brock, You are so right on target. I observed the effects of what you describe in the last flood as I watched water from vineyard agricultural operations drain off of tile drained bare land and flood Green Valley Road rather than be allowed to soak in and recharge the ground water at the top of […]
Read MoreKlamath County has 349 Known Tanks Below Ground
Not knowing about underground fuel tanks can be costly to property owners, public health JILL AHO, H&N Staff Writer After a work crew found a gas pump on an old dock at Putnam’s Point, city officials had to find out for sure what was underground. If the pump had been connected to an underground fuel […]
Read MoreGreen Practices to Manage Stormwater Runoff
FYI… Brock U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Video Shows Green Practices to Manage Stormwater Runoff Contact: Enesta Jones, (202) 564-4355/7873/jones.enesta@epa.gov (Washington, D.C. – Jan. 15, 2009) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Botanic Garden produced an on-line video , “Reduce Runoff: Slow It Down, Spread It Out, Soak It In,” that highlights green […]
Read MoreUrgent Letters Needed on Basin Plan Amendment
Friends of Clean Water: LETTERS ARE URGENTLY NEEDED!!! ALSO, PLEASE SHARE THE FOLLOWING WITH PEOPLE ON YOUR EMAIL LISTS. RRWPC has serious concerns about part of the Basin Plan Amendment being proposed by the North Coast Regional Board. Those concerns are listed in the sample letter attached to this email. We encourage you to write […]
Read MoreNew Evidence that River Pollution could be causing Male Fertility Problems
Testosterone-blocking chemicals have been found in UK rivers for the first time in new research that strengthens the link between water pollution and rising male fertility problems. Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent Jan 2009 Anti-androgens, that are found in a number of medicines including cancer treatments and pesticides used in agriculture, were found in 30 rivers […]
Read MorePharmaceuticals in Water
Hi everyone: Here is a message I sent to Jared Huffman which is a response to a short article about studies of pharmaceuticals in wastewater (see below). The article is about the findings of two scientists who worked with Santa Rosa and seem to be down playing the significance of chemicals in drinking water supplies. […]
Read MoreSeptic tanks are being targeted by state water board
January 7, 2009 By Steve Adler – for the California Farm Bureau Federation The State Water Resources Control Board is calling them Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems, which basically is just a fancy way of saying septic tanks. These septic tanks, which can be found on virtually every rural property in California, are the latest targets […]
Read MoreBook Review: The Last Taboo
Book Review The Last Taboo: Opening the Door on the Global Sanitation Crisis. The Last Taboo: Opening the Door on the Global Sanitation Crisis. London: Earthscan, 2008. 272 pp. $136.50 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-84407-543-0; $38.95 (paper), ISBN 978-1-84407-544-7. Reviewed by Dolly Jørgensen (Norwegian University of Science & Technology) Published on H-Water (December, 2008) Commissioned by Justin […]
Read MoreBasin Plan Amendment
Hi everyone! I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year. May it be filled with many blessings including good health, prosperity, and love. Last night I counted my blessings over the last year and realized it was one of the best years of my life, at least in terms of the […]
Read MoreCCWI on Water Testing in Russian River System
Hello everyone! We’d like to start out by saying we are really excited to share the results of the first study for our new Lower Russian River watershed monitoring and outreach program! As we all know our County’s drinking water comes from this watershed basin, and in fact many Marin residents get their water from […]
Read MoreFree Online Reference for Non-point Source Pollution
The NPS Encyclopedia is a free on line reference guide designed to facilitate a basic understanding of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution control and to provide quick access to essential information from a variety of sources by providing direct hyperlinks to resources available on the World Wide Web (www.). References pertaining to hyperlinks can be accessed […]
Read MoreEnvironmental Failure: A Case for a New Green Politics
By James Gustave Speth A specter is haunting American environmentalism — the specter of failure. All of us who have been part of the environmental movement in the United States must now face up to a deeply troubling paradox: Our environmental organizations have grown in strength and sophistication, but the environment has continued to go […]
Read MoreSanta Rosa Chooses Laguna for Discharge
Hi Everyone!! Well, it’s official! Santa Rosa’s Board of Public Utilities formally voted today to select the enhanced Laguna discharge project instead of either the Healdsburg discharge or Steelhead Beach. The City will also create nutrient offset programs (under the watch of the Regional Board and subject to public review) to meet their requirement of […]
Read MoreMeetings on the Russian’s Biological Opinion
For the full story – please visit my web site – there are several articles on this subject – you can go to the ENVIRONMENT category for the full collection. And please pass along this information so we can get many people attending these important meetings! Thank you! http://www.westcountygazette.com/blog/2008/11/sonoma-county-water-meetings-biological.html We have a lot of meetings […]
Read MoreEPA Must Limit Builders’ Water Pollution: U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a California suit by the Natural Resources Defense Council
The Los Angeles Times- 9/08 By Carol J. Williams, Staff Writer The Environmental Protection Agency is obliged by the Clean Water Act to protect the nation’s waterways, beaches and drinking water from pollution caused by real estate development and should set standards for limiting construction runoff by the end of next year, a federal appeals […]
Read MoreRainwater Harvesting Information
Lots of good material here concerning rainwater harvesting: http://www.harvesth2o.com/ Addresses building code issues and stresses that harvested rainwater is not ‘reclaimed’ water and should not be regulated as such. Stephen
Read MoreRRWP Files Appeal Over SR’s Wastewater Site
Hi everyone: I would like to announce that yesterday Russian River Watershed Protection Committee filed an appeal with the City of Santa Rosa to have the City Council hear our concerns about the BPU’s Certification of the FEIR on the Discharge Compliance Project. We don’t know when this will be scheduled, but will let people […]
Read MoreImportant Dates Related to Russian River
Hi everyone! I have one update, one correction, and one clarification to make to this list (below). 1. Santa Rosa Storage Oct. 16th meeting will take place in City Council Chambers at 5 PM. (update regarding time) 2. The Community Meeting in Guerneville on the Biological Opinion is on Thursday, Nov. 6th (NOT Nov. 13th)……(correction) […]
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