Update on San Onofre State Park/Trestles vs. Proposed Toll Highway
1. The California Coastal Commission is scheduled to hear the proposed Toll Highway on Thursday October 11th in San Pedro. The staff at the Coastal Commission has issued a report that blasted the proposed route. The Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) has requested a postponement; but the Commission staff did not agree. However, the TCA may directly request that the Commission, at its October 11, 2007 meeting, grant a postponement and agree to a time extension. If this were to be granted, the hearing would not proceed as scheduled on October 11, 2007, but would be scheduled at a subsequent Commission meeting. Note: Many of the opponents of the toll highway are coming by bus to the meeting. Such a request for a postponement is a common tactic to avoid dealing with large numbers of opponents.
2. Opposed by 66% in Orange County - A recent survey of voters in Orange County revealed that 66% oppose building a toll highway through San Onofre State Park.
3. Los Angeles Times Opposes. The Los Angeles Times published an editorial strongly opposing the toll highway.
4. TCA sued by the State Attorney General's office. The Attorney General has sued the TCA because of the route's potential impacts on the American Indian archaeological site (which is still used for religious ceremonies by Jueneno Indians), damage to the park, and more. Also, TCA has been sued by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
5. San Diego City Council vote to oppose. We are still waiting for Mayor Sander's approval or veto.
6. TCA offers $100 million for state parks if TCA gets approval. $70 million would pay for the lease of Camp Pendleton Land and $30 million would go to Crystal Cove State Park. On hearing about the TCA's offer, some opponents used the word "bribe." The long-term advocate for Crystal Cove has rejected that offer.
7. TCA hints they may appeal to the Federal Government. Because federal land is involved (Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base), the TCA may appeal to the Federal Government; probably the Commerce Department.
Question: Do Federal bureaucrats have the power to override California's environmental laws?
Another Sewage Spill
In South Bay, about 15,000 gallons of sewage spilled. Government workers estimate that they captured about 9,000 gallons; leaving about 6,000 gallons flowing into a storm drain, then to Sweetwater River, and into San Diego Bay.
Recovery effort for steelhead fish species
The National Marine Fisheries Service has released a interim Recovery Outline for Southern California Coast Steelhead Fish Species. The planning area extends from the Pajaro River, in the North, to the Tijuana River at the U.S-Mexican border.
The outline identifies Specific threats to steelhead populations, including: (a) Blockage of access to 90 percent of historic spawning and rearing habitat above dams; (b) De-watering of streams by dams and diversions; (c) Loss of riparian vegetation from agricultural, residential, and commercial development, and related flood control activities; (d) Filling and degradation of estuarine habitat; (e) Introduction of non-native, exotic fish and amphibians; and (f) Point and non-point pollution from up-slope land use practices.
Priority recovery actions identified in the document include:
* Establishing access above impassible barriers (road crossings, dams, debris basins)
* Restoring flow regimes for migration and over-summering habitat
* Reducing point and non-point pollution sources
* Developing and implementing a comprehensive habitat monitoring and stock assessment program
For more information, see http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/recovery/So_Cal.htm
Escondido faces higher, $1.8 million fine for sewage spill.
The saga continues on sewage spills by Escondido and subsequent fines. Recently, the State-level water water quality board has overridden a settlement by the Regional-level board. Originally the proposed fine was $1,800,00 million. Then the City of Escondido and Regional Board agreed to $690,000, plus the costs of two technical studies. Then that agreement was challenged at the state level because it relied on primarily on a statement by the City. Now the State wants to impose the original fine. The City of Escondido will probably submit more evidence in the hopes of lowering the total.
Balboa Park: new financial baseline study begins
A new, independent study of Balboa Park is underway, sponsored by three foundations: the Legler Benbough Foundation, the San Diego Foundation, and the Parker Foundation. They want to find out: (1) How much the City is spending vs. income, (2) Accumulated unfunded obligations, (3) An estimate of the likely funding that the City will provide, (4) Other alternatives for governance and financial support of Balboa Park.
Proposed Hotel on Buena Vista Lagoon
In Oceanside, on the northern edge of the sensitive Buena Vista Lagoon, a 4 acre hotel has been proposed. The staff of the California Coastal Commission has recommended that it be rejected because of the needs for public access, public recreation, protecting wetlands, etc. The Commission will discuss this proposal at their hearing on October 11th. Previously the project was approved by the Oceanside City Council in a 3 to 2 vote.
New good rail transit does bad thing.
When the East-West "Sprinter" tracks were recently built, the North County Transit District did not prevent water runoff from polluting nearby streams. The district may have to pay a fine of up to $160,000. That's a shame both for the damage to the streams and because of the desperate need of money for transit.
Sempra's LNG soon will make more smog
In Mexico, Sempra (SDG&E's parent) is spending a Billion dollars to build a terminal for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). LNG is created overseas by compressing and cooling natural gas from gas fields. The LNG is then pumped into special, huge ships for transportation to the U.S. At the terminal in Baja, the LNG will pumped from the ships into tanks and converted back from liquid into gas. Next, the gas will move into pipelines for distribution to the U.S. Recently, Sempra's CFO, Mark Snell, reported to a Lehman Brothers CEO Energy/Power conference that the Engeria Costa Azul LNG re-gasification terminal is more than 80% complete and that he expects it to begin operations in 2008.
Unfortunately, the gas from the LNG contains more butane, ethane, and propane than our current natural gas supplies. Burning it produces much more oxides of nitrogen; and oxides of nitrogen are a key ingredient of Smog. So Sempra's LNG will result in more smog. The new gas could be cleaned up to match the quality of current natural gas supplies; but Sempra does not want to invest in such equipment. Instead, Sempra is hoping that re-adjusting the gas burning equipment will prevent more oxides of nitrogen. However, think how much effort it would take to adjust the hundreds of thousands of gas burners in stoves, furnaces, etc.!
The location in Mexico prevented the usually early environmental reviews. So now, at this late date in construction, the only choice seems to be pressuring the owners of the pipelines, TransCanada, and two State agencies: the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and the State Lands Commission. Lawsuits have been filed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the City of San Diego, and others.
Question: Why isn't the San Diego Air Pollution Control District also joining in the lawsuits to protect the public?
Local transit cut by state budget
The California State budget, that was recently adopted, hit local transit providers with major cuts. Statewide, about $1.3 Billion are to be moved into the state's general fund. In response to the State's cuts, the California Transit Association has sued to block the shift, citing voter-approved constitutional provisions for transit.
The good news is that the east-west, light-rail line in North County is built.
SANDAG pitches another study for refilling beach sand.
SANDAG is proposing a $500,000 study, in preparation for another massive sand replenishment in 2010. They want each beach city to fund a proportional share of the cost of the study.
Some cities are resisting because of their disappointments with the results of the 2001 beach-sand effort. Many of the beaches, that were widened in 2001, are back to narrow strips. Proponents of the new project suggest that the sand simply moved from the beaches to off-shore sand bars; and that another project would eventually cause the sand movement to "fill up" and reach equilibrium. More pessimist persons point to the long-shore currents that move sand from beaches down into the deep submarine canyons in the ocean.
Semi-protection for the Western Snowy Plover?
After six years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued their plan to keep the Western Snowy Plover from extinction. (You can sometimes see these small birds on the shoreline of our beaches; running back and forth, following the edge of ocean waves. Try looking in Pacific Beach in the Winter, when dogs are not running loose.) Unfortunately, like the Least Tern, the Western Snowy Plover also nests in beach areas that are under pressures from beach users (two and four legs) and from development.
Early assessments of the proposed plan indicates that plan depends too much on volunteers, lacks adequate funding, and might worsen the situation by relaxing federal controls.
Senator Kehoe's bills help San Diego River and Renewable Energy by Local Governments
Two more environmental bills from State Senator Christine Kehoe have reached the Governor for his signature:
SB 419, Preserving San Diego River: SB 419 will further protect the San Diego River by strengthening the state agency which oversees the 52-mile water route. It expands the San Diego River Conservancy's governing board, widens the agency's jurisdiction beyond the current half mile range on either side of the river, and adds cultural and historic resource protection to its mission. Senator Kehoe first created the San Diego River Conservancy with a bill in 2002.
SB 451, Generating renewable power by local governments: SB 451 will encourage local governments to generate their own renewable power. Right now, there is no way for surplus renewable power generated from one government location to be "banked" or "credited" toward the power use of another location. SB 451 gives cities the option of transferring electricity generated at one city-controlled property to meet the power needs of other city properties.
"Addressing San Diego's Water Woes"
For a great overview of the political-leadership obstacles to solving the City of San Diego's water problems, read "Addressing San Diego's Water Woes" published in the Union-Tribune. The author, Bruce Reznik, is Executive Director of San Diego Coastkeeper and a member of the Board of the League of Conservation Voters, San Diego.
San Onofre State Park supported by the San Diego City Council.
The San Diego City Council has voted to support the San Onofre State Park and to oppose the park's destruction by Orange County's proposed Toll Highway SR241. Special thanks to Council member Donna Frye who continued to work on this important issue. In addition, Council members Toni Atkins, Kevin Faulconer, Brian Maienschein, Scott Peters, and Tony Young voted for the resolution. Council member Ben Hueso voted against any resolution because he is also on the California Coastal Commission and wanted to keep an open mind. Council member Jim Madaffer opposed the resolution. Mayor Sanders has a limited time to act on this resolution.
New power plant in Pala?
The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is preparing an environmental review of a new power plant in Pala. It would be built by Orange Grove Energy, L.P. on land owned by SDG&E. The property is currently designated General Agricultural (A72) in the San Diego County general plan. The project would have a nominal electrical output of 96 megawatts (MW) using natural gas. Construction is planned to start in winter 2008 with a six-month construction period. Operation is planned for June 2008. Opponents have expressed many concerns, including the two, 80 foot exhaust stacks (in a scenic area), air pollution, and need for water.
Wetlands to be sprayed to reduce mosquito breeding
The County Vector Control will use a helicopter to apply mosquito larvicide to local wetlands to reduce mosquito breeding and the risk of West Nile virus. Controlling mosquito breeding is essential in preventing the spread of West Nile virus. The aerial applications will occur monthly at numerous key breeding areas during the mosquito breeding season. They state that "the larvicide is not toxic to humans and does not pose a risk to wildlife or the environment." Of course, not everyone accepts such a benign assessment. Aerial applications are planned every four weeks until the weather cools. So far this year, in San Diego County, 8 humans, 88 birds, 4 horses, 1 sentinel chicken, and 2 mosquito pools have tested positive for West Nile virus.
Sunrise Powerlink: more controversy and PUC hearings continue
An article in the Voice of San Diego by Mike Niggli, of SDG&E, triggered a storm of responses on the validity of "facts"; plus some emotional arguments. The PUC is scheduled to resume hearings on September 26th.
PUC provides money incentives for energy conservation
The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) adopted a regulations to use financial incentives for energy conservation and to reduce greenhouse gases. Up to $450 million will be awarded over three years to Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas if they meet targets to cut energy consumption. On the other hand, if they do not meet the targets, then they would be penalized by rate reductions. The money comes from rate increases approved by the PUC. The PUC believes that individual consumers could offset any increased costs, by energy conservation.
However, The Utility Reform Network called the plan a "bribe" to utilities for doing their job.
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) welcomed the plan. Anne S. Smith, SDG&E's senior vice president for customer service, said: "The commission's decision is another clear demonstration of its commitment to energy conservation, and we applaud this groundbreaking move." Smith also said: "We continue to believe energy efficiency is the most cost-effective and environmentally responsible means to meet our long-term energy needs."
Over the past 15 years, SDG&E has invested $485 million in energy-efficiency programs to help customers save more than 2.9 million megawatt-hours of electricity -- or approximately the energy produced over a year's time by two power plants.
Question: Now that PUC has added financial incentives for energy conservation, when will SDG&E lower it's forecast of need for it's proposed Sunrise Powerlink?Encina Power Plant to increase electric output.
The owner of the Encina Power Plant, NRG Energy, filed plans with the California Energy Commission to increase power output by 200 megawatts by mid-2010. They also plan to rename the complex to the "Carlsbad Energy Center." Three old, water-cooled, generators (about 100 megawatts each) will be replaced with air-cooled , more efficient units.
Alternative Energy: Envirepel finalizes it's pilot waste-to-energy plant
In Vista, Envirepel Energy is finalizing it's waste-to-energy pilot demonstration plant. The pilot plant will generate 2.5 MW from waste wood. Envirepel has designed larger plants for Fallbrook (up to 90 MW) and Ramona (4 MW net). All of the electricity will be sold to SDG&E.
Border Sewage: Court say no more delays and Senator Feinstein pledges $66 million
The U.S. District Court refused to grant the federal government any more time extensions in cleaning up the sewage flowing from Tijuana into the U.S. In addition, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she will work to get $66 million to improve the wastewater treatment plant in San Ysidro. That plant is run by International Boundary and Water Commission and competes with the proposed Bajagua plant. For more information, see the article in the Union Tribune.
New exhibit features alternative energy
The Reuben H Fleet Science Center has a new exhibit: "So WATT! An Illuminating Look at Energy"
40,000 pounds of trash removed from beaches and coastal canyons
About 40,000 pounds of recyclables and trash have been removed from the beaches and coastal canyons of San Diego County. Thanks to the 5,600 persons who helped!
State Senator Christine Kehoe battles Global Warming.
State Senator Christine Kehoe has sponsored Senate Bill 210 to help Global Warming. That new bill will require a 10% reduction of carbon in fuels by 2020. Senator Kehoe expects that her bill will result in bio fuels being much more available in California. This bill will implement an executive order by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger into law. Consequently, the Governor is expected to sign the bill into law.
LCVSD urges COASTAL COMMISSION to support San Onofre State Park and to oppose the toll highway.
The League of Conservation Voters San Diego County (LCVSD) has urged the California Coastal Commission to reject, in its entirety, the proposed sixteen-mile "Foothill South" 241 toll highway construction through San Onofre State Park.
That this project is environmentally destructive is beyond question. The toll road's environmental impact report acknowledges that all of the proposed alternatives will be devastating to the environment, and the selected route is only slightly less harmful than other routes. The fact that the project sponsors have secured from Congress an exemption from the usual environmental approvals further reflects the hollowness of arguments that the project
is benign to the environment.
The polluting, noisy six-lane highway would be constructed directly above hundreds of campsites at San Mateo campground, a popular public park where thousands of families can and do enjoy an inexpensive few days near the coast. From there, many walk to Trestles, a beach revered worldwide for its wave quality.
Our parks are not mere reserves to be held in trust until commercial enterprises choose to use them as thoroughfares.
The California Coastal Commission will conduct a hearing on October 10th-11th, in San Pedro, on the proposed Toll Highway.
Court hears more delays in treating sewage from Mexico
The Court is being presented with more information on the ever-slipping delays in treating sewage from Tijuana, in this article by the Voice of San Diego.
Mary Salas named to special working group on State's water
Assembly member Mary Salas (Chula Vista) has been appointed to a special “working group” of legislators to tackle water problems. They will be working during the coming special session of the legislature, focused on water and health care. Also, Assembly member Mary Salas sponsored AB 1521; which would require labels on bottled water to name the source of the water. AB 1521 is now waiting for the Governor's signature.
Less toxic waste from electronics, thanks to Lori Saldana
Current law requires phase-out of toxic materials only in electronic devices with video displays. A new bill, AB48, sponsored by Assembly member Lori Saldana, would stop the toxics that come from other types of electronic or battery-operated devices, including cell phones and ipods. AB48 has passed the legislature and is with the Governor for his signature.
Proposed Gregory Canyon Landfill still has problems
The proposal for the Gregory Canyon Landfill (GCL) is entering a critical phase of the decision-making: In about a month, the Court will determine to see if the proponents have adequately mitigated the environmental problems.
Background: The proposed 1,770 acre Gregory Canyon Landfill site is located in rural northern San Diego County on State Route (SR 76), approximately three miles east of Interstate 15 (I-15) and two miles southwest of the community of Pala. The site is adjacent to the San Luis Rey River and lies along the western slope of Gregory Mountain. Maps show the vicinity and the location.
In 2003, the County prepared a “final” EIR. In 2006, the Court issued a Preemptory Writ of Mandate directing the County of San Diego to correct three identified deficiencies in the 2003 Final EIR, related to traffic, water supply, and biological mitigation. In response, the County identified additional mitigation actions. These were published and processed in a Revised Final EIR.
In May, 2007 the County Director of the Solid Waste Local Enforcement Agency decided that the EIR was acceptable. (Did you notice how the County is certifying its own project.)
Next the County of San Diego and Gregory Canyon Limited will ask the Court to accept their revised plan. The opponents will be fighting in the Court.
OTHER REMAINING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS: One of the issues with the original EIR was lack of water. The new proposal would have the Landfill getting all of its water from Olivenhain Municipal Water District (OMWD) in the form of recycled water. OMWD approved an agreement to provide the water, including improvements to its recycled water distribution facility. Such an improved facility is needed to allow tanker trucks to fill up with water every 10 minutes, throughout the day, 6 days a week. The tanker trucks would then drive through the Rancho Bernardo area to Interstate 15, North on I-15, then onto SR76 to get to the Landfill. However, OMWD never did an environmental analysis of the traffic caused by this or the improvements. OMWD was sued to require environmental review and that case is currently pending before the courts.
Another problem is a bridge over the San Luis Rey river. GCL is seeking to limit the Section 404 jurisdiction for the project. (Previous wetland delineations showing the canyon is a water of the US and a tributary of the San Louis Rey river.) Originally the local federal office said a larger permit for the entire project is needed. Then the LA office overruled that decision after calls by Congressman Darryl Issa.
GCL and the Corps are currently working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service on a section 7 (FESA) impacts to endangered species. Again, Congressman Darryl Issa’s office has been pressuring to get the project through. The Section 7 is currently on hold, waiting for information from GCL. However, a previous draft USFWS Biological Service Opinion showed that the project would jeopardize the continued existence of the arroyo tads and other species. That previous work was withdrawn at the request of the applicant.
San Vicente Dam increase and maybe a new dam in Moosa Canyon
As the water shortage grows worse, the County Water Authority (CWA) is working to increase the capacity of local reservoirs, including San Vicente. The existing height of San Vicente dam is 220 feet. CWA already has the necessary permits to increase that height by 54 feet. Now the CWA wants permits to raise the height by 117 feet for a total of 337 feet. In their EIR, as an alternative to the extra height, the CWA proposes building a second, new dam in Moosa Canyon (in north county). Building a new dam would have more severe impacts than raising the height of the San Vicente dam. However, local residents downstream from San Vicente have concerns about safety of the new dam during earthquakes, etc. Questions: Is the proposed new dam in Moosa Canyon simply a "straw man" so that San Vicente appears better? Or is a new dam in Moosa Canyon also in our future?
APCD starts review of Escondido power plant upgrade
MMC Energy, Inc. filed a permit application with the Air Pollution Control District to upgrade the MMC Escondido power plant. The proposed upgrade would replace the existing 44MW turbines with 46.5MW equipment. MCC Energy hopes that the new equipment will reduce the overall emissions. However, the APCD has 6 months to review and research the application.
Global Warming: Near term impacts on San Diego
Look at the KPBS report on a near term impacts of Global Warming: low water levels in Lake Mead can lead to water and power shortages in San Diego.
Proposed desalinization plant signs seventh water agency customer
In Carlsbad, Poseidon Resources continues with its proposed ocean-water desalinization plant by signing up its seventh customer. The desalinization plant still needs approval by the the California Coastal Commission. The Coastal Commission hearing is tentatively scheduled for mid-November.
Leaking fuel tanks at Point Loma Naval Base
The Navy is preparing to replace the massively leaking, fuel tanks on Point Loma Naval Base. The Union Tribune has published a good article on this pollution.
LCVSD urges San Diego City Council to support San Onofre State Park and to oppose the toll highway.
The League of Conservation Voters San Diego has urged the San Diego City Council to put the the City of San Diego on record as opposing the proposed six-lane toll “road” through San Onofre State Park.
Imperial County BIOFUELS vs. WATER SUPPLY for San Diego County
Our neighbors in Imperial County have a long history of successful agriculture; thanks to abundant Colorado River water and a climate that "only plants love." Now the rush is on to grow biofuels. Numerous companies are planning on biofuels production in Imperial County: California Ethanol & Power and Batley Farms with sugarcane (Brawley area); Cilion with corn (55 million gallons Brawley area); Imperial Bioresources with cane, corn, and sugar beets (58 million gallons, Brawley area); Imperial Valley Biodiesel with vegetable oil and tallow (three million gallons, El Centro area); Pacific Ethanol with corn (50 million gallons, Calipatria); USFarms Inc. with (corn, 50 million gallons, Brawley area). FYI, Sugarcane especially needs large quantities of water.
However, the ramping up of biofuels bumps up against the water supply. The Imperial Irrigation District will be cutting back the water for agriculture in Imperial Valley due to an agreement to transfer water to San Diego County and the Coachella Valley. In other words, the demand of urban areas for water will conflict with production of biofuels: Water vs. Fuel.
Green Business: Maxwell Technologies
In San Diego, Maxwell Technologies, Inc. has been awarded a contract by Mercedes Car Group to design and produce ultracapacitors for an advanced engineering hybrid-electric drive train. This drive train will recover energy from braking to increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. Maxwell Technologies is one of only a few manufacturers of ultracapacitors, which are electric storage devices with different electrical characteristics than batteries. Ultracapacitors are used in a variety of applications, including hybrid-electric vehicles.
SDSU's growth plan: Where is the final EIR?
The problems continue with the proposed 2007 Campus Master Plan Revision for San Diego State University. You may recall that at least two lawsuits have been filed against SDSU due to the potential impacts of its new growth plan. Negotiations with the City of San Diego and other affected public agencies are ongoing at this time. SDSU has decided to delay release of the final EIR until the negotiations are concluded. Their stated reasons are "to facilitate the conclusion of these negotiations, and in response to a request by the City of San Diego". Deferring the release of the final EIR seems to be bad for all impacted citizens and businesses who are not part of their designated "public agencies".
As part of this delay, the date for the California State University Board of Trustees hearing has been changed to Nov.13 and 14.
Water Conservation Summit on Oct 12th
The 2007 Water Conservation Summit will be held on October 12th www.waterconservationsummit.com.
Battle of Seals vs. Children's Pool: Legal setback for the Seals
In the Fourth District Appellate Court, the Panel ruled that the terms of the 1931 deed for Children's Pool requires the city to maintain the pool for the exclusive use of San Diego's children. That would mean moving the seals off the beach and cleaning up the seal excrement. (Each week the County Health Department issues warnings about the pollution in Children's Pool.)
The City Attorney has said he will appeal the decision by the Appellate Court. If he is not successful, the City will have to get approvals from the California Coastal Commission and the Federal Government.
Background: As human population grows and development continues, wild species are usually pushed back or even threatened. However, as most San Diegan's know, the exception are the seals in La Jolla's Children's Pool. The seal population has increased over the decades; resulting in them to moving from offshore rocks to the sand at Children's Beach. To beach-goers, that is not surprising since laying on warm sand is far more comfortable than cold, hard rocks.
The City's initial response to the seal settlement was a strange policy of dual use by people and seals. That "compromise" policy resulted in numerous confrontations between beach goers and seal-protection activists.
More protection for City of San Diego's canyons - Christine Kehoe's bill passes Assembly
In the San Diego, almost 6,000 acres of city-owned open space remain vulnerable because they are not officially dedicated, protected open space. These include large tracts in Mission Trails Regional Park, Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve, and Otay Valley Regional Park. Changing from open space to another use only requires action by the San Diego City Council.
Under State Senator Christine Kehoe's Senate Bill 373, the nearly 6,000 acres of city-owned open space, will become "dedicated." Such status means that a public vote would be required for those areas to be used for anything other than open space or park land.
SB 373 saves the City of San Diego an estimated $1.5 million in processing costs, and requires the city council to adopt a list of specific parcels to be protected, before 2008.
Her bill passed the State Assembly on September 6th. The Senate must now approve Assembly changes made to SB 373, before the bill heads to the governor for action.
"My legislation allows the City of San Diego to live up to its commitment to protect our urban canyons and other open space," said Kehoe.
Another Sewage Spill
Not long after the City of San Diego signed a consent degree to reduce sewage spills, the San Diego Metro Wastewater Department said that at least 36,000 gallons of sewage spilled into a canyon and maybe into Lake Hodges (which supplies drinking water).
Pala Casino and Highway 76
The Pala Band of Mission Indians plan to increase their casino facilities by over 40%. As part of their tribal-state gaming compact, they will help mitigate traffice by providing at least $38 million of improvements for State Route 76.
Valley Center Water District to go solar
The Valley Center Municipal Water District is moving ahead with a contractor to build a photovoltaic system up to 1.2 Megawatts for electricity and water pumping power. The actual size of the system will be determined by the results of environmental and site engineering work. Construction will start this year, with completion scheduled for May 2008.
Green Business: American Biodiesel
Encinitas-based, American Biodiesel Inc., aka Community Fuels, will receive $8 million in $8 million of tax-exempt bonds from the State to assist building a biodiesel plant at the Port of Stockton.
Coastkeeper gets patrol boat
Coastkeeper will soon begin patrolling San Diego Bay looking for pollution, using a donated boat. The San Diego Marina and the Kona Kai Marina provided the 19-foot Boston Whaler boat.
SANDAG's 2007 Regional Transportation Plan
SANDAG has updated their Regional Transportation Plan. FYI, in essence, SANDAG is responsible for all regional transportation planning, fund allocation, project development, and construction, especially in the public transit arena. This means that SANDAG has enormous power to shape the future of San Diego County. The new Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) has many proposals for highway upgrades, high-occupancy vehicle lanes, rail and bus transit, and traffic management systems.
The draft EIR for the RTP found that the proposed 2007 would result in significant, potentially unmitigable impacts to Land Use, Visual Resources, Air Quality, Noise, Energy, Global Climate Change, and Biological Resources. Other issue areas, including Geology/Paleontology, Water Resources, Cultural Resources, and Hazards and Hazardous Materials would result in significant but mitigable impacts. Impacts to Regional Water Supply, Traffic/Circulation, and Environmental Justice would be less than significant. Cumulative impacts were found to occur in the areas of Land Use, Social Environment, Visual Resources, Air Quality, Noise, Energy, Global Climate Change, Geology/Paleontology, Water Resources, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, and Hazards and Hazardous Materials. Implementation of the proposed 2007 RTP would not be able to avoid these impacts. Mitigation measures included in the EIR and measures outlined in individual project-specific environmental analysis could mitigate many impacts to below a level of significance. However, significant impacts in the areas of Land Use, Visual Resources, Air Quality, Noise, Energy, Global Climate Change, and Biological Resources potentially could not be mitigated.
The opportunity for public comment on the RTP will end September 17, 2007.
Less protection for the Least Tern?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has ignored it's staff biologist and recommended reducing the protection status of the California Least Tern. If approved, that may allow some prime land to be developed, including land at the San Diego Airport. The Least Tern is vulnerable because it lays eggs directly on the sand. Since most sandy beaches are used for recreation, the hatching is disrupted. The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a notice of its intent to sue the wildlife service. More information is in this Voice of San Diego article.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)