Monthly Archive for May, 2007

Sonoma County Drought a “Disaster”

Published
by
Larry
on May 20, 2007
in Groundwater, Logging Impacts, Streams and Wetlands and Waste Discharge
. 0 Comments

It’s official folks, Sonoma County’s drought has been designated a “disaster”.

HR

————————–

Dear Sonoma County Farm Bureau, and Ranchers, Farmers, and Growers:

I am writing to make you aware of USDA’s recent disaster designation following the ongoing drought in Sonoma County. The state requested a disaster designation for six California counties, and USDA followed through by designating Sonoma County a “contiguous disaster county” because it neighbors Lake County, one of the primary disaster counties.

Accordingly, I wanted you to know that farmers, ranchers, and growers who were affected and experience production losses due to drought are now eligible to apply for low-interest emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency (FSA). In reviewing the applications, FSA considers the extent of the damage suffered from the drought, alternative sources of security, and the ability to repay loans.

Please visit the Farm Service Agency webpage for more detailed information about emergency farm loans at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=fmlp&topic=efl, or contact the Farm Loan Manager who is currently handling the Sonoma County caseload, Ms. Belle Davis at 209-472-7127 ext. 106 or by writing or faxing her at:

Belle Davis, Farm Loan Manager
3422 West Hammer Lane Ste. C
Stockton, CA 95219
Fax: (209) 472-7890

I hope you find this information helpful in recovering losses from the drought. My office is available to help you through this process, if there is need. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have at (202) 225-5161.

Sincerely,

Lynn Woolsey
Member of Congress

Impacts of Wastewater to Russian River Workshop

Published
by
Larry
on May 18, 2007
in Groundwater, Streams and Wetlands and Waste Discharge
. 0 Comments

The Russian  River Watershed Council is sponsoring a special event on Saturday, May 19th, at the Raven Theater in Healdsburg, from 11 am - 1 pm. We will be discussing the impacts of wastewater discharge on the Russian  River Watershed.

We invite you to carpool with others, or take public transportation to this event. Light refreshments will be provided. It’s always a bonus when you bring your own re-useable cup, etc.

Please spread the word on this event!

Best regards,

Colleen Fernald

RRWC Secretary
707.538.3803

www.rrwc.net
www.russianriverwatershed.net
Russian River Discharge Proposal
A panel of experts will discuss the City of Santa Rosa’s Russian River recycled water discharge proposal, including technical information, municipal imperatives and alternatives, community concerns, habitat and water flow impacts, and ag landowner considerations. The panel will include speakers from the Sonoma County Planning Commission, City of Santa Rosa, and Riverkeeper. Russian River Discharge Proposal Come and Learn May 19 . David w. Smith, PhD, IRWP Manager . Don McEnhill, Riverkeeper . Bob Rawson, Waste Water Consultant . Dennis Murphy, Sonoma County Planning Commisioner Contact: Peggy Maddock, RRWC

707-433-5866    peggymaddock@aol.com Karen Rippey, Army Corps of Engineers

415-977-8537

Karen.E.Rippey@usace.army.mil Raven Performing Arts Theater 115  North Street, Healdsburg. Saturday, May 19th, 11:00 AM - 1 PM Some of the questions to be addressed include the following:
• Why is the City of Santa Rosa considering discharging directly to the Russian  River instead of the present Laguna discharge? • How would the project affect the health and human use of the river? • Would infiltration / inflow controls substantially reducing the projected discharge volume over time?

• What are the various agricultural communities’ viewpoints of the Santa Rosa discharge proposal and is ag reuse desirable?

• If you’re concerned about this issue or merely curious and need more information, come and learn the details about Russian River discharge and ask your questions of the panel.

A Russian River Watershed Council Event PO  Box 3908, Santa Rosa,  CA 95402

Endangered Species Day Activity

Published
by
Larry
on May 17, 2007
in Watershed Related
. 0 Comments

Reminder that tomorrow (Fri May 18th) is Endangered Species Day!

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution supporting Endangered Species Day, a national celebration of American’s commitment to  protecting and recovering our nation’s endangered species.In solidarity with groups across the nation working to protect and restore endangered species, SPAWNers will gather to take local action in support of salmon and the healthy watersheds they require for survival.

WHEN:  Friday May 18th from 10AM - 2PM

WHERE:  Meet at Roy’s Pools on the San Geronimo Golf Course.

WHAT: We will carpool to a fish rescue site and then return to Roy’s Pools to plant alders, elk clover and torrent sedge at our San Geronimo Creek restoration site.

To RSVP contact Natalie at Natalie@tirn.net, 488-0370 x112
Spontaneous participation also welcome.

Think globally and act locally, join us on to help protect and restore watersheds that are home to Marin’s endangered coho salmon and threatened steelhead trout.  Whether you help plant trees along the creek, rescue baby salmon from drying creeks, get petitions signed (from work or home) or help prepare festival materials for upcoming summer street parades…. you can make a difference!

Get involved!

Paola Bouley
Watershed Biologist
Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN)
a project of Turtle Island Restoration Network

US Premature Births Linked To Increase In Pesticide

Published
by
Larry
on May 16, 2007
in Watershed Related
. 0 Comments

Would be interesting to look at health statisitcs in Marin, San Francisco and Sonoma County watersheds for any correlations.

Tom Yarish  wtyarish@sbcglobal.net

US Premature Births Linked To Increase In Pesticides And Nitrates In Water Main Category: Pediatrics / Children’s Health News Article Date: 09 May 2007 - 5:00 PDT

America’s increased use of pesticides and nitrates, which end up in surface water and have a seasonal pattern, has been linked to the nation’s growing rate of premature births, which also follows a similar seasonal pattern.

These are the conclusions of Dr Paul Winchester, professor of clinical pediatrics at the Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine who revealed his findings this week at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in Toronto, Canada.

Dr Winchester and colleagues Akosua Boadiwaa Adu-Boahene and Sarah L Kosten,
also of the IU School of Medicine, Alex K Williamson of the US Geological Survey, and Dr Ying Jun, of the University of Cincinnati, found that premature birth rates peaked when levels of pesticides and nitrates in surface water were at their highest from April to July, and were lowest when the chemicals were also at their lowest levels in August to September.

The team studied over 27 million live American births occurring between 1996 and 2002. The percentage of babies born prematurely in that period peaked in June (12.03 per cent) and was lowest in September (10.44 per cent). The highest rate of preterm births took place from May to June ( 11.91 per cent and the lowest rate from August to September (10.79 per cent).

The correlation between premature birth rates and levels of nitrates and pesticides was independent of the mothers’ age, race, education, marital status, alcohol consumption and smoking status. The link was also independent of whether the mothers lived in urban, suburban or rural places.

The US Geological Survey showed that pesticide and nitrate levels in surface water were also at their highest from May to June, and at their lowest from August to September, a pattern consistent with the preterm birth levels over the same study period.

Last year Dr Winchester and his team revealed the results of an earlier 4 year study into pregnancy outcomes in Indiana and the US where significant links were made between seasonal levels of pesticides and nitrates in surface and drinking water and seasonal levels of birth defects.

Dr Winchester is a neonatal specialist and director of Newborn Intensive Care Services at St Francis Hospital in Indianapolis. He is disturbed by what he sees as the growing number of birth defects and pre-term babies, which he puts down to growing levels of pesticides and nitrates that end up in surface and drinking water:
“A growing body of evidence suggests that the consequence of prenatal exposure to pesticides and nitrates as well as to other environmental contaminants is detrimental to many outcomes of pregnancy.”

“We need to face up to environmental causes,” he added, explaining that:
“Preterm births in the United States vary month to month in a recurrent and seasonal manner. Pesticides and nitrates similarly vary seasonally in surface water throughout the US. Nitrates and pesticides can disrupt endocrine hormones and nitric oxide pathways in the developing fetus.”

Dr James Lemons, Hugh McK Landon Professor of Pediatrics and director of the section of neonatal-perinatal medicine at the IU School of Medicine, and head of neonatal-perinatal medicine at Clarian Health’s Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, said of Dr Winchester’s findings:
“I believe this work may lay the foundation for some of the most important basic and clinical research, and public health initiatives of our time.”

“To recognize that what we put into our environment has potential pandemic effects on pregnancy outcome and possibly on child development is a momentous observation, which hopefully will help transform the way humanity cares for its world,” he added.

The annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies brings together scientists from the American Pediatric Society, the Society for Pediatric Research, the Ambulatory Pediatric Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Pesticides and herbicides used in agriculture are primarily organic chemicals and can end up in surface water due to run off from row crops. There are other ways that potentially dangerous organic compounds can end up in surface and drinking water, such as leaching from storage tanks, factory discharge, landfills, emissions from waste incineration, discharge from petroleum and metal refining, textile finishing, and various other industrial processes.

Ingesting water contaminated with organic pesticides and herbicides causes a range of potentially serious health problems depending on the chemical, but a quick scan down the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) list of organic drinking water contaminants shows many of these to be linked to organ damage and other serious illnesses such as cancer and cardiovascular problems.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=70400
–

CSN - Chemical Sensitivity Network

Silvia K. Müller Mühlwiesenstr. 2 55743 Kirschweiler Germany

Coastal Commission Goes Live!

Published
by
Larry
on May 14, 2007
in Groundwater, Logging Impacts, Streams and Wetlands and Waste Discharge
. 0 Comments

Hey Folks,
For those who are interested in tracking the workings of the Coastal Commission – have a look at this!
Brock

Hi All—

Following Coastal Commission issues & actions just got easier!!!

Beginning with the February 14 meeting in San Diego, all CCC meetings will be broadcast live over the internet. See the attached press release for details.

This is a pilot project, which means we got finding for I year only. Future funding depends on how this is received by the public. So, in addition to tuning in yourselves, it would be greatly appreciated if you would pass the information along to your membership via your newsletters or e-alerts, and/or any enviro e-mail listserves you belong to.

The Commission is very gratified to be able to extend this public service to the greater community. We hope you find it useful, and that it becomes an effective tool to increase public awareness, education, and most of all, engagement!!!

~sc

Sarah Christie
Legislative Director
California Coastal Commission
(916) 445-6067

Researchers Find New Pharmaceuticals in Texas Waters

Published
by
Larry
on May 14, 2007
in Streams and Wetlands and Waste Discharge
. 0 Comments

C. Kevin Chambliss, Baylor University

Baylor University researchers announced on May 1 they have found the residue of three new human medications in fish living in the Pecan Creek in North Texas.

The pharmaceuticals, which have not been previously identified in fish, are: diphenhydramine, an over-the-counter antihistamine also commonly used as a sedative in nonprescription sleep aids and motion sickness; diltiazem, a drug for high blood pressure; and carbamazepine, a treatment for epilepsy and bipolar disorder. Residue of norfluoxetine, the active metabolite of the antidepressant fluoxetine, also was detected in this study, confirming results of a previous project by the researchers.

“These results demonstrate the increasing need to consider bioaccumulation of emerging contaminants in the environment,” said Dr. Kevin Chambliss, an assistant professor of chemistry at Baylor, who is a co-lead investigator on the project. “This research proves fish are being exposed to multiple compounds in our waterways.”

Most of the water in Pecan Creek is effluent from an upstream wastewater treatment facility. The data suggests there is not a human health concern, the researchers said. However, exposure to the compounds may produce adverse effects in fish. For example, high levels of antidepressants, like fluoxetine, in fish are known to cause behavioral changes, which impact aggression, feeding rate and other behaviors necessary for fish survival.

“The effects of these three new compounds on fish are still not well understood, but it could be important to an emerging area of science,” said Dr. Bryan Brooks, an assistant professor of environmental and biomedical studies at Baylor who is an environmental toxicologist and a co-lead investigator on the project. “The pharmacological properties of these compounds in humans will likely provide an indication of their specific effects in fish.”

Although treated wastewater may meet current federal testing standards, no guidelines or federal water quality criteria exist for pharmaceuticals, Brooks said.

To test the collected fish tissue for pharmaceuticals, Chambliss and Alejandro Ramirez, a Baylor doctoral student in chemistry who is the lead author on the study, developed a new method using a technology called liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. This technique can, for the first time, screen fish for several groups of drugs at the same time. Researchers said previous tests for detecting pharmaceutical and personal care products in tissues of aquatic organisms focused only on identification of individual medications or classes of medications like antidepressants. The new test created by Baylor researchers can screen up to 25 different drugs, representing multiple therapeutic classes, the researchers said. The 25 compounds were chosen based on their relative frequency in the environment, as well as the variability of their structures and physicochemical properties.

More about Kevin Chambliss

Scientific American: Pittsburgh Fish Make Breast Cancer Cells Grow

Published
by
Larry
on May 14, 2007
in Streams and Wetlands and Waste Discharge
. 0 Comments

SCIENCE NEWS
April 2007

Bringing Cancer to the Dinner Table: Breast Cancer Cells Grow Under Influence of Fish Flesh

Tests of river fish indicate their flesh carries enough estrogen-mimicking chemicals to cause breast cancer cells to grow By David Biello

Tests of fish caught in the rivers around Pittsburgh revealed that their flesh contains enough estrogen-mimicking chemicals to promote breast cancer growth.

Many streams, rivers and lakes already bear warning signs that the fish caught within them may contain dangerously high levels of mercury, which can cause brain damage. But, according to a new study, these fish may also be carrying enough chemicals that mimic the female hormone estrogen to cause breast cancer cells to grow. “Fish are really a sentinel, just like canaries in the coal mine 100 years ago,” says Conrad Volz, co-director of exposure assessment at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. “We need to pay attention to chemicals that are estrogenic in nature, because they find their way back into the water we all use.”

Volz and colleagues, including biochemist Patricia Eagon, took samples from 21 catfish and six white bass donated by local anglers as part of a study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Los Angeles this week. The fish were caught in five places: a relatively unpolluted site 36 miles upstream from Pittsburgh on the Allegheny River; an industrial site on the Monongahela River; an Allegheny site downstream from several industries that release toxic chemicals; and the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, where Pittsburgh dumps much of its treated sewage and sewer outflows.

“This is the largest concentration of combined sewer outflows in the U.S.,” Volz notes, about the confluence, known as the Point. The researchers also bought several fish at the store as controls.

Groundwater Management Plan in Sonoma Valley

Published
by
Larry
on May 13, 2007
in Groundwater
. 0 Comments

Here is a copy of the resolution passed by th BOS on January 30th 2007 to initiate the Groundwater Management Plan in Sonoma Valley. An historic document! I don’t see any mention of AB 3030 but I assume it doesn’t need to spell it out. right?

HRresolution-under-ab3030.pdf

Comments on SR’s Waste Water Storage Facilities Proposal

Published
by
Larry
on May 10, 2007
in Streams and Wetlands and Waste Discharge
. 0 Comments

City of Santa Rosa
Board of Public Utilities
69 Stony Circle
Santa Rosa, CA 95401

Subject: Initial Comment (Concerns) Waste Water Storage Facilities Proposal

These comments are delivered to the Board of Public Utilities and the City Council in lieu of attendance of a meeting on this subject that was scheduled for today. Notice of the meeting published in the Press Democrat was late and failed to declare the scope of the project and responsible department (BPU) and contact information.

The need, extent, cost, and potential effects of this proposed project are extensive. Before needless expenditure and serious error is incurred serious thought and environmental review is necessary - considering all options, possibilities and consequences. The City of Santa Rosa has serious waste water issues to deal with. Limiting the impacts from waste water discharge will, both, reduce the burden on the rate payer and the environment. Coast Action Group is interested in conserving in the area of economics and environmental resources.

The first recommendation we would make is to work harder on the infiltration problem. Reducing the amount of waste water treated (through infiltration reduction) not only reduces demand for storage, the overall costs of treatment and discharge requirements would be reduced.

In consideration of new storage facilities and their placement, the following issues must be considered:

Placement of storage facility in areas near the bottom of the drainage area, near the Laguna, will cause unavoidable consequences due to changes in hydrology - increased flooding. Evidence from recent flooding events indicate that, mostly due to development - increased impervious surface area, the hydrograph for the area has changed where lag time to peak flow is reduced with resulting significant changes of quantities of water and increased flooding. Large storm events have been known to flood the current site of the waste water plant. Use of land for storage in the flood prone areas will limit the available area (in areas known to flood) for runoff storage thus raising flood water levels.

Thus, any environmental review of this project must consider the impacts of such construction on the hydrograph and flood storage capability of the area. It is suggested that storage sites out of the flood plain be considered. There should be a prioritization of available sites by relevant issues such as adverse hydrologic impacts and risk and other important unavoidable impacts.

Environmental review for this project must also consider:

Consistency with the City’s Standard Urban Storm Water Plan - Goals to preserve natural areas, reduce pollution, and to reduce peak runoff.

Consistency with Basin Plan (Water Quality Control Plan) for the area.

Consistency with the tiger salamander management and recovery plan.

Consistency with protection of federally listed species.

Note: Please consider Coast Action Group an interested party in regards to this project. Coast Action Group requests formal noticing on actions related to this project.

Sincerely,
For Coast Action Group
Alan Levine

SCWA and the Russian River Flow

Published
by
Larry
on May 10, 2007
in Streams and Wetlands
. 0 Comments

SCWA wants to reopen the State Water Resource Control Board’s Decision 1610, which controls minimum flow requirements in the Russian River.

The Russian River is already declared to be ‘over-appropriated’ by the State Water Resources Control Board: too many legal and illegal pumps in the upper and middle reaches, removing more water from the river than it can support under current demands without Eel River subsidies transferred through the Potter Valley Project.

SCWA is still proceeding to support growth in its Urban Water Management Plan, Water Supply Transmission and Reliability Project EIR, and Sonoma County General Plan with demands to increase its water rights by 26,000af/y over their current permit.

David Keller