>>
Art
(c) 1999 by Eve Monrad
<< Environmentalists,
Native Americans, and sports and commercial fishermen seek
to overturn a plan by SCWA to increase its diversions from
the Russian River to fuel growth in Sonoma and Marin
Counties. In
January 1999, a broad coalition of organizations, including
Friends of the Russian River and spearheaded by the Friends
of the Eel River, filed suit in Sonoma County Superior Court
challenging both the merits of Sonoma County Water Agency's
Water Supply and Transmission System Project, which would
increase by 50% the take of water from the Russian/Eel River
systems, and the adequacy of the SCWA's Final Environmental
Impact Report. One target of the suit is the Potter
Valley Project, a complex of dams, tunnels and
powerhouse that since 1908 has diverted nearly the entire
summer flow of the mainstem Eel River to the Russian River.
"The Sonoma County Water Agency's plan to continue diverting
the Eel Rivers flows to stimulate unsustainable growth in
Sonoma and Marin Counties is akin to robbing Peter to pay
Paul," explained the President of the Friends of the Eel
River, Nadananda. "The Water Agency's plan to keep the Eel
River dry and further degrade the Russian River, one of
North America's most endangered and threatened rivers, in
order to facilitate inappropriate development in Sonoma and
Marin Counties means everyone loses," added Fairfax Town
Councilmember Frank Egger, an individual plaintiff in the
suit. The
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is now analyzing
the Potter Valley diversion to consider whether or not to
reissue the facility's license. Already, the US Fish &
Wildlife Service has recommended that the Potter Valley
project be decommissioned--that is, shut down. This project
is unnecessary and destructive--even PG&E tried to sell
the power plant a few years ago, because it doesn't generate
enough electricity to be worth keeping on line. Currently,
nearly the entire summer flow of the main stem of the Eel
River is diverted out of its natural course into a tunnel
bored through a mountain, through the hydroelectric power
plant, and into the Russian River. In summer, 340 cubic feet
per second (cfs) of water are diverted out of the Eel,
leaving only 5 cfs left in the Eel to support native fish
and wildlife. After the Eel River water leaves the Potter
Valley Hydroelectric Plant, where PG&E uses it to
generate power, the Sonoma County Water Agency grabs this
water, which is considered abandoned. With
the listing of Steelhead Trout and Coho Salmon as Threatened
species in the Russian River, there is growing concern that
current practices are leading what was once one of the
world's most prolific salmonid fisheries to the brink of
extinction. The Potter Valley Diversion was a bad idea 80
years ago; it's still a bad idea. The water from the Eel
River only accounts for 1% of the Water Agency's total
available water. The water isnt needed; in fact, the Agency
has a large supply of water from Warm Springs Dam that it
never uses. But the Agency makes millions of dollars taking
the abandoned water and selling it: in effect, raking in
profits at the expense of both the Russian and Eel
Rivers. For
more detail on the suit and related issues, visit the
FOER
Web site. Sonoma
Supes Approve Vineyard Ordinance Ordinance
chronology
(includes
items before and after this newlsetter's
publication) Regulates
planting, creates stream setbacks The
ordinance was crafted after environmentalists, including
Friends Of the Russian River president Joan Vilms and
director The
ordinance does not address all concerns, particularly issues
of forest habitat loss. It is, however, a significant
step, and FORR will continue to work towards appropriate
controls on land use to ensure the future health and
diversity of the Russian River watershed. COMING
SOON... Next
time you paddle a canoe downriver from Healdsburg, you may
get a shock. Syar Industries, which mines gravel from the
river terraces below Dry Creek, has completed plans for a
giant concrete-armored weir to be constructed along the
riverbank. This monster will be 500 feet long; it's
basically an engineered spillway designed to protect the
slopes of Syar's Phase I and Basalt pits from erosion damage
when the river overtops the "levee" separating the pits from
the river.
This
concrete band-aid is Syar's way of dealing with the problem
of its unengineered narrow levee, which has ruptured in
recent floods,sending millions of gallons of Healdsburg
wastewater into the river. There
won't be any public hearings on this
structure:
these
are just construction details of the mis-named "reclamation
plan" approved some time ago... This
isn't the only concrete going in on terrace-mined lands.
Kaiser Sand & Gravel is building two smaller concrete
weirs on its pit lands on the east side of the river. One
will be 100 feet long, the other 200; both will be built
into pit berms away from the river itself, so you won't see
them on your paddling trip. They were designed in
consultation with NMFS; because their tops will be lower
than the berm height, they'll supposedly help prevent fish
from being stranded in the pits after a flood. Once
all this concrete is poured, it won't come out--removal is
not part of the reclamation plans. These will be the first
permanent structures constructed in the terrace pit
lands. IN
OTHER GRAVEL NEWS: Syar and Kaiser both had new terrace
mining applications approved in 1998. Syar's Phase 4, 33
acres, was approved in July, and Kaiser had two expansions
of existing pits approved in December for a total of 42 new
acres of mining. Kaiser projects a "yield" of 3.5 million
tons of gravel from those 42 acres. It's worth at least $15
a ton; you do the multiplication! In
August 1998, in a suit filed against the County by the
Russian River Task Force, Judge Lawrence Antolini set aside
an Alexander Valley instream mining permit and reclamation
plan granted to Jerry DeWitt pending certification of a
supplemental EIR to evaluate the project's effects on
threatened fisheries. To quote from the ruling: "...the
Court finds no substantial evidence to support the County's
finding that it has adequately analyzed the threatened
fisheries issue..." The Board of Supervisors' response? It
has appealed the ruling. RUSSIAN
RIVER WATERSHED COUNCIL A
broad-based group
composed
of people from Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, and from
federal, state and county agencies has been meeting since
June 1998 in an effort to create a Russian River Watershed
Council. Putting
the council on its feet has
been
a
long and frustrating process.
The glue that holds us together is the love and
responsibility people feel for the river. At a very
deep level, we know that the state of the Russian River, as
signaled by the state of its wild salmon and steelhead
fishery, is our canary in the coal mine. Our health
and the economic and environmental health of our region are
intricately connected to the health of the Russian River and
its watershed. Finally,
at the March 27, 1999 meeting, an historic event
occurred: the interim council agreed by consensus to
seat the council formally at its next meeting, under the
following Mission Statement: 2)
To ensure a strong, healthy and diverse economy in the
Russian River Region. 3)
To promote stewardship of the Russian River and its
watershed by developing an informed and engaged
citizenry. The
following operating principle was adopted in spirit, but
will be further refined to clarify its
intent: Now
we can roll up our sleeves and get started!!! So
many projects, so little time so much permanence.
Decisions can be considered, but they are final when they
are cast in concrete. The
water projects of the Russian River and the Eel River, too,
for that's what Russian River projects are, are being cast,
in concrete, with paper forms and public process. I
think of the pipes, the channels, the ponds and the river
all connnected... An aqua-pus. And the process which
creates it, a multi-headed monster. The
Hydro. And
I remember that, to people, water is the breath of
life. In goes the good water, out goes the bad
water. In
goes the good water... In
process now is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission plan
to approve continued diversion of 140,000 acre-feet of water
from the Eel into the Russian. Alternatives may range
from no change (Sonoma County Water Agency's choice) to no
water. Out
goes the bad water... The
Water Agency's drafted an Environmental Impact Report for
two ponds at Sweetwater Springs, dams to 115 feet tall, to
hold a half-billion gallons of wastewater. These ponds
will be connected to a network of wastewater lines... the
Aquapus...from a centralized facility on the lower Russian
to "anchor reservoirs" on, and for, vineyards, to Windsor,
to Healdsburg, to Santa Rosa and south, with an ability to
go to the Geysers, too. A comment period on the final
EIR will open soon. Comments will be taken on
the dams only. In
goes the good water... There's
the Water Agency's expansion project to increase facilities
to pump nearly double the water from the river and its
gravels, to meet projected increased demand. The EIR's
been turned down by the planning Commission, but was
certified, meaning approved, by the Water Agency's
board---the Board of Supervisors. Self-certification
is part of the California Environmental Quality
Act...shocking, but true! Got comments?
Better call a state agency. Final comments, and with
it the right to sue, closed a month ago. Out
goes the bad water... There
are ongoing Section 7 meetings regarding coho. That's
section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, and the meetings
are part of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Army
Corps, the Water Agency and National Marine Fisheries
Service. Basically, this is where the Water Agency
explains how their operations don't damage the endangered
Coho in the Russian. Talk to NMFS, in Santa Rosa, or
the Water Agency to find the next point of public
input. In
goes the good water... There
have been individual water appropriation requests from some
large vineyards to reduce flows in specific
tributaries. The State Water Resources Control Board
Staff is considering how little water streams really
need. Some people say fish passage and adequate depth
for spawning are critical. SWRCB staff seems more
interested in satisfying equations and allowing withdrawals.
Public process is limited to case-by-case input. Out
goes the bad water... The
gravel industry has permission to dig 4 million tons per
year out of the Russian River aquifer. With every ton
removed, that's more need for water from the Eel and Warm
Springs Dam. Enforcers of the Surface Mining and
Reclamation Act have found our ordinances aren't up to
national criteria. Hearings and public process are
supposed to start, soon. In
goes the good water... The
Watershed Council - a state-federal-community hand-holding
group...may continue to meet if the state and feds find
money for it. They haven't decided on the shape of the
table yet, but may be focusing on the needs of fish in the
river system, and land use. Out
goes the bad water ... With
every development, the land is re-drained, from the roofs to
the sewers to the flood control channels, to reduce the
now-aggravated local flooding. Greywater use is not
included in the plans... the developments are the source for
wastewater, to feed the aquapus. Within
this Hydro of projects, the big picture, and the big impact,
is lost. Development
increases water use; and water use makes
wastewater; more wastewater is consumed by
vineyardization, and more Graping of the landscape.
This is good for developers, who get to profit, and
vineyards,who get to expand. And this is great for the
water agency which grows with facilities, staff and
revenues. But is it good for you? ...Otherwise,
its like wrestling an Aquapus. FORR
has no paid staff, and we're always looking for volunteer
help. We particularly need someone willing to take on
responsibility for maintaining our membership/mailing list
database and sending out membership reminders. We'd also
like to hear from you if you have grantwriting experience
and would be willing to help us with proposals; if you have
writing and layout skills and could help with our
newsletter; or if youre a techie who could help with our
website and setting up and maintaining an email mailing list
for alerts. Call us at 707-865-1305 or email
if you can help.
Articles
include links to info more recent than the publication date
of this issue.
Lawsuit
Filed Against
Sonoma County Water Agency's Water Grabmore
recent links at end of articleThe
FERC Connection in Potter Valley
On
May 11, 1999, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
approved an ordinance to regulate vineyard development,
requiring public notification by vineyard developers of
their plans, requiring erosion control plans on steep
slopes, and providing setbacks from all streams shown on
USGS maps. The ordinance is the first significant
local effort to regulate land use practices by grapegrowers
in Sonoma County.
Mark
Green, negotiated for nearly a year with representatives of
grower organizations to develop mutually-acceptable
provisions for regulation of vineyard development.
Growers feared that environmentalists would qualify a much
more stringent ordinance for voter approval;
environmentalists wanted to pursue a cooperative approach
before committing to the effort and expense of an initiative
campaign. The ordinance approved by the Supervisors
closely follows the recommendations of the negotiating team,
which included representatives of a broad range of
environmental organizations and all the major grapegrowers'
groups. It includes tough enforcement provisions to
prevent landowners from ignoring or circumventing the
ordinance, and will allow the public unprecedented access to
information about vineyard developers' plans. Setbacks
from streams will be required: 25' from the top of the
bank on slopes under 15%, and 50' on slopes from
15-50%. Development of slopes over 50% is now
prohibited.
CONCRETE-
CLAD RIVERBANKS!
top
The
mission of the Russian River Watershed Council is to
protect, restore, and enhance the biological health of
the Russian River and its watershed through a
community-based process which facilitates communication
and collaboration among all interested parties.
Our primary goals are:
1)
To ensure recovery of the Russian River and its
watershed to a condition such that the native wild
anadromous fishery recovers to healthy and sustainable
levels.
That
nothing done to implement the mission and goals of the
Watershed Council shall be done at the expense of other
watersheds.
The
problem with fighting Hydras is they always sprout more
heads. Maybe we need one plan, one process, and one,
fair fight.