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rdifalco

Fewer floaters equals less trash from Sacramento River revelry - Chico Enterprise Record - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...ss-trash-from-sacramento-river

BEC water sacramento river trash recycling

shared by rdifalco on 19 Sep 13 - No Cached
  • With an alcohol ban on both the water and adjacent shores, thousands fewer people floated on a popular stretch of the Sacramento River and the resulting trash that accumulates for miles also dramatically declined.
  • "It was a night-and-day difference on the river, from tubes to full beers floating down to empty cans," said Lucas Merz, program manager for the Sacramento River Preservation Trust. "Just the overall respect for the river was really nice to see."
  • Maggi Barry, office coordinator with Butte Environmental Council, voiced appreciation to the Glenn and Butte county boards of supervisors for the ban. She said their proactive approach makes the river a better environment in several ways. "We would like to say 'Yay! Thank you for the double-duty of addressing young lives and helping clean up the environment,'" she said.
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  • BEC will host the annual Bidwell Park & Chico Creeks Cleanup on Sept. 21 to prevent trash from entering the Sacramento River and its tributaries.
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Water fight - Feature Story - Local Stories - August 15, 2013 - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

BEC water endangered species sacramento river BDCP Bay Delta

shared by rdifalco on 16 Aug 13 - No Cached
  • But in the northern half of the Central Valley, most people want the tunnels stopped. They say it will suck the Delta dry, destroy farming business in the Delta and the Sacramento Valley, devastate the river’s ecosystem and lead to overuse of groundwater supplies. “This is one of the rare times when farmers and environmentalists can agree that a project is going to be devastating for both their interests,” said Robyn DiFalco, executive director of the Butte Environmental Council. DiFalco notes that the tunnels will not only increase Southern California’s dependence on Northern California’s water, but “they will also make it easier for [Southern California] to get it.”
  • Many critics of the BDCP have described the tunnels as a means of transferring away the wealth of Northern California to powerful water agencies to the south, which will be paying for a great deal of their enormous cost.
  • John Merz, executive director of the Chico-based Sacramento River Preservation Trust, says he has little faith in the components of the BDCP intended to restore the Delta’s health. He recognizes that there will be legal limits to how much water the tunnels can remove from the river. “But we don’t think those limits will be enough to protect the river,” Merz said. He added, “Frankly, when it comes to restoring the health of the Sacramento River, we just don’t trust the Brown administration to do the right thing.”
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  • Vlamis, of AquAlliance, echoed him. She said that calling the BDCP a “conservation plan” is deceptive. “The way this plan is crafted it will have no benefits for the Sacramento’s ecosystem,” she said.
  • Barbara Vlamis, the executive director of Chico-based water-watchdog group AquAlliance, says groundwater depletion in the northern Sacramento Valley is one of the major potential impacts of the BDCP that its proponents have failed to consider. AquAlliance is among a coalition of environmental, fishing and farming groups suing to stop the BDCP, which it charges violates the California Environmental Quality Act and the Delta Reform Act. She also believes that further development of the river’s water-export system—if carried out recklessly—could spur the extinction of the chinook salmon.
  • DiFalco, at the Butte Environmental Council, says the conscious choices of farmers in the San Joaquin Valley have brought troubles upon themselves and the rest of the state.
  • “They’re planting permanent crops, like fruit orchards, in a desert,” she said. “Annual crops would make sense. That way you can fallow the land—grow when you’re able to and let the land go fallow in dry years. But they’re being foolhardy. They’re setting themselves up to need more water every year, and we shouldn’t sympathize with them for consciously making these decisions. “We need to retire some of that land,” she said.
  • By some opinions, the BDCP and its tunnels are just a scheme of selling away Northern California’s wealth, and losing an ecosystem in the process.
rdifalco

Sacramento Valley water transfer idea leaves locals fuming - Chico Enterprise Record - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...sfer-idea-leaves-locals-fuming

BEC water california Bureau of Reclamation transfer sacramento river

shared by rdifalco on 23 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • There's a plan for water transfers could move up to 511,000 acre-feet of water each year for the next 10 years from the Sacramento Valley to the San Joaquin Valley and the Bay Area.
  • The Bureau of Reclamation received a very clear message Tuesday night that people in the Sacramento Valley don't like that.
  • More than 100 people attended Tuesday's meeting in Chico.
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  • The document says that maximum would be allowed in dry and critically dry years, and up to 360,000 acre-feet during other years through 2024.
  • One of the alternatives in the plan is to not farm land in Northern California. "How about some crop idling in the area of (water) demand," Vlamis said.
  • Recent rules by the State Water Resources Control Board require local groups to create sustainable water budgets by 2022. Robyn DiFalco, director of the Butte Environmental Council (www.becnet.org) said it "seems clear the San Joaquin Valley proposes to balance their water budget with Sacramento Valley water."
becnews

See Lower Feather River salmon run - 1 views

www.redbluffdailynews.com/...lower-feather-river-salmon-run

BEC Chico Butte County water Community Citizen Science Series Lower Feather River salmon

shared by becnews on 29 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • Chico >> Butte Environmental Council will kick off its three-part Citizen Science Series Saturday with an On-Water Citizen Science Adventure. The council’s Watershed Program is partnering with the Forebay Aquatic Center and Outdoor Education for All to give a tour of the fall-run Chinook salmon in the Lower Feather River Watershed.
  • Last spring the Citizen Science Series highlighted the Big Chico Creek from the confluence of the Sacramento River to the forested spring headwaters. This fall series will feature other watersheds of Butte County, including an upcoming tour of Butte Creek Canyon.
  • The council’s Watershed Program seeks to protect and enhance the ecological integrity of watersheds throughout Butte County. The council is working on projects in the Big Chico Creek, Little Chico Creek, Butte Creek and Feather River Watersheds to foster watershed education, restore habitat, and advocate for responsible water management.
rdifalco

Field trips to explore Big Chico Creek - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...ips-to-explore-big-chico-creek

BEC Big Chico Creek sacramento river water watershed

shared by rdifalco on 13 Apr 15 - No Cached
  • Butte Environmental Council will host a scientific exploration of Big Chico Creek in a series of three field trips. The first outing will take place at the mouth of Big Chico Creek Sunday. Lucas Ross Merz of Sacramento River Preservation Trust and Jennifer Patten of Altacal Audubon Society will be the featured scientists.During the outings in April, May, and June participants will experience an upstream migration along Big Chico Creek; beginning at the confluence with the Sacramento River, through the valley and urban section, and ending with a hike to the forested spring headwaters. Each event will focus on the scientific wonders from two fields of study to deepen understanding and appreciation of the creek.The is a free event, however space is limited and participants need to register at www.becnet.org or call 891-6424.
ndcarter

Central Valley Business Times - 0 views

www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/...001

shared by ndcarter on 01 Feb 17 - No Cached
  • The Environmental Water Caucus, a group of more than 20 environmental organizations, has filed a lengthy list of objections to Gov. Edmund Gerald Brown Jr.’s plan to drain fresh water out of the Sacramento River before it could flow into the California Delta.
  • The Environmental Water Caucus includes the following organizations: AquAlliance; Butte Environmental Council; California Coastkeeper Alliance; California Save Our Streams Council; California Sportfishing Protection Alliance; California Striped Bass Association; California Water Impact Network (C-WIN); California Water Research Associates; Center for Biological Diversity; Citizens Water Watch; Clean Water Action; Desal Response Group; Earth Law Center; Environmental Justice Coalition for Water; Environmental Protection Information Center; Environmental Working Group; Food & Water Watch; Foothill Conservancy; Friends of the River; Karuk Tribe; Klamath Riverkeeper; North Coast Stream Flow Coalition; Northern California Council Federation of Fly Fishers; Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations; Planning and Conservation League; Restore the Delta; Sacramento River Preservation Trust; San Mateo County Democracy for America; Save the American River Association; Save the Bay Association; Sierra Club, California; Sierra Nevada Alliance; Southern California Watershed Alliance; the Bay Institute, and, Winnemem Wintu Tribe.
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - An ill-conceived legacy project - Guest Comment - Opinions - July... - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

BEC water peripheral canal Twin Tunnels BDCP

shared by rdifalco on 14 Jul 14 - No Cached
  • The northern Sacramento Valley faces a serious threat. Gov. Jerry Brown continues to push his twin tunnels project, under the guise of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. The plan proposes a pair of massive tunnels with design capacity sufficient to drain the Sacramento River in a dry year.
  • As Butte Environmental Council’s (BEC) water policy analyst representing North State communities, I reviewed and analyzed more than 40,000 pages of the plan’s description and environmental review documents. An increased, uncompromised water supply for south of Delta interests is the desire. Big Ag and Big Oil will get more water, you get the bill.
  • Proponents failed to disclose the true source of water (the Sacramento Valley), but water transfers are written all over this plan. In fact, 34 separate documents reference water transfers. Proponents failed to acknowledge the potential for environmental and social impacts to the areas of origin, but removing up to 1 million acre-feet of water surely would have significant impacts. And, proponents failed to disclose the amount of groundwater that will increase water flow through the tunnels.
rdifalco

Row on the creek - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

BEC Chico Glenn County Butte County water Stony Creek creeks waste recycling landfill toxics

shared by rdifalco on 28 Jan 16 - No Cached
  • rdifalco on 28 Jan 16
     
    Critics blast environmental review of proposed waste conversion facility along Glenn County waterway The watchdogs at Butte Environmental Council usually keep guard close to home, but occasionally they'll look beyond Chico's backyard. "Environmental issues don't stop at the county line," said Executive Director Robyn DiFalco. "We tend to look beyond our borders at least a little bit to see if our community will be affected." She believes that's the case with the proposed Glenn County Solid Waste Conversion Facility about 3 miles west of Hamilton City, which would sort and recycle up to 200 tons of material a day and convert biodegradable substances into biogas. According to the project's Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR), the goal is to divert and recycle up to 70 percent of the county's municipal solid waste from the landfill. And that's been a problem; the county's landfill near Artois has been pushing capacity for years and is set to close in December. What's caught BEC's attention? It's mostly a matter of location. The facility would be constructed along the northern bank of Stony Creek, which feeds into the Sacramento River and the Tuscan Aquifer, the vast underground reservoir that provides drinking water for residents in Glenn County and nearby communities-including Chico.
rdifalco

Aquafornia - 1 views

www.aquafornia.com/...76817

BEC EWC water peripheral canal BDCP

shared by rdifalco on 04 Dec 12 - No Cached
  • “A spokesman for the Environmental Water Caucus took a few verbal swipes at the Bay Delta Conservation Project (BDCP) during a November 29 Public Meeting in Sacramento. Nick Di Croce, one of the facilitators for the Caucus, indicated that most of the environmental organizations that make up the Caucus are opposed to the proposed tunnels or any other peripheral conveyance intended to divert Sacramento River water under or around the Delta. He characterized BDCP as an “impending environmental and financial disaster whose costs and unsettled financing are going to bury the tunnel-oriented project.” He indicated that his organization has questioned the Interior Department and the California Resources Department on what the real costs of fixing the Delta are, who is really going to pay for the project, and where the water is going to come from. Their questions have not been answered. … “
rdifalco

Alternative to the tunnels - Editorial - Opinions - February 7, 2013 - 1 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

chico peripheral canal water

shared by rdifalco on 08 Feb 13 - No Cached
  • There’s an easier, cheaper, less destructive way to meet the state’s water needs This article was published on 02.07.13.
  • Most of the proposals Gov. Jerry Brown put forth in his State of the State speech Jan. 24 were welcomed by most of the lawmakers in his audience. Only one item ran into serious opposition in the hours and days following the speech: the proposal to construct two huge—and hugely expensive—35-mile-long “peripheral tunnels” under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to ship Northern California water south. Different entities—Bay Area water districts, environmentalists, Delta counties, fishing groups—have different reasons for opposing the tunnels. Residents of Northern California, those of us who live where the water is generated, fear that it will divert so much Sacramento River water south that farmers will be forced to use more and more groundwater for irrigation, sucking dry the Tuscan aquifer.
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - A $7 billion blunder? - Feature Story - Local Stories - October 2... - 0 views

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BEC water california bond Sites Resevoir

shared by rdifalco on 23 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • Local environmental groups, including the Butte Environmental Council, AquAlliance, the Sacramento River Preservation Trust, Chico Conservation Voters and Friends of Butte Creek have come out against the proposition. So, too, have fishing groups and others worried about the impacts on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the state’s fishery.
  • BEC officials note Prop. 1 includes some worthwhile components, such as water conservation and funding for restoring watersheds, but the bond promotes north-to-south water transfers via purchase at a time when existing water rights exceed the actual supply of water by a 5-to-1 ratio. The bond, as BEC points out, does not create more water.
  • Perkins studied the potential impacts the proposition, including the construction of Sites Reservoir, would have on Northern California groundwater resources.
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  • Carol Perkins, BEC’s water policy advocate, says the bond doesn’t address the urgent nature of the issue. “We need immediate solutions like recycling and efficiency improvements,” she said, “not borrowing now to purchase water and shift the burden to our children and grandchildren.”
  • Above-ground storage facilities do not offer much in the way of new water, her study notes, though Sites could increase the existing supply by 1 percent. On the other hand, at least 30 percent of the surface water in the state is known to evaporate or be lost to infiltration back into the ground, which means “groundwater storage will be the ‘wave’ of the future.”
  • She said $520 million would be allocated for organizations to compete for clean-water and waste-water infrastructure projects. “That money would be set aside for competitive grants,” Perkins said, “which means it goes to the savvy, well-funded organizations instead of the smaller communities without county or district water departments.
  • Perkins said the bond also provides hundreds of millions for water conservancies, and that those monies would not be dispersed on a level plane. For instance, she noted the conservancy in L.A. County’s Baldwin Park would receive $10 million for its 2,038 acres of land, which equates to $4,906 per acre. On the other hand, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, which provides 60 percent of the state’s water supply, would receive $25 million for its 42 million acres, or 59 cents per acre. “Los Angeles is getting a lot of money and so [statewide] environmental organizations like the Audubon Society and the Nature Conservancy are for [Prop. 1] because it means more money for them,” Perkins said. “We’ve had $20 billion set aside in taxes and interest since 2000 and we still have water problems. The money gets put aside, but is not being spent where it needs to be spent.”
  • rdifalco on 23 Oct 14
     
    Environmental groups say water proposition is no panacea
rdifalco

Code Blue water series hosted by BEC kicks off tonight - Chico Enterprise Record - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...ter-series-hosted-by-bec-kicks

water BEC code blue

shared by rdifalco on 19 Sep 13 - No Cached
  • CHICO — The next round of the Code Blue water series, hosted by the Butte Environmental Council, begins tonight with a one-hour "action" meeting about the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. The Code Blue series kicked off in February, and six events remain after its summer break. Several additional events are planned through November, including a rain barrel workshop and delta tour.
  • Better alternatives exist, DiFalco said, than the concept to use tunnels to transfer water from the Sacramento River to the Southern Central Valley. "Let's not let Gov. Brown's tunnels be the only things being considered," she said.
  • The Oct. 17 discussion will feature fracking, which is fracturing of rock to extract gas and oil. "We are gathering details about fracking in Butte County, and citizens are getting ready for a (statewide ballot provision) for 2014," DiFalco said. Sutter and Glenn counties have the largest amount of fracking activity in the area, primarily natural gas, she said.
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  • People who are "inspired and want to learn more can keep coming to workshops. Those people can grow in their level of experience and understanding," she said. Other events include an eye-level tour of the delta, a gray water demonstration by homeowner Tim Elliott showcasing a washing-machine-to-garden system, and Nani Teves explaining a rain barrel water catchment system. To watch for these events, bookmark: http://www.becnet.org/code-blue-2013-water-outreach-campaign.
  • Music to help BEC To fundraise for its advocacy efforts, BEC is hosting a Land Air Water benefit concert series. The series starts at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at the GRUB Cooperative, 1525 Dayton Road. The show starts with John Craigie, Pat Hull and Scott Itamura. Wiskerman and Low Flying Birds will play at the Chico Women's Club on Oct. 24, and Bumpet also will play at the club Nov. 14. Cost is $15 per show at Chico Natural Foods, Empire Coffee, the BEC office and www.becnet.org, and $17 at the door.
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Tunnel opposition - Downstroke - Local Stories - December 12, 2013 - 0 views

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BEC peripheral canal water delta BDCP

shared by rdifalco on 20 Dec 13 - No Cached
  • Opponents react to Bay Delta Conservation Plan report
  • This article was published on 12.12.13.
  • Opponents of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, Gov. Jerry Brown’s push for two tunnels to funnel North State water south, were quick to react to the release of the plan’s environmental reports this week. A statewide group called Californians for a Fair Water Policy, whose membership includes the local water watchdogs AquAlliance and the Butte Environmental Council, has launched a statewide campaign opposing the plan.
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  • “There is little doubt that the massive tunnels will drain the Sacramento River and North State aquifers, diminish vital flows into the already stressed Delta, further stress native salmon runs, and destroy 150-year-old family farms to benefit unsustainable corporate agribusiness in the southern San Joaquin Valley,” said Barbara Vlamis, executive director of AquAlliance, in a press release.
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Editors' picks 2014 - Feature Story - Local Stories - October 16,... - 0 views

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BEC chico water Bidwell Park creeks trash recycling volunteers

shared by rdifalco on 23 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • Best cleansing of the creeks BEC’s Big Chico Creek Cleanup The sheer amount of garbage pulled out of Chico’s waterways during the cleanup on Sept. 20 was mind-boggling (nearly 20 tons!), and we’re thankful an organization like the Butte Environmental Council was around to organize it. We’re also thankful that so many community members (nearly 450!) volunteered to help the cause. The effort has never been more important, because our creeks were more littered with trash than ever before. (This year’s haul almost doubled the previous record.) And trash littering the banks of our creeks is more than gross and unattractive; our refuse floats downstream, harming aquatic habitats in the Sacramento River and eventually the Pacific Ocean. So, cheers to BEC and the volunteers who diverted that stuff to the landfill. The community and its waterways are much better for it.
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