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John Scott was recently appointed to the nine-member Butte County Water Commission. He'll take the seat of Mark Kimmelshue, who served on the commission for the past 16 years, including serving as commission chair. The decision was made at the most recent meeting of the Board of Supervisors, with supervisors Doug Teeter, Maureen Kirk and Bill Connelly voting for the change.

Scott has been a regular attendee of the meetings of the Water Commission and has championed the cause of groundwater protection for Butte Valley, near Butte College. He has been a member of the board of directors of the Butte Environmental Council since 2009: www.becnet.org/board-directors. Of the nine seats on the Water Commission, five are appointed by members of the Board of Supervisors. Four seats are "at large," including two that are filled by people who use groundwater. Scott will take over a four-year term for an "at large" groundwater position.

CHICO — Code Blue will be taking a road trip to the delta. People who follow water issues will meet at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Park and Ride on Highway 32 to carpool to the estuary. The trip is hosted by the Butte Environmental Council. For more information: http://www.becnet.org/code-blue-2013-water-outreach-campaign The trip is free, but the organizers would like people to sign up for planning purposes, nanibay@hotmail.com or (530) 891-6424.

Prop 67, the measure that would ensure a ban in every city and require stores to charge 10 cents for paper bags. The Butte Environmental Council Executive Director says we still have a lot of work to do. "In the United States, we use more than a billion plastic bags a year and less than one percent of them are recycled,” said Natalie Carter. “The rest of them end up in landfills and take more than a thousand years to degrade."

City Councilmember Randall Stone says our county needs to protect our numerous creeks, streams and rivers. "We have plastic bags going into those creeks and streams it requires us to clean that space up that costs a tremendous amount of money for the city of Chico in volunteer time as well as staff and waste time,” he said.

Katie Beeson, Butte Environmental Council business manager, said the nonprofit is creating a craft project with recycled materials at its office downtown all day in recognition of the movement.

“As Giving Tuesday becomes more popular,” said Beeson, “we’re hoping that Chico can really become a place on the map for local giving back.”

“BEC is a great example of a nonprofit making a real difference in their community,” said Perla Ni, CEO of GreatNonprofits, in a press release.

“We are so proud of our many accomplishments this year, including our 29th annual Bidwell Park and Chico Creeks Cleanup event that brought out more than 500 community volunteers who cleaned over four tons of waste and recyclables from our local creeks.”

Engangered Species Fair runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the group picnic area at One-Mile Recreation Area in lower Bidwell Park. The 37th annual event is put on by the Butte Environmental Council and is free.

The theme is “Back from the Brink” which celebrates the removal of three species from the endangered species list, including the gray wolf, bald eagle and maguire daisy. Highlights include an eco-scavenger hunt, free vegetable starts, a raffle and a puppet parade featuring papier mache puppets made by local elementary students.

I can not believe that the Butte County Department of Development Services has the audacity to come up with a plan to reduce the agricultural buffer in Butte County, and it is not just along the greenline. The proposed ordinance will allow developers to be able to ask for a reduction to the proposed agricultural setback from farming operations to as little as 25 feet.The long standing 300-foot buffer is there for a reason. It is the minimum setback that hopefully will protect the public’s health and well-being. This proposed ordinance is so outrageous that it prohibits and exempts the homeowners affected from even being able to sue for damages if they are harmed. Where are the Butte County department heads of Public Health and Services that are paid to protect and serve the health and well-being of the citizens of Butte County? They must speak out to protect the people of Butte County for generations to come.This proposed ordinance goes before the Butte County Planning Commission at 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 22.This proposed ordinance is a violation of the ‘public trust doctrine’.— John Scott, Butte Valley

Oroville >> The Butte County Planning Commission has delayed making a recommendation on altering how a 300-foot agricultural buffer applies in residential areas.

The county’s current rules call for the agricultural buffer to apply next to properties with agricultural use, which may include properties zoned as residential. The proposal would limit this buffer to development next to agriculturally zoned properties, although an amendment would allow people to use their residential, commercial and industrial properties an acre or larger for farming and grazing.

John Scott said the proposal was a violation of the public’s trust as eliminating the buffer could expose residents to sprayed pesticides that drift onto their properties. He said the Development Services Department was working to bring in money from development at the risk of others. “Inappropriate development should not drive this ordinance,” Scott said.

The Biological Sciences Outreach Committee put on its second biology career fair at Chico State.

Becky Holden from Butte Environmental Council answers questions from a student.

A public forum about where our water comes from and where it goes during — H20 Origins — is planned 6-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, in Room 111 of the new Arts and Humanities building at Chico State University.

Becky Holden, assistant director of the Butte Environmental Council, will lead the forum, part of a larger monthly education series

BEC tests: Dioxin levels remain high in some areas of south Oroville

Preliminary results indicate that dioxin levels are still high in some areas of south Oroville, 25 years after a large fire at the Koppers Wood Treatment Facility, according to the Butte Environmental Council, even though the average overall levels appear to have decreased.

dioxin in eggs of chickens

OROVILLE — A group of citizens don't like fracking and they don't want fracking in Butte County. Their goal is to have Butte County voters decide whether the practice will be allowed. Members of Citizens Action Network made their point Wednesday at a meeting of the Water Commission. They took turns at the podium to ask commissioners to put fracking on a future agenda.

Carol Perkins of the Butte Environmental Council said there are 260 natural gas wells that have "been pumped dry and are now plugged." "As natural gas prices increase, could these wells be reinvigorated without proper environmental review?" Perkins asked. "Little is known and there isn't much oversight," she said.

County supervisors wise to institute fracking ban I wanted to thank Supervisors Steve Lambert, Doug Teeter, Bill Connelly and Maureen Kirk for their vote in favor of a ban on fracking (hydraulic fracturing) in Butte County. They all demonstrated a willingness to learn about the issue and to consider the impact on our community that a fracking boom could have. Most importantly, they were willing to vote to protect the beauty, bounty and public health of our community.

Volunteer tree watering in Upper Bidwell Park: 8:15-11 a.m. Resources, including buckets, hose and water provided. Meet at North Rim Trail parking lot. Wear sturdy shoes and be able to carry a gallon of water from a truck to seedlings (5-10 yards). Butte Environmental Council planted 100 blue oak acorns last fall, and help watering is needed to assure their survival. For information or to schedule a group, Becky Holden, beckyh@becnet.org. Weekly through August.