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advocacy consultant Nani Teves

Butte County General Plan, new zoning ordinances and their environmental impacts.

county representatives: Tim Snellings, director of development services, and Dan Breedon, principal planner.

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.

This article was published on 03.13.14.

Of all the toxins confronting people daily, endocrine disruptors rank among the most insidious. These chemicals can have stealth effects—not only impacting the hormones of those exposed, but also creating a genetic legacy that can continue for generations.

Lane refers to endocrine disruptors as “legacy constituents,” and Julia Murphy, a dioxin expert at the Butte Environmental Council, adds that they are “persistent through generations.” Murphy says these chemicals act as “a system disruptor rather than a body disruptor,” meaning they trigger wide-ranging changes that can be heritable—passed on genetically to children, grandchildren, and on down. In addition, the compounds are relatively stable, so they can remain potent for decades.

BEC board boss says thanks! On the heels of the Butte Environmental Council’s recent gala fundraiser and awards ceremony honoring local environmentalists Wes Dempsey, Dave Garcia, and Susan and Stephen Tchudi (see “BEC bestows honors,” Earthwatch, Oct. 24), BEC board chairman Mark Stemen wanted to extend his appreciation to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office for helping close down the dioxin-spewing Pacific Oroville Power Inc. (POPI) co-generation plant in south Oroville, and also to thank CN&R News Editor Tom Gascoyne for his coverage related to that controversial plant.

Don’t forget Anti-GMO activist Pamm Larry wanted me to remind folks of the Uniting Generations for Action community-building event on Nov. 2 at Trinity United Methodist Church (285 E. Fifth St.), from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (See “Let us unite,” Guest comment, Oct. 24). “This will be an unforgettable event and a prime opportunity to pair new activists with longstanding organizations and individuals,” said Larry in an email. Go to www.facebook.com/events/397543767021567 for a schedule of events.

OROVILLE >> No new oil or gas wells have been drilled in Butte County in more than two decades, and nobody has ever sought permission to conduct a "fracking" operation, but if anybody ever does ask it looks like the answer will be "no." Tuesday the Board of Supervisors voted to have county staff prepare an ordinance that bans fracking.

Documents prepared by county staff for Tuesday's meeting described fracking as "a common term for hydraulic fracturing that is a technique of well stimulation used to increase petroleum production,"

At request from the county's Water Commission, the supervisors were asked to adopt and ordinance that would require a conditional use permit before a fracking operation could take place within county jurisdiction. In introducing the proposal, Paul Gosselin, director of the county Department of Water and Resource Conservation, said the procedure "has raised controversy and concern about environmental impacts, water, and seismic activity."

The city hasn’t forgotten about its Climate Action Plan

This article was published on 04.17.14.

In November 2012, the Chico City Council put its official stamp on sustainability by adopting a municipal Climate Action Plan. The blueprint, honed by the city’s Sustainability Task Force, laid out a two-stage approach for addressing the impacts of climate change and meeting greenhouse-gas standards established by the state.

Oroville >> After a relatively brief public hearing Tuesday, the Butte County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance that would ban the storage or disposal of fracking waste within the county.The vote regarding the waste generated by injecting fluids into the ground to stimulate oil and natural gas production was 4-1.

The ordinance defines key fracking terms, creates a land-use category about storing or disposing fracking waste or byproduct and then bans such storage and disposal within the county.

Six of the seven members of the public that commented on the proposal openly supported the ordinance. Members of the Butte Environmental Council and Frack-Free Butte County spoke.

Oroville >> The Butte County Planning Commission has recommended changes to how close new houses may get to orchards and vineyards within residentially zoned areas.

The commission voted 4-1 last week to approve clarifying that a 300-foot buffer between agriculture and houses applies to agriculturally zoned lands. In residential areas, the commission backed a minimum 25-foot setback between houses and orchards or vineyards, although the policy calls for houses to located as far away as practicable.

Robin DiFalco of the Butte Environmental Council said she generally supported the final revisions. She backed having public hearings and making setbacks be as great as is practicable, which may reduce land use conflicts and was good land use policy.

When it comes to meeting the goals of the city’s Climate Action Plan, Stemen said, “Chico was on target to meet its previous goals, and then came the Camp Fire.”

There is general agreement, however, that around-the-clock restrooms are needed. Gustafson’s agenda report recommends that the city “identify funding for two portable restroom systems” and continue discussions with the Butte County Association of Governments for future grants to obtain a Portland Loo, a more sophisticated outdoor restroom. Again, about a dozen people spoke to this matter. Nearly all agreed with the recommendations, but several felt they were overly focused on downtown when there was a similar need in other places. And two portables simply aren’t enough, they said. One of them was Angel Gomez, of the Butte Environmental Council. More portables are needed, she said, “especially along waterways near homeless camps,” where human feces is getting into the creeks and posing a serious public health threat.

CHICO — Water exports and the Sacramento Valley will be the topic of a discussion tonight, 5:30-7 p.m. at the Chico Branch Library, 1103 Sherman Ave. Guest presenters include: * Ashley Indrieri, executive director of the Family Water Alliance, in Maxwell, a coalition that focuses on private property rights, agriculture, and "a balance between man and nature." * Carol Perkins, water policy advocate for Butte Environmental Council, whose mission is "to protect and defend the land, air and water of Butte County and the surrounding region."

The event is part of Code Blue, a series organized by the Butte Environmental Council to generate discussion about water issues developing in Northern California.

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.

In January, dogged tree activist Charles Withuhn continued his effort to replenish the urban forest by offering free trees to the public through his organization, Chico Tree Advocates. “What makes me grateful to live here is not the bushes. It’s these towering giants that have been here since Annie Bidwell, and they’re not being replaced,” he told CN&R.

On March 1, Natalie Carter stepped down from her post as general manager at the Chico Certified Farmers’ Market to take the reins as executive director of Butte Environmental Council.

In the June primary, Butte County voters showed their overwhelming support for banning hydraulic fracturing locally: Measure E, sponsored by local group Frack-Free Butte County, won by 71.5 percent of the vote.

Natalie Carter, executive director of the Butte Environmental Council, also sees benefit from deliberation. Noting that the BRCP’s 50-year term exceeds the general plans of both Butte County and Chico, she says, “it’s smart to be cautious about these kinds of things—thoughtful and evaluative.”

On the BRCP overall, Carter said, “the concept and the core of it is a really strong thing, and wonderful. It’s a remarkable effort that should be appreciated by our community.”

The annual event is hosted by the Butte Environmental Council as a way to share information about the environment and promote the protection of endangered species.

It rained for the entire four hours the group was setting up their booths, but once 11 a.m. rolled around, the skies were mostly clear, BEC executive director Natalie Carter said.

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

the new community garden on Humboldt Ave. (at El Monte) has a lot of open space.

Butte Environmental Council

People who show up at the garden have built enviable raised beds and a tarpless tee-pee for beans. A work day is planned for 8 am. (when its cool) until noon Saturday. BEC executive director Robyn DiFalco said they'll be planting ornamentals and generally moving dirt around. You can also show up and decide if you want to rent your own garden plot, which starts at $25 to pay for water and insurance.