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rdifalco

On the chopping block - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

BEC Chico trees Community PG&E

shared by rdifalco on 27 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • rdifalco on 27 Oct 15
     
    PG&E meets the public, offers to replace trees slated for removal along pipeline Last February, tree advocates' attempts to save several century-old sycamores from PG&E chainsaws ended in a tense, days-long standoff, police intervention and the eventual removal of the stately giants from where they stood outside of the Oroville Cemetery. It also caused a public relations nightmare for PG&E and its Pipeline Pathways project, the energy company's effort to remove trees, vegetation and structures along 6,750 miles of natural gas pipelines throughout the state for safety, maintenance and access purposes. With similar work planned to remove 33 trees from a mile-long swath in south Chico near Comanche Creek, PG&E is hoping to avoid troubles like those in Oroville, and sent a representative to the city's Bidwell Park and Playground Commission meeting on Monday (Aug. 31) to hear public comment and make an offer to mitigate the loss of the trees. BEC Executive Director Robyn DiFalco was the first person to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting. She lauded the power company for reaching out and offering to plant replacements, but also urged caution as the city moves forward.
rdifalco

Butte County, PG&E emphasize need for communication with future tree removals - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...tion-with-future-tree-removals

BEC tree Butte County Oroville chico

shared by rdifalco on 10 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • Flowers placed on a stump of a tree removed by PG&E at the Oroville Cemetery as part of the utility’s Pathways Pipeline Project. As the tree-removal work continues in Butte County, efforts are be made to avoid or ease the controversy that happened in Oroville.
  • Chico >> No one wants another Oroville tree fiasco.Butte County, PG&E and other stakeholders are working together to try to prevent another controversy surrounding tree removals planned to take place around Chico as part of the Pathways Pipeline Project. Final tree removal numbers and locations have not been established but both the county and PG&E pledge that communication is a critical factor.
  • “We are very hopeful we can have a collaborative process and the public can be very informed,” said Paul Hahn, Butte County’s chief administrative officer. “There will be no quick decisions and trees are not going to just start disappearing.”
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • The eventual removal of about 15 trees on Feather River Boulevard in front of the Oroville Cemetery was the subject of months of protests by citizens. The protest began in late November, with PG&E insisting the project was necessary for safety and access to its high-pressure gas-transmission line, and protesters arguing the trees were not a risk and strapping themselves to trees to protect them.
  • In all, 240 trees were removed in Oroville as part of the Pipeline Pathways Project. Tree removals in Paradise are next on the list for the Butte County area, although some trees in and near Chico have also been identified.
  • Conversations about planned tree removals have included Butte County supervisors, Sheriff Kory Honea and Public Works Director Mike Crump, as well as representatives from Butte Environmental Council, which is particularly concerned with the tree replacement plan.On Friday, BEC members met with PG&E and discussed 62 trees to be removed in the Comanche Creek greenway, including some sizeable oaks. PG&E agreed to follow Chico tree protection and mitigation guidelines, which could involve planting 150 trees to replace those to be removed, said BEC board member Mark Stemen.
  • “We stated in no uncertain terms that we are not issuing any permits for tree removal within the county until we have had a robust public process, including some of the neighbors’ involvement and the Board of Supervisors, possibly,” Hahn said.
  • “We will be open to listening. I think none of us want a repeat of what happened in Oroville.”
rdifalco

PG&E proposes removal of 33 trees in Chico - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...s-removal-of-33-trees-in-chico

BEC trees chico removal PG&E

shared by rdifalco on 02 Sep 15 - No Cached
  • Chico >> PG&E intends to remove 33 trees, all on private property, as a safety measure in south Chico, but questioning by the public and the Bidwell Park and Playground Commission shed light on the process and reasoning. At a Monday forum held at the Park Commission’s meeting, PG&E representatives explained why the removals were necessary
  • PG&E shared a list of about 86 trees that were near the pipeline, but after a tree-by-tree inspection including city staff, nearby residents and representatives of Butte Environmental Council, acknowledged that all but 33 trees could stay but be watched.
  • Robyn DiFalco of BEC asked the Park Commission to “... make sure that every tree removed is justified and asked for another meeting on PG&E’s replacement plan. Commissioners wanted to know about incidences of pipe leaks in Chico, but Wilson and other PG&E representatives there Monday did not have that information. They also wanted to know more about what the access actually meant, and could there be negotiations on the list of trees to be removed.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Attorney Richard Harriman of Chico said everything should be written into an agreement, and Emily Alma asked the Park Commission to advocate for the trees.
rdifalco

PG&E uses site tour to demonstrate need for pipeline tree removals - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...eed-for-pipeline-tree-removals

BEC chico tree removals pipeline

shared by rdifalco on 23 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • Nestled underground, below a mix of trees and brush, lies a 10-inch natural gas pipeline, installed in 1954. Little has been done to maintain it in recent decades, but Pacific Gas & Electric is trying to remedy that with an aggressive plan to remove trees and vegetation around the line and others throughout the state, said spokesperson Shaun Maccoun.
  • “You look at this little valley oak right now and it doesn’t look like much, but it’s very ominous,” said Joey Perez, senior land consultant. “And it’s going to get bigger ... When I consider the safety risk, these trees were doomed from the start.”
  • Robyn Difalco, executive director of Butte Environmental Council, said being able to see the actual project gave her perspective and context, and she retains hope for saving some of the larger trees.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • “It’s a really beautiful area with thriving oaks of all ages and I was left with a sense that this is a place that can continue to thrive, but it’s a shame for so many oaks to be affected,” she said. “I also felt that PG&E seems willing to work with the community and put together some decent plans to remediate and mitigate for the impact that their project will have.”
  • PG&E doubts most people will be affected by the removed vegetation and it will be replanting in other appropriate areas, with one or perhaps two new trees for every one removed, Perez said.
  • PG&E’s focus on the visual impact of the trees is not enough, DiFalco said. Carbon sequestration, habitat and other factors are also critical, especially in an area where oaks are naturally regenerating.“It’s not surprising that PG&E as a corporation doesn’t entirely recognize the full ecological value of these trees,” she said. “That is what concerns us.”
rdifalco

Oroville marks anniversary of tree removal from in front of cemetery - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...160209804

BEC Oroville tree PG&E

shared by rdifalco on 08 Feb 16 - No Cached
  • Oroville >> Marking the one-year anniversary of the removal of trees from in front of Oroville Cemetery, community members lamented the loss of the elder trees but celebrated coming together.Pastor Kevin Thompson told the group of 65 people that had gathered on the Feather River Boulevard sidewalk that the trees didn’t have to come down.“When you look at the before and after photos, our hearts truly break at what took place,” Thompson said.The last of 13 elder sycamore and elm trees were removed on Feb. 5, 2015, ending more than two months of protests against the removal led by the community group Save Oroville Trees. Efforts included protests, occupying the site and seeking relief from court, but PG&E ultimately prevailed.
  • Robyn DiFalco, the outgoing executive director of the Butte Environmental Council, said she was proud that Oroville residents mobilized in the face of the tree removal. She said their actions led to few trees being removed in Chico and along the Midway north of Durham and PG&E agreed to help pay to maintain replacement trees.
dkeeley1

PG&E plans removal of 32 Midway trees - 1 views

www.orovillemr.com/...ans-removal-of-32-midway-trees

BEC chico trees removal pge Butte County Community

shared by dkeeley1 on 30 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • Mark Stemen of Butte Environmental Council said his group is “very pleased” with the plan, and has been working for about the last year and a half on Chico tree issues. BEC also worked with PG&E on the replacement of trees north of Hegan Lane near the pipeline.
  • Smith said PG&E has been working more carefully with communities over tree removals, noting a change in its approach.
ndcarter

Butte County supervisors OK PG&E tree removal from Midway bike path - 0 views

www.orovillemr.com/...-removal-from-midway-bike-path

shared by ndcarter on 11 May 16 - No Cached
  • As part of the process, the utility has pledged to plant 64 new trees along the Midway roadway itself. These mostly native species of plants will build and enhance the Midway’s distinctive tree canopy, according to PG&E public affairs manager Joe Wilson.
  • The utility consulted with the county, the resource district and the Butte Environmental Council on its Midway plan.
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Hit the road, frack - News - Local Stories - April 10, 2014 - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

BEC fracking water Butte County

shared by rdifalco on 11 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • County supervisors move to ban controversial gas extraction method
  • This article was published on 04.10.14.
  • The controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing to extract underground oil and gas reserves is well on the way to getting banned in Butte County. On Tuesday (April 8), the Board of Supervisors voted in favor of moving forward on crafting a zoning ordinance, as recommended by the county water commission, that would require a use permit for the practice that is more commonly known as fracking.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Robyn DiFalco, executive director of the Butte Environmental Council. “A year ago many of us did not know fracking was taking place so extensively in California and we started to wonder about the concern here locally,” she said. “The point I’d like to make today is that there is an imminent threat from fracking in our region and Butte County.”
  • She said many of the 200 inactive wells have the potential to be stimulated for production via fracking. When the supervisors took up the discussion, Lambert mentioned the environmental disaster that had taken place in the tiny Mojave Desert town of Hinkley, which led to a total of $628 million in settlements from Pacific Gas & Electric and the basis of the movie Erin Brockovich.
  • Lambert said his cousin had died as a result of exposure to hexavalent chromium, which was used in PG&E cooling towers that the company employed in the transmission of natural gas beginning in 1952 and ending in 1966.
  • After the meeting, DiFalco said she was happy with the outcome.
  • “We are very excited and a little bit surprised,” she said. “When we began the effort, it seemed like for the supervisors a ban would not be politically acceptable. We had met with the supervisors over the past year to help them understand the practice.” She said Gosselin had asked her to head up the effort to draft the language of the proposed ordinance.
rdifalco

Letter: Oroville residents need to speak out for trees - 1 views

www.chicoer.com/...ts-need-to-speak-out-for-trees

Oroville trees

shared by rdifalco on 22 Jan 15 - No Cached
  • Oroville residents need to speak out for treesSeveral of us gathered at Oroville Cemetery last Friday morning. Under old sycamores that have stood for four generations, Bill Caspers played “Amazing Grace” on his bagpipes. I had tears in my eyes. Not just because he plays beautifully, but because of my friend’s reaction.
  • Hellen Dennis sat in her wheelchair beneath an umbrella in the cold rain and cried. She felt Bill was “playing for the trees.” She and others from Save Oroville Trees have been on watch by the sycamores for two months. She’s there from 5:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. No matter the weather, she sits in her wheelchair waving at passersby. Every day. SOT members have spoken at two City Council meetings. The mayor and council members have not been moved by our pleadings, and PG&E will cut those trees if the encroachment permit isn’t rescinded.
  • rdifalco on 22 Jan 15
     
    BEC is now acting as fiscal sponsor for Save Oroville Trees.
ndcarter

Tree plantings this week celebrate Arbor Day in Chico - Oroville Mercury-Register - 0 views

www.orovillemr.com/...k-celebrate-arbor-day-in-chico

shared by ndcarter on 24 Apr 19 - No Cached
  • The public event will be 9 a.m. Saturday in lower Bidwell Park. Volunteers from Chico State, Butte Environmental Council and PG&E will be planting 60 valley oaks and red buds. Meet at Sycamore Street and Woodland Avenue.
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