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A majority on the Butte County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to draft an ordinance that would ban fracking, a step that could place this county at the vanguard of a grass-roots movement to halt the practice.  In a surprisingly unscripted move, the supervisors voted 4-1 to consider a comprehensive fracking ban after county staffers research how best this can be done. The vote was applauded by dozens of anti-fracking activists, many of whom had spoken in favor of the more moderate measure that was on the agenda - a recommendation the county amend its zoning code to ensure local oversight of fracking projects.  Some speakers at the Tuesday meeting, though, said they weren't confident the state has the resources or will to protect local aquifers and air quality from fracking operations. And Robyn DiFalco, executive director of the Butte Environmental Council, warned that new drilling techniques are making "smaller pockets" of gas - like those in Butte County - "more viable."  "With a price shift there could be a boom here," DiFalco said.

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.

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.

Butte Environmental Council will soon say goodbye to Robyn DiFalco, who is stepping down after four years as executive director of the environmental nonprofit. DiFalco (pictured) cited personal reasons for leaving, including spending more time with family. DiFalco's last day isn't set in stone, as she'll stick around to ensure her successor's smooth transition. The plan, DiFalco said, is to select a candidate by the end of February and make the change in March. "I care very passionately about BEC, about our work and all the people that I've worked with," DiFalco said. "I will continue to be involved with the organization, I just won't be a director. I'll be a community volunteer and I will continue to be passionate about our issues."

Stemen said the board values the connections Carter has made in the community and local government, particularly during the farmers' market's fight to retain its Saturday morning location at the city-owned parking lot at Second and Wall streets. While she may not have expertise on every issue or contacts in every jurisdiction BEC works, board members do-and the board doesn't expect Carter to chart BEC's course alone. "We're right where we want to be as an organization," Stemen said. "We want to do what we're doing better, and we want to do what we're doing more, but I don't think we really need to change anything-and I think Natalie fits right into that." "I was excessively fortunate that I got my first two weeks [overlapping] with Robyn," Carter said. "That was the perfect introduction to this."

Some familiar local faces and places will be beamed across the airwaves Saturday during a half-hour program about water on Channel 9, KIXE in Redding. The show, "The Biggest Book Club in the North State: Reading Water" airs at 8 p.m. The community has been talking about water issues for the past year, through the Community Book in Common. The book was "Unquenchable," by Robert Glennon. For two semesters at Chico State University, forums were held with water as the featured topic and students took part in a series of debates and presentations.