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Monday, 29 March 2010 18:00

AWA Discussion of GSL Asks Why Do GSL

Amador County – The Amador County Water Agency board heard 2 different staff reports last week on the estimated $13 million Gravity Supply Line for Upcountry water customers. One report attempted to answer the question: Why do this at all? Interim Engineering Manager Erik Christeson said 2 independent engineering studies and 1 internal study found the GSL was the best plan to create greater water reliability and quality. The project would build a gravity-flow pipeline to feed the Buckhorn Water Treatment Plant. AWA President Bill Condrashoff worried about the reliability of source water, the Tiger Creek regulator bay. Interim General Manger Gene Mancebo said the reservoir has not been seen “dry” in 20 years, and they could “pressure the tunnel” to force GSL flow, if needed. In public comment, David Evitt said the AWA should instead be considering solar power at the existing pump stations. Christeson said 3 solar contractors agreed with a staff recommendation to “not proceed” with a Central Amador Water Project site to “offset pump station energy requirements.” The consultant also agreed with staff recommendation to place solar power panels at the Tanner plant site. An extensive solar panel project at Tanner was shelved by the board last year, along with a project to expand the Amador Water System. Christeson said the Gravity Supply Line “conserves more fossil fuels, reduces more environmental pollutants, eliminates more carbon emissions and is more environmentally friendly than any proposed solar project.” He said staff found a possible USDA grant of 25 percent, with a 75 percent loan to fund pump station upgrades, but it would “not correct health or sanitary issues.” Condrashoff worried about failure of the existing system when it becomes backup to the GSL, and the plan included no money to keep up the pump system. Christeson said the pumps would cost $20,000 for electricity annually as backups. Director Don Cooper said the “wonderful thing” is having lots of options, including replacing electricity for the pumps with diesel engines. Mancebo said the “pump station is the contingency plan,” and “won’t be used as it is now.” The pump system now has no backup, besides trucking in generators to the 2 pumps. Director Gary Thomas said the pump pipeline has about 1,500 days of life left, and AWA can “select when to use them.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in Water

Monday, 29 March 2010 18:00

Buena Vista Biomass Power SEIR Scoping Wednesday

Amador County – Amador County Planning Department hosts a scoping meeting Wednesday for a Subsequent Environmental Impact Report on a possible use permit change for the former Cogen plant on Coal Mine Road near Ione. Earlier this month, the county Technical Advisory Committee found that a Subsequent EIR would be required for Buena Vista Biomass Power in its efforts to change operations at the former wax plant, to convert it to a power plant, burning only woody “biomass” fuel. Planner Nathan Lishman issued a notice of preparation of the Subsequent EIR, with a “public scoping meeting” to be held 2:30 p.m. Wednesday (March 31st) at the Amador Board of Supervisors’ Chambers in Jackson. The notice, made March 16th, was to provide “responsible agencies, organizations and interested parties” with “sufficient information describing the project and its potential environmental effects.” Amador County Planning is lead agency in the SEIR. Buena Vista Biomass seeks a facility use permit amendment for the facility. The project has a “conditional use permit” issued in 1983, but the applicant “has proposed project modifications requiring an amendment to that permit.” A county EIR was done in 1983, and an Amador Air District Supplemental EIR was done in 1997, for the cogeneration facility located at the project site. Lishman said Amador County and Buena Vista Biomass “have mutually determined” that under California Environmental Quality Act law, a Subsequent EIR is the “appropriate environmental document” to review the project. Lishman said “the existing facility has experienced a lapse in operations.” Also, its “project-specific and cumulative traffic impacts may have changed from those analyzed in previous EIRs, and previous EIRs did not evaluate the project’s greenhouse gas emissions,” now required under CEQA. An Initial Study identifies the potential environmental effects of the project. Written comments must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. April 15. The Notice of Preparation and Initial Study are available for public review at the county administration building and at Amador County Library branches in Jackson and Ione. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in Local

Monday, 29 March 2010 18:00

Motor Vehicle Trails to Open on Eldorado Forest Land

Amador County - Forest Supervisor Ramiro Villalvazo announced this week that trails authorized for motor vehicles on Eldorado Forest grounds will reopen for use on April 1. The routes are typically closed during seasonal wet weather to protect water quality, prevent erosion and reduce damage to trails. “I’m allowing the seasonal closure to come to an end on March 31st,” said Villalvazo in his announcement. “I am sure there are many people who are anxious for the opportunity to get out into our beautiful great outdoors. However, I want to remind all potential Forest visitors that with the freedom to visit the Forest on motorized vehicles, comes the responsibility to ensure that your activities do not cause resource damage,” he added. Forest visitors should contact the ranger station closest to where they want to visit for the latest road and trail information. Routes open to motorized travel are identified on free-of-charge motorized vehicle travel maps, now available at all Eldorado National Forest offices. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in Recreation

Friday, 26 March 2010 02:02

AWA OKs GSL Project, Negative Declaration

Amador County – The Amador Water Agency Board of Directors voted 3-2 Thursday to approve the Gravity Supply Line project and its Mitigated Negative Declaration. The new leadership of the board, President Bill Condrashoff and Vice President Debbie Dunn voted against both decisions, and Dunn later was accused by Director Terence Moore of prolonging the decisions and throwing up obstacles through the nearly 6-hour meeting Thursday afternoon at Mace Meadow Country Club. Moore, District 5, and Directors Gary Thomas (District 2) and Don Cooper (District 3) voted yes on both actions, with approval of the environmental document first. Cooper made a motion on the second action to approve the Gravity Supply Line project, including a list of 8 preparation items, and another action, to “put the GSL out to bid as soon as possible.” The board discussed the estimated $13.4 million project’s cost to members of the Central Amador Water Project, and representatives of 3 member entities, with AWA, spoke in support of the GSL. Jeffrey Brown of Mace Meadow CSD said he sent 540 letters out to his membership and he “received zero negative comments” on the GSL. A representative of Rabb Park CSD said “we support this project in its entirety.” He said people know it will increase their costs, and they are “looking forward to a more reliable water source.” The Pine Grove CSD also spoke in support. Dunn and Condrashoff worried about a “preliminary engineering report” for the GSL, which listed the project as seeking 9.28 cubic feet per second (cfs) of water flow for the pipeline. That amount was submitted in an application to the USDA for a grant and a loan. The amount this year was changed to 5 cubic feet per second. Condrashoff said several times that he was confused about why the first plan at 9.28 cfs could cost $13.4 million, and a smaller pipeline with a flow of 5 cfs could cost just 12 dollars and 50 cents less than the bigger pipe. Condrashoff was also confused about what size of project they were seeking to approve. Director Moore said it was obvious to him that it was seeking a project for 5 cfs. Interim General Manager Gene Mancebo said he could not understand why the costs were so similar, and Interim Engineering Manager Erik Christeson said the preliminary estimate was made without a lot of data being known, but it was now known by USDA that the project is 5 cfs. Mancebo said he was asking the board to approve a project based on this alignment and distance based on 5 cfs, and if changes needed to be made later, they could be made. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in News Archive

Monday, 29 March 2010 01:41

AWA GSL Could Get USDA Record $5.1M Grant

Amador County – The Amador Water Agency heard support and criticism last week before approving its Gravity Supply Line project, an estimated $13.4 million project. Interim Engineering Manger Erik Christeson said the pipeline could win the largest grant ever authorized by USDA of $5.1 million. Interim General Manger Gene Mancebo said the agency looked at “growth inducing and cumulative effects,” using the current county General Plan. They found 13,500 new connections in the Central Amador Water Project area, a demand “well beyond what the new system could deliver.” Steven J. Lewis of Alpine Drive said “we’re talking about doubling the Upcountry population,” and AWA wanted a “negative declaration.” He said Gayla Manor would have 500 more homes with that water. Lewis said: “This is empire building, and frankly (pardon me) it sucks.” Mike Miller of Rabb Park Water District said: “I don’t see how we can pass it up. We have a good loan in place.” Rich Farrington, a CAWP customer, said there was no evidence of a need for a full Environmental Impact Report, as urged by Martell resident Ken Berry. Farrington said biologists found no “special status species” on the pipeline route. They found “suitable habitat,” and “recommended mitigation.” Farrington said Fish & Game agreed with AWA’s timing for inspections. He said AWA has taken a cautious approach. Steve Cannon and others said enhanced water supply with help with house fires, but not large scale wildfires. He said the Power Fire was a recent example, and “if the weather hadn’t changed, there would be no Pioneer today, and no discussion.” Foothill Conservancy attorney Thomas Infusino said “a numbers-free engineering memo” was “too little, too late” to be able vote on the GSL. He urged a full EIR, and said “the GSL is a good concept, but as a local agency, the AWA needs to learn how to do the right thing in the right way.” Ciro Toma said the current pump pipeline was built “in an emergency during 2 years of severe droughts,” with wells going dry in all the small water districts. He said AWA should worry about liability with the existing system, should there be a pipeline and sensor failures with massive spillage. He urged discussion toward emergency or other storage at Mace Meadow Golf Course, and urged approval. Vice President Debbie Dunn asked if Toma would help gather fees for new developments to pay for the GSL. Toma said “that’s what your participation fees are. That’s really law: Any new project has to pay its fair share.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in News Archive

Monday, 29 March 2010 01:34

Local Census Operations in Full Swing

Amador County – The U.S. Census Bureau is in the process of sending out questionnaires to every household in the United States as part of a constitutional mandate to count the country’s population every ten years. In Amador County, all residents with physical addresses are in the process of receiving the forms by mail. Barbara Ferry, Senior Partner Specialist with the Census Bureau, told TSPN that residents who do not receive their mail at a physical address will eventually need to be hand-counted in an upcoming second wave of census operations. In early February, the Board of Supervisors approved the donation of space at the County Administration Building to assist the bureau with local operations. The space will also be used to assist residents in filling out their census forms, if needed. “As we prepare our workers to go out into the field and knock on doors to gather census information, we also need to train them, so your County has been very gracious in offering us some space so we can train people locally,” said Ferry. Those operations were underway last Tuesday, where new census workers were being fingerprinted as part of the hiring process. TSPN was bluntly denied an interview or access to take pictures, but we were able to snap one shot of the event. As part of a multi-million dollar ad campaign, the Census is ensuring citizens that all the information shared is completely confidential. The census form has been revised this year to just ten simple questions seeking information on the number of residents in each household and other basic information. In a recent interview, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke noted that even the provisions of the Patriot Act do not override census privacy protections. He also said that for every one percent increase in the number of people who return their census forms, taxpayers will save about $85 million. Ferry said participation in the census is important for two basic reasons: power and money. “It’s power through the apportionment that happens because of the population area that the Census Bureau defines in order to know where our congressional districts come from as well as all our state legislative districts,” said Ferry. As for the money, she said every year the federal government divides $470 billion among local communities, and that is based in large part upon the census results. “To put it in basic terms, filling out your form and sending it back is like writing a check for $1,700 per person per year, right back to your community.” The census began mailing out questionnaires in mid-March. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in News Archive

Monday, 29 March 2010 01:47

EBMUD Granted Change of Venue in 2040 Plan Lawsuit

Amador County - The East Bay Municipal Utility District has succeeded in a change of venue to transfer a lawsuit brought in part by the Foothill Conservancy down to Sacramento. In a hearing on March 12, Amador County Superior Judge Susan Harlan agreed to the change of venue based on a technical statute that focuses on where an agency is situated, according to a release from the Foothill Conservancy. The Foothill Conservancy filed a lawsuit last year that alleges CEQA violations occurred when the mammoth water utility district approved its 2040 Water Supply Management Plan, which includes a proposed expansion of the Pardee Reservoir on the Mokelumne River. The Conservancy is joined in the suit by Friends of the River and California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. According to Chris Wright of the Foothill Conservancy, “EBMUD claims they’re ‘situated’ only in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, and says they’re not a part of our community.” EBMUD is headquartered in Oakland and provides water and sewage treatment for customers throughout the East Bay. The company has a long history of local water agreements under which it is allowed to add to its supply from local water sources like the Mokelumne River. “They have a huge presence in our county: They own thousands of acres of land and reservoirs and two massive dams with powerhouses. They employ local residents. They sponsor recreation activities and provide recreational facilities. They lease land and facilities to local businesses and run two mobile home parks. They cosponsor local events. They’re part of a joint powers authority with Amador County and the Amador Water Agency. They can overrule county ordinances on their land. They even belong to the Amador County Chamber of Commerce. They can only serve their ratepayers by using resources from our county. It’s ridiculous for them to claim they’re not situated here. But that’s what they did,” said Wright. The Foothill Conservancy and other opponents of the 2040 plan were unsuccessful in an attempt to stop its approval last October. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in News Archive

Monday, 29 March 2010 05:55