Jackson – The Board of Supervisors continued their discussion Tuesday on the feasibility of becoming a qualified donee for over 4,500 acres of regional land made available for stewardship through a PG & E settlement. The proposed plan dates back to 2000, when a bankruptcy settlement agreement with the state required PG & E to donate their surplus lands to public entities or non-profit organizations. After concern was expressed over how stewards would be chosen, a Pacific Land and Forest Stewardship Council was established to spearhead designation of donees. Donees can be land owners or conservation easement holders with a say over land use, but not both. It is expected that approximately half of the 140,000 acres of PG & E lands will ultimately be donated. Consultant John Hoffman said the county is competing with many other interested parties. Mary Adelzadeh, Regional Land Conservation Manager with the Stewardship Council, said “our primary purpose is to conserve and enhance these watershed lands.” She said “we’re seeking organizations interested in holding fee title” as well as “organizations interested in a land conservation role.” She said the primary role of a title holder “is really monitoring, with no management involved.” Amador County is among 19 entities interested in fee title on parcels of approximately 2,607 acres of land in the North Fork Mokelumne area, 914 acres in the Lower Bear area and 1,028 acres in the Blue Lakes area. Other applicants include the Amador Water Agency, the California Department of Fish and Game and the US Forest Service. Supervisor Richard Forster made clear his opinion that the lands would be better managed under local control, versus control by the state or federal government. “If the interests are held by Amador County groups then obviously they’re going to care more about what happens to that land,” said Forster. “We don’t want someone like fish and game coming in where they have so many conservation easements that they can’t “do a good job managing them.” Board Chairman Ted Novelli asked if it was possible for PG & E to change the acreage. Adelzadeh said they can, and “PG & E has an application pending with the Federal Energy Commission to build another (water) plant in the Lower Bear area.” Adelzadeh said the Stewardship council is already in the process of screening and reviewing applicants. Hoffman said there is a meeting scheduled for August 20 for all those interested in owning the land. Hoffman said the Stewardship Council will be meeting on September 18 to visit various properties under consideration. He said there will be a workshop to be scheduled in October to solicit the public input. “These decisions are going to effect ecology, wildlife and the ability to transfer water back and forth,” said Forster. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Buena Vista – The former Cogen wax plant has drawn a power company to Amador County, seeking to reactivate as a cleaner-burning, all-biodegradable power source. The Amador Air District board of directors will host a public meeting August 25th about the plant’s proposed reopening. The meeting will allow all interested parties to comment on “reactivation of the power plant” at 4655 Coral Mine Road in Jackson Valley, near Ione. Oral and written comments may be submitted during the meeting, and written comments can be delivered to the Air District office no later than August 24th. A newspaper legal notice of the public said the “power plant will be reactivated under new ownership in 2010.” Buena Vista Biomass managing partner Mark Thompson said last week at a tour of the plant that they hope to reopen the plant by May or June of next year. The notice said the plant was initially approved for operation in the early 1980s, and it exclusively “burned only lignite, a primitive form of coal,” which was mined around the site. In 1998, a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report was approved for the plant owners, changing the fuel mixtures to 20 percent lignite, and 80 percent ag waste, urban wood waste, offset fuels, demolition material or “tire derived fuels.” The notice said “when the facility is reactivated, it will burn only the previously allowed woody biomass fuels,” and “all other fuels will be eliminated. Lignite and tire derived fuels will no longer be burned.” It said “emissions of air pollutants will be reduced by more than 50 percent by this action.” Thompson said at the open house last week that there would be a “97 percent particulate reduction.” He said they are not a coal plant, but strictly wood and biomass burning facility. The objective is to operate the combustion powered steam generators and market the resulting 18.3 megawatts. He said they would burn about 110,000 “bone-dry tons a year,” and 200,000 to 300,000 “green tons a year.” The latter has 30 to 40 percent moisture content. They will employ up to 60 people during the construction phase, and will employ 20 full-time people when they open, and will run 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Thompson said they should have an annual salary in excess of $2.3 million. The meeting is 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 25th at the supervisors’ chambers, 810 Court Street in Jackson. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson – The Jackson City Council on Monday adopted a resolution authorizing City Manager Mike Daly to pursue funds that would provide owner occupied housing rehabilitation loans to income qualifying households. The grant funding is part of the HOME Investment Partnership Program made available the California State Department of Housing and Community Development. If the City qualifies, it could receive up to $800,000 to help families rehab their homes. Daly said “there haven’t been as many changes of title, and we thought it would be a good time to put some fresh money into the system.” Currently, Jackson current owner-occupied Community Development Block Grant assistance program has been successful in assisting low income families to repair their homes. Low income is considered 80 percent of the median income. 17families have received a total of $426,865 through CDBG that program. The HOME program would offer a number of rehab opportunities, including addressing and repairing issues related to health and safety, making homes more energy efficient, converting to current Uniform Building Standards and other repairs “that can extend the useful life of the property.” Daly said the City anticipates helping at least five families if the HOME program grant is awarded. The council unanimously approved Daly to seek Home grant funding based on a motion by Councilmember Marilyn Lewis. Mayor Connie Gonsalves was absent from the meeting. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Plymouth – The Plymouth City Council meets at an earlier time than usual, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, to continue public hearings on the city’s draft General Plan, and on its accompanying Final Environmental Impact Report. City planning staff took direction in early July and made recommended changes. Staff gave “strikethrough” editions of the General Plan EIR to city council members on July 31st, giving the council and the public 2 weeks to read the document, before the public hearings resume. That meeting is 5:30 p.m. Thursday at city hall. The early meeting time was set “so as to allow plenty of time for public input to be taken. In the first hearing of the night, the council will consider a resolution “certifying the program Environmental Impact Report and adopting findings, a statement of over riding considerations, and a mitigation monitoring and reporting program” for Plymouth’s General Plan. The council in the second hearing will consider a resolution “adopting the Plymouth General Plan Update for the horizon year 2025.” The hearings allow a continuation of public comment on the FEIR and General Plan. After the close of the public hearings, the council will discuss and possibly take action on the update and FEIR. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – A group of women from the Plymouth Pentecostal Church of God raised money for the Plymouth Elementary School, which like the rest of the county goes back to school next week. The group also issued a good-natured challenge to other groups in the Plymouth community and across Amador County to help raise more funds for school supplies. City Clerk Gloria Stoddard announced the philanthropic efforts in an e-mail Monday. She said: “Due to the cutbacks to school budgets, Judy Moffatt, a member of the Plymouth Pentecostal Church of God presented the idea of supporting the Plymouth Elementary School to the ladies ministries of the PPCG Church.” Stoddard said: “The ladies’ group supported the idea and purchased school supplies to be presented to the first grade class of the Plymouth Elementary School.” Stoddard said the “ladies ministries would like to challenge other groups to support their local schools, with the much needed supplies, to make this year a fruitful one for the future leaders of our communities.” Jan Nunley, Chairwoman of the ladies ministries, said the group “contributed enough supplies for the entire first grade class.” The items included “pencils, tablets, crayons, and that sort of thing.” Stoddard was planning to deliver the items to the teacher next week. Nunley said Moffatt deserves the credit for the idea, which the ladies’ ministry embraced as a way to set a good example of giving during hard economic times. Nunley said they thought “if other people heard about that, they would start contributing to other schools.” She said “there is a real need now for supplies, because school budgets have been slashed.” For more information, call Jan Nunley at (209) 296-2144, or contact your local schools. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson – East Bay Mud has delayed a decision on its highly contentious 2040 water plan in part due to strong objections from Amador and Calaveras County residents. The EBMUD Board scheduled another workshop for Tuesday at 10 am in Oakland to discuss the plan. Local objectors to the plan were expected to turn out in force at this morning’s meeting. The majority of local protest is centered on a proposed plan to expand the Pardee Reservoir and flood portions of the Mokelumne River in order to provide more water to customers in the East Bay. A number of local groups and government entities have publicly objected to the plan, citing potential damage to the river’s ecosystem, the destruction of historic sites and irreversible damage to a river considered important to Native Americans. Katherine Evatt of the Foothill Conservancy has said there is “also a concerted effort the last 10 or 15 years to develop the whitewater resources” of the Mokelumne River for the rafting industry. A resolution by the City of Sutter Creek “urges the Utility District to adopt higher conservation levels in its 2040 Water Management Plan instead of expanding Pardee Reservoir and destroying the Middle Bar reach of the Mokelumne River.” Two public workshops were held earlier this year in Amador County and Calaveras County. To comment on the proposed plan, contact EBMUD Board President Doug Linney at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.