Sutter Creek – The Amador Water Agency looked at the costs of implementing required “Best Management Practices” for water conservation policy on Thursday, and discussed a consultant’s presentation on some of the aspects. AWA Finance Manager Mike Lee introduced Leslie Dumas of RMC Water & Engineering, who has been working as the agency’s conservation coordinator since July. Lee said the board still needs to present its water conservation policy and draft conservation plan to the public, at a date to be determined. Dumas talked about draft programs, along with financial figures. Lee said the “spreadsheet represents our preliminary estimates regarding the water conservation program structure, costs, and efforts to date.” Among the top water savers was “residential plumbing retrofits,” which would cost an estimated $10,850 the first year. Dumas said it could include an educational aspect – a separate Best Management Practice – that would “give presentations to fifth grade classes” at all schools in the county. She said each fifth grader could take home a “low-flow shower head.” She said the goal would be to retrofit homes with efficient fixtures. The program was projected to cost $14,000 a year for 4 years, and would aim at upgrading 75 percent of homes. Another practice, “system water audits, leak detection and repair,” could cost $20,000 a year, but also cost an estimated $100,000 in the second year. Dumas said the ballooned costs would be from the possibility of having to excavate for, and repair, suspected leaks. Interim General Manager Gene Mancebo said such costs in might qualify for grant funding. Another best practice requires having meters for all customers. The board heard that the agency still has 158 customers paying flat rates. Those include 127 residential customers with or without meters; 2 commercial customers; and 29 raw water customers still served by the ditch system, 11 of which have meters. Updating all meters would cost $31,000. Another Best Management Practice discussed was a “large landscape rebate program.” Director Debbie Dunn asked if the number of large irrigation accounts, 192, was a “hard number,” and also whether there was a definition or number related to the term “large.” Dumas said there is no defining number for a “large irrigation customer,” and the number 192 was not a real count of such customers. Dunn said the number should be lower, and Lee said the number was already lowered. Dunn said she thought it should be more like 50 large irrigation accounts. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sutter Creek – The Amador Water Agency board on Thursday heard a consultant’s report on the progress of a state water conservation program, and looked at the costs involved. RMC Water & Environment, a successful Walnut Creek grant writing company in the field of Integrated Regional Water Management, has been working on the AWA’s Best Management Practices for water conservation. RMC Project Manager Leslie Dumas led the board through the 14 Best Management Practices (BMPs), designed to conserve water, and showed the 2009-2010 budget for the list of practices, or BMPs. She said the practices became mandatory in January. AWA Interim General Manager Gene Mancebo said “it is costly to implement this kind of program,” and staff “will be looking closely – especially this year – at where money is going to come from.” Funding sources included grants, he said. Finance Manager Mike Lee said the costs and structure of the program might have to be reduced, “given the current budget situation.” The AWA board faces potential layoffs this fiscal year, and closed its budget gap, in part, by raising or preparing to raise water rates for all customers. Dumas said the AWA “could include implementation of these BMP programs” in its Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (IRWMP) grant application. She said there are “various ways to obtain funding to implement your program.” RMC last year helped Los Angeles County get a $25 million grant for implementation of its Integrated Regional Water Management Plan. RMC’s website said it secured funding for grants in six regions, totaling $112.5 million, with a “100 percent success rate, preparing grant applications for 6 clients, each of which was awarded grant funding.” Board Vice President Bill Condrashoff asked which BMPs would give the agency the “biggest bang for the buck.” Dumas said the “top savers” of water were led by “leak detection and repair,” which is partially implemented in this fiscal year, at a cost of $21,400, and is expected to cost about $31,000 a year over the next 5 years. Dumas said the BMP addressing that issue is providing a water survey program, including efficiency suggestions for residential customers, or onsite inspections of up to 3 hours. Dumas estimated the cost to be about $300 per survey, based on a presumed 10 hours worked on each individual survey, at $40 an hour. She said the work “even includes reaching out to customers,” if the agency is “not getting calls.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sacramento – State Senator and Amador County Representative Dave Cox announced Thursday that the “travelling public will be safer from bird strikes” after a bill he shepherded through the legislature on the matter was approved by the legislature last week. Cox said Senate Bill 481 “gives all public use airports assurances that they have a legal right to remove birds they believe may endanger planes.” The measure was co-authored by Senator Darrell Steinberg and Assemblyman Roger Noelle. The Federal Aviation Administration reports that Sacramento International Airport has the highest number of bird strikes in the nation - approximately 1,471 bird strikes were recorded in the last 18 years. “This is a good public safety measure that makes sense for the traveling public and communities around airports,” said Cox, adding: “I appreciate the support of my colleagues for the passage of this bill, and the Governor for his signature.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Plymouth - On Monday, October 19, 2009, the Amador County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team (ACCNET) responded to Plymouth to assist the Amador County Sheriff’s Office in a traffic stop that had been conducted on a 1991 Trans Am, with the driver being Sean Stringfellow, age 28, residing in River Pines. Stringfellow had been stopped by the deputy for a Vehicle Code violation. A drug detection dog alerted to the hood and door areas of the vehicle for the presence of controlled substances. Seized from the engine compartment was a plastic baggie containing approximately 22.4 grams of methamphetamine. Seized from inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle was 14.6 grams of marijuana. Upon his arrest, Stringfellow was found to be in possession of 51 Vicodin (a pharmaceutical opiate) hidden in his socks. ACCNET and Sheriff’s personnel responded to Stringfellow’s residence in River Pines and froze the premises until a search warrant was obtained. Upon service of the search warrant, drying marijuana, approximately 188 grams of marijuana packaged for sales, ½ gram of methamphetamine, Vicodin pills, scales, packaging materials marijuana cultivation equipment, and $5,720 were seized. An additional $502 was seized from Stringfellow upon his arrest. A total of $6,222 was seized pursuant to State Asset Forfeiture regulations. Stringfellow was booked into the Amador County Jail on multiple charges. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jackson - The Amador County Transportation Committee on Wednesday heard an update on the Sutter Hill Transit Center, the foundation of which was to be poured Thursday. Matthew Boyer, Director of Funding and Program Management for Dokken Engineering, said many aspects of the project are “ready to go,” but sought approval for the pursuit of additional grant funding and various Notices of Acceptance that would allow Wolin & Sons, Inc. to go ahead with aspects of construction, and to ensure legal time frames for guarantees and a lien period. Specific to grant funding, Boyer sought authorization to “submit a grant application to Caltrans in the amount of $49,927 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Transportation Enhancement funds for the Sutter Hill Transit Center Phase V project.” The Transit Center is a project proposed by the Amador Regional Transit System, or ARTS, in conjunction with the Amador County Transportation Commission. It will be constructed near the intersection of Bowers Road and Valley View Way and will eventually. Included in the original project components are a transportation center building that will house the ACTC offices, a 1.2 acre plot of land to be dedicated to the city as a public park, and a 50-75 space park-n-ride lot with a solar electric shade structure. The original cost estimate for the project was approximately $2.5 million, but with the increasing costs for all things associated with construction, modifications were necessary. Boyer said project funding has so far come from “a casserole of different funding sources.” ACTC recently received an additional $48,000 grant from the State of California’s Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation grant program for additional landscaping at the site. ACTC Executive Director Charles Field said that the necessary funds needed for phase 1 of the project were not fully raised and are “in process.” The contract for phase 1 of the project was initially approved on October 22. All requests by Boyer were approved. Phase 1 of the project is expected to be completed in late October. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sutter Creek – The Amador Water Agency board on Thursday heard a consultant’s report on the progress of a state water conservation program, and looked at the costs involved. RMC Water & Environment, a successful Walnut Creek grant writing company in the field of Integrated Regional Water Management, has been working on the AWA’s Best Management Practices for water conservation. RMC Project Manager Leslie Dumas led the board through the 14 Best Management Practices (BMPs), designed to conserve water, and showed the 2009-2010 budget for the list of practices, or BMPs. She said the practices became mandatory in January. AWA Interim General Manager Gene Mancebo said “it is costly to implement this kind of program,” and staff “will be looking closely – especially this year – at where money is going to come from.” Funding sources included grants, he said. Finance Manager Mike Lee said the costs and structure of the program might have to be reduced, “given the current budget situation.” The AWA board faces potential layoffs this fiscal year, and closed its budget gap, in part, by raising or preparing to raise water rates for all customers. Dumas said the AWA “could include implementation of these BMP programs” in its Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (IRWMP) grant application. She said there are “various ways to obtain funding to implement your program.” RMC last year helped Los Angeles County get a $25 million grant for implementation of its Integrated Regional Water Management Plan. RMC’s website said it secured funding for grants in six regions, totaling $112.5 million, with a “100 percent success rate, preparing grant applications for 6 clients, each of which was awarded grant funding.” Board Vice President Bill Condrashoff asked which BMPs would give the agency the “biggest bang for the buck.” Dumas said the “top savers” of water were led by “leak detection and repair,” which is partially implemented in this fiscal year, at a cost of $21,400, and is expected to cost about $31,000 a year over the next 5 years. Dumas said the BMP addressing that issue is providing a water survey program, including efficiency suggestions for residential customers, or onsite inspections of up to 3 hours. Dumas estimated the cost to be about $300 per survey, based on a presumed 10 hours worked on each individual survey, at $40 an hour. She said the work “even includes reaching out to customers,” if the agency is “not getting calls.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sutter Creek – The Amador Water Agency looked at the costs of implementing required “Best Management Practices” for water conservation policy on Thursday, and discussed a consultant’s presentation on some of the aspects. AWA Finance Manager Mike Lee introduced Leslie Dumas of RMC Water & Engineering, who has been working as the agency’s conservation coordinator since July. Lee said the board still needs to present its water conservation policy and draft conservation plan to the public, at a date to be determined. Dumas talked about draft programs, along with financial figures. Lee said the “spreadsheet represents our preliminary estimates regarding the water conservation program structure, costs, and efforts to date.” Among the top water savers was “residential plumbing retrofits,” which would cost an estimated $10,850 the first year. Dumas said it could include an educational aspect – a separate Best Management Practice – that would “give presentations to fifth grade classes” at all schools in the county. She said each fifth grader could take home a “low-flow shower head.” She said the goal would be to retrofit homes with efficient fixtures. The program was projected to cost $14,000 a year for 4 years, and would aim at upgrading 75 percent of homes. Another practice, “system water audits, leak detection and repair,” could cost $20,000 a year, but also cost an estimated $100,000 in the second year. Dumas said the ballooned costs would be from the possibility of having to excavate for, and repair, suspected leaks. Interim General Manager Gene Mancebo said such costs in might qualify for grant funding. Another best practice requires having meters for all customers. The board heard that the agency still has 158 customers paying flat rates. Those include 127 residential customers with or without meters; 2 commercial customers; and 29 raw water customers still served by the ditch system, 11 of which have meters. Updating all meters would cost $31,000. Another Best Management Practice discussed was a “large landscape rebate program.” Director Debbie Dunn asked if the number of large irrigation accounts, 192, was a “hard number,” and also whether there was a definition or number related to the term “large.” Dumas said there is no defining number for a “large irrigation customer,” and the number 192 was not a real count of such customers. Dunn said the number should be lower, and Lee said the number was already lowered. Dunn said she thought it should be more like 50 large irrigation accounts. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Plymouth - On Monday, October 19, 2009, the Amador County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team (ACCNET) responded to Plymouth to assist the Amador County Sheriff’s Office in a traffic stop that had been conducted on a 1991 Trans Am, with the driver being Sean Stringfellow, age 28, residing in River Pines. Stringfellow had been stopped by the deputy for a Vehicle Code violation. A drug detection dog alerted to the hood and door areas of the vehicle for the presence of controlled substances. Seized from the engine compartment was a plastic baggie containing approximately 22.4 grams of methamphetamine. Seized from inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle was 14.6 grams of marijuana. Upon his arrest, Stringfellow was found to be in possession of 51 Vicodin (a pharmaceutical opiate) hidden in his socks. ACCNET and Sheriff’s personnel responded to Stringfellow’s residence in River Pines and froze the premises until a search warrant was obtained. Upon service of the search warrant, drying marijuana, approximately 188 grams of marijuana packaged for sales, ½ gram of methamphetamine, Vicodin pills, scales, packaging materials marijuana cultivation equipment, and $5,720 were seized. An additional $502 was seized from Stringfellow upon his arrest. A total of $6,222 was seized pursuant to State Asset Forfeiture regulations. Stringfellow was booked into the Amador County Jail on multiple charges. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sacramento – State Senator and Amador County Representative Dave Cox announced Thursday that the “travelling public will be safer from bird strikes” after a bill he shepherded through the legislature on the matter was approved by the legislature last week. Cox said Senate Bill 481 “gives all public use airports assurances that they have a legal right to remove birds they believe may endanger planes.” The measure was co-authored by Senator Darrell Steinberg and Assemblyman Roger Noelle. The Federal Aviation Administration reports that Sacramento International Airport has the highest number of bird strikes in the nation - approximately 1,471 bird strikes were recorded in the last 18 years. “This is a good public safety measure that makes sense for the traveling public and communities around airports,” said Cox, adding: “I appreciate the support of my colleagues for the passage of this bill, and the Governor for his signature.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

San Francisco – Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG & E) announced last Thursday that it inked a deal with NextLight Renewable Power LLC to provide 290 megawatts of solar power to customers across Northern and Central California. The project, to be located in Yuma County, Arizona, is PG & E’s second major contract with a subsidiary of NextLight. It is one of several recent deals in order to acquire 2,000 megawatts of power, including 830 megawatts from solar developers for use by PG & E customers, including thousands in the Sierra foothills. “The Agua Caliente project will deliver about 700 gigawatt-hours of energy per year, enough to serve the needs of more than 100,000 average homes. Initial deliveries are expected to begin in mid-2012, with the project becoming fully operational by late 2014,” said PG & E in a statement last week. In June, the companies announced a project for 230 megawatts of solar power in Antelope Valley, California. The PG & E statement said “both projects, which are subject to approval by the California Public Utilities Commission, will use photovoltaic panels to generate clean, renewable power.” Shares of the company were trading at $42.18 the day after the announcement on the New York Stock Exchange. “In keeping with state policy and our own commitment to a cleaner energy future, we continue aggressively to pursue additional sources of renewable power,” said Fong Wan, senior vice president of energy procurement at PG&E, adding: “Our agreements with NextLight will help PG&E, and the state of California, show continued leadership in the development of solar power.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.