Amador County – More than 50 people attended a public hearing Tuesday as part of the permit amendment process for the Buena Vista Biomass Power plant in the Jackson Valley.

Amador County Planning Commission Chairman Ray Ryan asked speakers to stay on point, reminding them that comment should be about the Subsequent Environmental Impact Report.

Ascent Environmental principal Gary Jacobs gave a presentation on the EIR, saying the company was hired by Buena Vista Biomass Power, but the EIR was prepared under the direction of the county. Once the comment period closes (today, September 30th), they will prepare written responses.

Jacobs said the study found some “significant and unavoidable impacts” that “can’t be mitigated.” Those include operational noise, light affects on the dark evening sky in the Jackson Valley, traffic impacts on the small roads, and emission of greenhouse gasses.

He said there would be cumulative visual and air quality impacts, the latter including nitrogen oxides and Particulate Matter emissions. He said “during excavation and grading, hazardous materials may be found.”

The EIR listed three alternatives, being: To have no project and no operation; to have no project and operate under the existing permit; or to reduce the size of the operation. Jacobs said “the plan is to buy or procure residual waste at the forest sites,” and to run the 18.5 megawatt power plant with “solely renewable woody waste biomass.”

In the public hearing, Ray Stacey of Big Horse Ranch on Camanche Road, said he was undecided about the plant and wanted more information so he could evaluate it. He said: “I would sure love to be plugged into that system,” but said he heard Sacramento Municipal Utility District, which will purchase the plant’s power, “will be selling it for half of what PG&E charges.”

Donna Ogilvie of Camanche Parkway North, “downwind from” the plant, said the “no project, no build” option was the “only alternative that is environmentally superior.” She asked who would pay for road improvements, or monitor wind and the plant’s “five-minute idle times.”

Rob Scott of Coal Mine Road said he is torn by the project, but believes everyone should be able to use their property as they want. He worried about excessive nitrogen oxide emission, and its effect on sensitive receptors.

Ryan said comments would be addressed in writing by the applicant. Planner Susan Grijalva said after the comments comes the Final EIR, for which the turnaround might be two to three weeks.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Amador County may be the source for high concentrations of arsenic found in nine percent of northern San Joaquin County’s groundwater.

A newly released, five year study from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reveals high areas of arsenic concentration appear to be in the areas surrounding Stockton and south of Stockton near the eastern edge of the Delta.

Wells in Lodi did not have high arsenic concentrations.

The study’s authors say most of the arsenic arrived in the area as runoff from the Sierra Nevadas. Samples for the survey were taken from 61 wells in areas of Amador, Alameda, Calaveras, Contra Costa, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.

The USGS analysis focused solely on untreated groundwater from wells. More than 40 percent of the state’s drinking water comes from groundwater.

The report is designed as an informational tool to increase awareness of the issue for regional resource managers and water agencies. It is the most recent indication that higher than average levels of arsenic are prevalent throughout this region.

The Sierra Fund conducted soil tests on a number of public trails near mine shafts in the foothills earlier this year and discovered some cases of extremely high levels of arsenic, lead and asbestos. Researchers said these levels are a result of the extensive mining conducted in our area since the Gold Rush era, when miners dug deep into the earth to expose pockets of toxic contamination.

Speaking with SFGate.com in June, Elizabeth Martin, Sierra Fund chief executive, called these findings “the longest neglected environmental problem in California.”

Arsenic occurs naturally in many minerals and is mainly associated with sulfur and metals. It is considered extremely poisonous. People exposed to arsenic in their drinking water may be at increased risk for more serious illness or death.

Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - Over 200 community members attended this year’s 13th Annual Diabetes Information Fair, which was held on Friday, September 24th in Sutter Amador Hospital’s garden courtyard and lobby.

Those who attended the fair received free educational materials and were also given the opportunity to take advantage of free blood glucose and lipid panel screenings. Certified diabetes educators from Sutter Amador Hospital’s Outpatient Diabetes Education Program and vendors were available for guests to speak with and receive valuable diabetes information.

“Diabetes is associated with an increased risk for a number of serious, life-threatening complications,” said Kim Vagt, R.D. and Director of SAH Outpatient Diabetes Education. “Good diabetes control can help reduce that risk and that is why our program exists today—to help our patients manage their diabetes on their own and, ultimately, reduce the risks associated with diabetes so that they can live healthy, happy lives.”

According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 20.8 million children and adults in the United States, or 7% of the population, who have diabetes. Of this amount, 14.6 million have been diagnosed, with nearly one-third being unaware that they even have the disease. In response to our local need, Sutter Amador Hospital’s Outpatient Diabetes Program, the only program in both Amador and Calaveras Counties accredited and approved by the American Diabetes Association, was developed in 1998.

Through physician referrals, patients can sign up for comprehensive diabetes education through Sutter Amador Hospital’s accredited diabetes program. Certified Diabetes Educators teach patients how to test their own blood sugar levels, the importance of proper nutrition, and the direct correlation between what they eat and how it affects their blood sugar. For more information on Sutter Amador Hospital’s Outpatient Diabetes Education Program, call (209) 223-7448.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – About a dozen people commented at a public hearing on the Buena Vista Biomass Power plant Subsequent Environmental Impact Report Wednesday in Jackson. The comment period ends today (Thursday, Sept. 30).

Planning Commissioner Andy Byrne asked about soil contaminants, and whether the EIR had a plan to sample and test soil as grading occurred. Consultant Gary Jacobs of Ascent Environmental said he would take that as a question to be answered with other comments, but if hazardous material was found, it would be addressed with appropriate agencies.

Byrne asked about heavy truck traffic combined with daily vehicle trips to the proposed Indian casino, saying “there is a way they overlap in cumulative effect,” but it was a comparison the commission had not yet seen. ¶ Rhonda Morningstar Pope, chairwoman of the Buena Vista Band of Me-Wuk Indians, spoke about her tribe’s EIR for its proposed casino. She said she liked the power plant’s consultants’ approach because they had met with the tribe, “which is the most impacted neighbor because we are right across the road.”

Pope said the tribe in its casino EIR is “already mitigating” impacts on roads and flooding. She said: “Read the documents because they are being answered.”

Commissioner Denise Tober asked if the SEIR addressed that Amador Water Agency has requested additional water rights from Jackson Valley Irrigation District.

One man worried if there was enough slash to fuel the power plant, and said one such plant had closed.

Steve Brink of the California Forestry Association said “there’s no feed stock issue with this power plant,” and what the area needs is another 18-megawatt plant to open, because area forests could fuel it.

Brink said Amador and El Dorado county forests could produce 100,000 “bone dry tons” a year of wood waste, through forest fire fuels reduction programs. He said that slash is burned in the open air, and burning it in a combustion boiler gives a “98 percent reduction in emissions.”

Jerry Cassesi said he didn’t doubt there would be less impact than forest fires, but he worried about getting correct information. He said numbers in the EIR differed from those in a 2009 “Environmental Information Form.”

Cassesi wanted to know the number of fuel trucks expected daily at the plant, but “simple questions like that don’t seem to get answered in this EIR.” He said “without good information, it’s impossible to make good decisions.”

 Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - This year’s “Big Crush” event takes place on October 2nd and 3rd from 10 am to 4 pm, on what promises to be a gorgeous autumn weekend. Thirty-three Amador wineries will treat wine lovers to an amazing array of fine wines poured from barrel and bottle and accompanied by delicious barbecue fare, great live music (from rock, jazz and blues to bluegrass and accordion music), special “Crush”-related activities and unbeatable discounts on bottle and case purchases.

Sponsored by Sacramento Magazine “The Big Crush” offers wine lovers an unparalleled opportunity to savor the best of Amador County, a beautiful and historic wine region forty miles east of Sacramento that dates to the early days of the Gold Rush.

Tickets for the “Big Crush,” good for both days of the event and all activities, are $30 per person in advance ($20 for Sunday only) through September 28th and $35 on event days at participating wineries ($25 Sunday only), and include a commemorative, vintage-dated wine glass. Tickets and information are available at www.amadorwine.com or by calling 1-888-655-8614.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.