California County News

Trimming the Fat: San Mateo Looks to Cut Emissions w/ Climate Action Plan

The county of San Mateo is beginning the new year with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, so staff at the county has been crafting a “climate action plan" to decrease 2005 emission levels by 15 percent before the year 2020.

A consulting firm was hired by the county to see through the plan and it has been funded by the federal Department of Energy with a grant of $350,000. Government operations and the county's unincorporated areas in particular will be target for improvements in environmental efficiency.

Some of the options being considered to meet the goal include hefty rebates for energy-saving home improvements, renewable energy initiatives, utilization of the green building program, and enhanced transit corridors. Mercury news reports:

“The county also discovered its government operations generated 41,517 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2005. Building and facility operations produced the most emissions -- 46 percent of that total. Emissions from county employees' commutes made up 37 percent, and official county car use made up 12 percent.”

Solar panels have been used at the county to cut down some emissions, but staff acknowledged that meeting the 15-percent goal by 2020 would be a steep uphill climb.

Marin County Offers a Holiday Deal with Novel Christmas Tree-Cutting Program

Post-Thanksgiving holiday madness is in full swing and if you’re looking for a Christmas tree, officials in Marin County have come up with a program to rid an open space preserve of an unwanted and invasive species: the pine tree. The tree-cutting program will launch this weekend and since the county wants to clear the Ring Mountain Open Space Preserve of these pine trees, they are allowing locals to do the work for them. Anyone will be allowed to chop down their own tree on the preserve for free in what is being called the "holiday habitat restoration event.” But before you grab an ax or saw, it’s worth noting the wild Monterey pines certainly don’t look like traditional Christmas trees; nevertheless, officials point out they are free, unique, and the experience of chopping down one’s own tree can be memorable. Marin County Parks Director Linda Dahl commented the following on the event:

“Because pine trees are invading the preserve and threatening native habitats, this event will serve as both an important restoration project as well as a fun holiday event for the whole family … [the tree-cutting event] will allow access to areas of the preserve normally off-limits to the public. These trees have been growing in the wild, not in a Christmas tree lot, and therefore come in all shapes and sizes.”

The invasive pines are reportedly a problem because they are a threat to the local ecosystem that provides a habitat for some of the rarest plants in the world, including the Tiburon mariposa lily, which occurs nowhere else on earth.

Power Saver: Merced Launches Solar Field and Officials Tout Millions in Savings

Merced County is capitalizing on its ideal location for solar access with the launch of a solar field that recently became operational. The 1.4 megawatt solar array was constructed to power correctional facilities and officials are commending the big savings that the solar field will provide. To be precise, the county is expected to save around $14 million over the next 25 years on utility costs and the county will also receive solar production rebates worth $1.5 million. It is the first project of its kind in the county and officials expect to work towards similar upgrades in the future.  County officials approved the project to create greater independence from high electric utility costs, which affect taxpayers in the region. The Merced Sun Star reports on the project:

“The Board of Supervisors approved a contract with Siemens — a company that specializes in energy technology — in 2010 to design and construct the array and issued another contract to Siemens to maintain and operate the array for the next five years, assistant public works director Richard Schwarz said. […] The upgrade is one of several aimed at reducing the cost of running county facilities, Schwarz said. Savings from the solar development will be deposited into a fund for other capital improvement projects across the county, which may include future energy upgrades.”

Overall the project involved 6,272 solar panels and in the future the county may consider having inmates maintain the solar field to further cut down on costs. During peak hours, the solar panels will allow the correctional facilities to offset 70 percent of the electrical costs.

1 in 4 Solar Energy Jobs in CA; Industry Saw 7 Percent Nationwide Job Growth

The nation has experienced 7 percent job growth in the solar industry during the past year. California in particular has the most solar jobs out of any other state, with 25,575 employed in the industry. Nationwide solar energy has led to 100,000 jobs. These stats come from a new study by The Solar Foundation, a nonprofit education and research organization. The report would appear to show that the clean-tech industry is doing quite well, which may counter the bad coverage from the Solyndra fiasco (the company went belly up after a half-billion dollar federal loan guarantee). The LA Times reports:

“Nationally, employment in all parts of the solar industry, including manufacturing, installation, residential, commercial and large-scale power generation, grew 6.8% in the 12 month period ended in August. Overall U.S. job growth was less than 1% for the same period, the census said. Growth is expected to accelerate 24%, creating 24,000 jobs, over the next year, based on a survey of solar employers.”

Andrea Luecke, executive director of The Solar Foundation, commented that “Employers are slightly less optimistic than they were last year. But they feel that if the market conditions and the policy conditions are in place, they will have the need and the desire to grow (the workforce) by 24 percent in the next year.”

A list of states with the most solar jobs is below:

1. California 25,575
2. Colorado 6,186
3. Arizona 4,786
4. Pennsylvania 4,703
5. New York 4,279
6. Florida 4,224
7. Texas 3,346
7. Oregon 3,346
8. New Jersey 2,871
9. Massachusetts 2,395

Contra Costa Supes Outraged that Green Contractor Chopped Down 100 Trees for Solar Panels

Local residents were outraged in Contra Costa County recently when a contractor hired by the county for installing clean green energy ended up clearing over 100 eucalyptus and oak trees to make way for solar panels that will power a county jail. County officials weren’t too pleased either, calling the action outlandish and appalling. Supervisor Karen Mitchoff reportedly commented, “I cannot fathom why someone thought they could cut down all those trees.” The company in question is Main Street Power, and now land near the entrance of a popular park has been pummeled and all that remains are tree trunks and dirt. For further background, Mercury News reports:

“The board of supervisors authorized a contract in September 2010 with Main Street Power, a Boulder, Colo., company that develops solar power systems for nonprofits and public agencies. The county hoped to add green power to 13 of its public buildings, including the jail, both to reduce greenhouse emissions and cut county energy cost. The approved plan called for both rooftop-mounted and ground-mounted panels at the Richmond jail, but Gioia said the board did not anticipate chopping down trees on the adjacent property. County staff and the contractor made that decision without consulting elected officials or department heads, he added.”

Now the issue could turn into a legal dispute. The county says the company should restore a tree buffer between the jail and the regional park, but Main Street Power says it won’t fulfill such a request if the county doesn’t pay for it. Some may be glad the non-indigenous, fire-prone trees have been scaled back.

Bike Share Program in the Works for San Mateo County Thanks to Grant Funding

Thanks to millions in grant money that San Mateo County secured, Supervisors recently approved the implementation of the Regional Bicycle Share Pilot Program and the Last Mile Connection Pilot Program. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District will administer the bicycle sharing program that has brought together various local agencies. There will be more than 100 kiosks along Caltrain's Peninsula corridor where commuters can check out a bicycle so they can ride to their destination. Under the pilot program, bike kiosks will be established in San Francisco, Redwood City, Mountain View, Palo Alto and San Jose. Officials hope that the programs will encourage residents to use environmentally-friendly forms of transportation that will also reduce traffic. Patch reports:

“The public will be able reserve and track the location of bicycles through the Internet, which will also serve as a vandalism and theft deterrent system, according to the report. The project is brought forth as a collaboration between the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the San Mateo County Transit District, the City of Redwood City and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.The project's goal is to promote a zero emission transportation source, by offering a bicycle share program in urban centers near bus and train routes.”

The county plans on contributing $120,000 toward the project. The program is expected to be up and running during the summer of 2012.

Environmentalists Allege San Benito County Made Errors in Approving Solar Farm Project

The San Benito County Board of Supervisors approved a massive solar farm project last year, but a battle has been brewing over its construction between the investors who want to make it happen and environmentalists who want to preserve local wildlife. The battle is of course legal in nature and landed in court this week as both sides made their case before a judge. The project is a 399-megawatt solar farm that is expected to cost nearly $2 billion and would involve 4 million solar panels on 3,200 acres. While the environmental groups are arguing that they support solar power, they contend the farm’s proposed location is destructive to the habitat and character of the area. To fuel their arsenal, attorneys for the environmental groups are picking their way through a 2,100-page environmental impact report that cost $800,000 to produce. According to the environmentalists’ attorney, the county made three key mistakes when it came to approving the project. One, it was a violation of the Williamson Act since such contracts with farmers in the area would have to be canceled early. Mercury points out the other two alleged errors:

“[The county] failed to fully protect several endangered species on the site, such as the blunt-nosed leopard lizard, the San Joaquin kit fox and the giant kangaroo rat. Second, she said, the county violated state law by not thoroughly considering alternatives to the project in its environmental study, such as a 30,000-acre landscape of fallow farmland 50 miles away in Kings and Fresno counties. That property, in the Westlands Water District, is damaged by selenium that leached from the soil from years of irrigation but still would be suitable for the photovoltaic panels.”

The judge is expected to make a decision on the project in the fall. Lawsuits from environmental groups over large solar farms have become more prevalent as developers try to move forward plans that will tackle global warming concerns.

Riverside Supervisors Consider Public Records Fee and a Levy on Solar Developers

If you’re in Riverside County and you want copies of public records, then you might have to break open your piggy bank, as Supervisors are considering a fee of $50 an hour for fulfilling all such retrieval requests. The motivation for the proposal is to help the county recover the costs of duplication, including the amount of time that many requests involve, which takes county workers away from other duties. But should access to public records be contingent upon a fee? Open government advocates would likely disagree and opponents may argue that the potential ordinance is a violation of state public records law. Under the terms of the proposal, the first hour spent on a public records request would be free. Advocates for greater transparency fear that public inspection of public documents will be less likely if a fee is in place. The Press Enterprise reports that Terry Francke, general counsel of Californians Aware, an open-government advocacy group, commented the following: “If you have no idea what the access is going to cost, then I think you are going to be hesitant to even make a request. If the county does approve this, we would think seriously about filing suit challenging it.”

If a resident faces financial hardship, then under the ordinance they would be able to have the fee waived, but in the end, the citizen would be forced to jump through hoops. Supervisors are scheduled to discuss the proposal at their meeting on Tuesday. Supporters argue that the county’s tight budgetary times make the ordinance necessary. Info on the order initiating the ordinance can be seen here.

And in other Riverside-related news, Supervisors are also considering a solar development fee. The county currently has the largest solar energy plants in the state, but in light of the effect that massive plants can have on the county and development, officials are weighing a 2% levy on solar developers’ annual revenue. Riverside has proven to be an attractive location for solar energy plants, and critics of the fee argue that it will slow down renewable energy in the region. Riverside County Supervisor John J. Benoit supports the fee and commented, “We're just saying that when we're left with all the impacts of development, give us a little something back for the imposition on our county.”

Tribe and Environmentalists Sue San Diego County Over Landfill Proposal; Call Area Sacred

San Diego County's environmental agency has been sued over contentious plans to build a landfill in the rural, northern part of the county. The proposed Gregory Canyon landfill has motivated an adamant group of opponents to fight the project to the death---day by day. But the private developers of the landfill show no signs of stopping either, as they have been trying to get the project completed for almost two decades. So far, $60 million has already been spent on the plans by Gregory Canyon Ltd. The lawsuit was filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, RiverWatch and the Pala Band of Mission Indians on the grounds that various state laws have been violated by the Department of Environmental Health. The tribe considers areas near the landfill sacred, such as Gregory Mountain and Medicine Rock. The AP reports that Robert Smith, tribal chairman, commented “We must not allow these precious and irreplaceable sacred sites to be desecrated by the Gregory Canyon garbage dump.”

The lawsuit states the following:

“(We) oppose the construction and operation of the proposed landfill for numerous reasons, including that it would forever threaten the adjacent San Luis Rey River and the groundwater resources along the river that supply drinking water to thousands of residents of San Diego County. […] The proposed landfill also would negatively impact air quality, endangered species, traffic an traffic safety ...(would) create unacceptable levels of noise, and desecrate Gregory Mountain and Medicine Rock, two sites considered sacred by the Pala Band...”

Jim Simmons, Gregory Canyon Landfill Project Manager, called the lawsuit, which is the latest trying to stop the landfill, “meritless” and that “This landfill design incorporates the most innovative technology available that both respects and protects its surroundings.” The county recently approved a major permit for the construction of the landfill, a decision that prompted the new lawsuit.

Beach Bummers: Annual Water Quality Report Card; 8 in LA County Receive F Grade

The summer months are approaching, so it’s as good a time as any to know which of the state’s beaches score well for water quality. The non-profit Heal the Bay has released its annual Beach Report Card and 21 percent of California beaches scored perfect A-plus grades. Overall, most state beaches had good to excellent water quality scores, with 400 of 445 locations receiving an A or B grade during the summer dry time period. However, there is great disparity between dry and wet weather water quality, which Heal the Bay argues is the result of insufficient efforts to reduce storm water runoff pollution. When it comes to those beaches that ranked the worst, 4 out of 10 were in Los Angeles County. Mark Gold, president of Heal the Bay, commented that “Despite numerous individual beach success stories, this year demonstrated that there hasn’t been progress reducing major beach pollution sources like the Los Angeles River, Malibu Creek and Topanga Creek.” Long Beach in particular saw its grads drop by 40% after three years of improvement.

Overall, beaches in San Diego, Orange and Ventura counties ranked very well, and an "A" grade was given to 90 percent of Bay Area oceanside beaches for the absence of potentially harmful bacteria.

Top 10 beaches with the poorest water quality statewide
1. Cowell Beach -- at the wharf (Santa Cruz County)
2. Avalon Harbor Beach on Catalina Island (L.A. County)
3. Cabrillo Beach harborside (Los Angeles County)
4. Topanga State Beach at creek mouth (L.A. County)
5. Poche Beach (Orange County)
6. North Beach/Doheny (Orange County)
7. Arroyo Burro Beach (Santa Barbara County)
8. Baker Beach at Lobos Creek (San Francisco County)
9. Colorado Lagoon (Los Angeles County)
10. Capitola Beach -- west of the jetty (Santa Cruz County)

You can read the full report card here.