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By BOB NORBERG
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
The California Coastal Commission is considering an appeal by a Bodega Bay group that is trying to stop the local water district from drilling a new well in what may be an environmentally sensitive area.
The state’s action suspends the approval by Sonoma County of plans by the Bodega Bay Public Utility District for a 100-foot well and chlorination facility at the north end of Bodega Bay.
It also gives hope to Bodega Bay Concerned Citizens, a group of residents who have been fighting the utility district’s plans for three years.
“We’re not saying don’t drill a well, we are saying don’t drill a well here,” said Margaret Briare of Bodega Bay Concerned Citizens.
The utility district wants to drill a 100-foot-deep well on private property off of Bay Flat Road and near the Bodega Dunes Campground, with a chlorination facility nearby.
The well is necessary to increase the district’s water supply to comply with state Department of Public Health Safe Drinking Water Standards, said Oakland attorney Leah Goldberg, who is representing the utility district in the appeal.
The district must be able to meet the peak demand of its customers without having to use storage facilities, Goldberg said.
The utility is not allowed to develop additional wells within the nearby Bodega Dunes Campground, a state park where the utility now has a well field.
“There were other locations looked at, but this is the best location because they can’t take any more water out of state park and the technical study showed there is most likely to be water here,” Goldberg said.
According to the staff report by Sonoma County planners, the well would service existing customers and not be used for new connections. The Board of Supervisors also ordered additional monitoring wells for groundwater and nearby marsh ponds.
The citizens group said the well could affect the freshwater supply to nearby “rail ponds,” named after the type of bird that frequents them.
The rail ponds are between Bay Flat Road and Westshore Road and were created when PG&E constructed Westshore Road in the 1960s as part of its ill-fated plan to build a nuclear power plant on Bodega Head.
The ponds are fed by fresh water from the ground and by the tidal flow of salt water through culverts under Westshore to the bay.
The ponds are also within a Sanctuary Preservation Area identified by Sonoma County’s local coastal plan.
“The main thing is they have been designated as a globally important bird sanctuary, and supposed to be protected from any type of development,” Briare said. “That is why we are fighting so hard.”
According to a study by Peter Baye, an Annapolis ecologist and botanist, there are a large number of plants, animals and birds, including the red legged frog and tidewater goby, that are under state and federal protection that could be affected.
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 27 in a 3-2 vote approved a resolution saying there were no significant environmental impacts from the project and granted it a use and coastal permit.
A hearing on whether to consider the appeal will be held by the Coastal Commission next year.
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There are conservationists and there are preservationists and then there are those who would rather click Thumbs Down then research the difference.
How quickly even vernal geesewatchers morph. And this being the fate of humans in Bodega and all? Or did you mean the fate of reenacting overdevelopment in Bodega?
Again a Fact: This decision moves on to the Coastal Commission for a vote as the original article mentioned. The article above?
What the Norberg article didn’t spell out was that this next vote happens despite ones beliefs on geese, vets, progressives, personal water craft, couch liberties or even First Amendment teasers. No guarantees for the ranters or the meek on this one. Got science? Or just got high friends in good places?
Wishing you and Bodega Bay the best in recovery.
Ecologically Yours,
Shirley
@Greg – the tourists may not spend money at the businesses you mentioned, but I wonder how many of the people who do spend money at those businesses work in the tourist trade? There is a multiplier effect at play here. The tourist industry plays a significant part of our local economy, and when it prospers, we all do a bit better.
Maybe this will help with the understanding of why those brave few are fighting so hard to protect this vital area:
http://marinebio.org/oceans/threatened-endangered-species.asp
Bottom line, we continue to mess with our food web like this, we will perish.
Shirley:
So the fate of humans in Bodega Bay is left to the whims of your progressive idols on the Coastal Commission. Isn’t this the same progressive mentality that lets occupiers create squalid tent ghettos in the middle of our cities, but wants to kick a bunch of trailers out of Lawson’s Landing? Many of which are populated by Vietnam vets who can ill afford to live anywhere else?
The birds first, people last, common sense nowhere mindset of you people will, if unchecked, devolve this country into a third-world slum. So enjoy your globally significant trophy from the Iranian Department of Game and Fish. We’re all paying for it.
The State mandates, and now a State Agency (The Coastal Commission) will approve the appeal. They have killed Dillon Beach and now their eyes are on Bodega Bay.
SMART wants to build a railbed, but it’s most ardent supporters are opposed to a quarry and asphalt plant nearest ( and greenest ) to the tracks. Go figure.
This ‘sanctuary’ status can get quite carried away. I remember a story awhile back where 2 guys were Running personal water craft from Canada to Mexico. They were stopped in Bodega, as PWC are not allowed in the ‘sanctuary’ south of Bodega Bay. I think that they had to trailer down to the Bay Area. So, if two PWC are such a danger to the Pacific Ocean, anything goes as to any potential ‘harm’ to nature…
They will win the appeal, and the State will force Bodega Water to try again, probably having the same process repeat itself, over and over.
Can we do anything without it being 4-5 times the costs and Government time spent ?
Say for instance that the State said upgrade capacity, and the locals with expert local water well drillers find a good spot for it. The locals pay for the driller to drill. The chlorination facility is installed. Done in a few months, everyone satisfied. No lawsuits, no appeals for a ‘maybe’ circumstance. Just American ingenuity and common sense.
Common sense ? What am I thinking ?
Ah, the simpler folks who watch the geese on their seasonal ponds. They must have slipped my mind. Sounds like there’s really nothing to worry about…
except the extinction part.
This is why we have Coastal Commissions who make decisions for the common good, perhaps even, for international significance. As for the Supervisors, most are bought and payed for by the boys and girls playing Sonoma Alliance. Not a fun game really for the simpler folk with or without geese or money. Some of the biggest players either got goosed or already crashed and burned, betting against our natural beauty, and FOR overdevelopment with new wells, council members, rules, and glossy portfolios. The county banks and even your businesses are still SMARTing from this debacle.
We do hope that wells are not placed near our State Parks that are already being sucked dry in so many other ways. We are so thankful for the foresight of the bold citizens who continue to walk the walk to preserve and protect what we have.
@ Shirley, I agree totally with Greg. He’s out there and knows what he’s talkin about.
And as for, “It may help to do a bit of research on subjects you wish to opinion on, or even take a Thanksgiving hike, for some reflection and appreciation for what we enjoy now, so tenuously.”
I took a Thanksgiving hike…from the kitchen right into the living room, on the couch in front of the television set! Boy o boy do I appreciate the freedom to make that choice all on my own! Maybe tomorrow I’ll walk off a few calories…or not!
Tourism is very important to Bodega Bay and to much of Sonoma County. People flock here to see the migratory birds. Having protected waters provides income to the county and its cities. In most cases local information is provided to nominate and support the recognition of the importance of these waters, especially with the decline of available water in many sites.
I would hope they can find a less environmentally destructive site.
“The well is necessary to increase the district’s water supply to comply with state Department of Public Health Safe Drinking Water Standards, said Oakland attorney Leah Goldberg, who is representing the utility district in the appeal.
The district must be able to meet the peak demand of its customers without having to use storage facilities, Goldberg said.”
What the BB Public Utility District should do is just keep increasing the price it charges for water until the cost is high enough to drive peak demand down below the amount of water available from its present supply. No need to provide any more water to existing BB residents. That would eliminate any environmental impact on anything and save on engineering, environmental and legal fees.
Well, the Bay Area Audubon Society declared the area a globally significant bird sanctuary, I guess that settles it. Also the United Nations did not declare Bodega Bay a wetlands of International significance, but did declare that Tomales Bay and Bolinas Lagoon had International significance. These groups have no authority in the United States to decide anything.
Our local lawmakers have decided that drilling this well is OK with them. We do not have International rule over the United States so I wish these UN American groups would stop labeling our lands and waterways with their determinations instead of ours. Unless our elected officials have made something sacrosanct, then it isn’t. The Coastal Commission needs to sever its ties to the United Nations and all their non-governmental organizations including ICLEI.
A well is needed, so drill it.
I’m thankful for the beauty of the north bay every day. While the well is likely needed, hopefully a less sensitive area might be found for it…?
Followup note to Shirley:
Thank you for asking me to do some research. The organization that gave the Laguna a blue ribbon is Ramsar.
To date, this international organization has granted this honor to 1,967 different wetland areas.
Headquartered in Gland, Switzerland, this organization of euro-enviro-wackies was founded in 1971 at a globally significant meeting chaired by Iran’s Director of Game and Fish.
Thanks for a fresh set of chuckles. Don’t sprain your arm patting yourself on the back.
Shirley…
The businesses I am most acquainted with in my immediate area are Oliver’s Market, Cotati Jewelers, 8-Ball Lounge, J&M Manufacturing, Michael’s Harley Davidson, Sonoma Backyard, Miller Driving School, Redwood Cafe, Arch’s Glass, Loud & Clear Music, Papa Murphy’s Pizza, Cotati Massage Therapy, Hines Signs, Tama-Rama, Sandallady Glove Repair, and Masala Jacks, to name a few. Almost all on this list are threatened with extinction by the progressive priorities of the loons in residence at Cotati City Hall. None, of them, I assure you, have received as much as one dime of benefit from global tourist dollars flocking to the Laguna de Santa Rosa. So whatever self-congratulating organization conferred this bogus distinction, you can send them a thank-you note, but please don’t inflict your self-righteousness on simpler folk who are just trying to earn a living.
By the way, whole flocks of geese visit the seasonal ponds on my property often, and they are quite delightful. But I would never be so pompous for a second as to assume that grants me global stature.
Greg, despite your laughter issues in public forums and your rantings about Kuwait, the fact is that the Laguna de Santa Rosa Wetlands Complex was designated as a wetland of international significance in the protection of migratory waterfowl.
Not sure what line of business you’re in but the businesses around these parts thrive on tourist visitations for our wildlife wonders in and around our local, state, national sanctuaries.
Organizations like BBPUD haven’t such a great reputation for doing the right thing when it comes to honoring the natural and human communities.
It may help to do a bit of research on subjects you wish to opinion on, or even take a Thanksgiving hike, for some reflection and appreciation for what we enjoy now, so tenuously.
As for Briare, Baye, and the rest making sure we hang on to what we have for the public commons, most of us send our thanks and well wishes as they approach the Commission.
Perhaps Ms. Briare would be happier if the Bodega Bay Public Utility District drilled their next well in Kuwait. Hundreds of humans could suffer dehydration, unflushed toilets, dirty laundry, and unwashed cars, but a drilling ban would guarantee not to ruffle the feathers on one precious rail bird.
On a related note, it gets tedious hearing local puddles described as having global significance. A few months ago, I almost had to leave a Cotati city council meeting because I couldn’t stop laughing after I heard one citizen describe the Laguna de Santa Rosa as a “waterway of international importance.” Honest. So watch your step, Suez Canal and Panama Canal. There’s a new kid on the block.