water quality

Scoping Comments – Environmental Impact Report for Amendments to Hum Co Code Regulating Commercial Cannabis Activities

Tuesday, May 9, 2017   Humboldt County Planning & Building Department Attn: Steve Lazar, Senior Planner 3015 H Street Eureka, CA 95501-4484 via email to slazar@co.humboldt.ca.us Re:       Scoping Comments – Environmental Impact Report for Amendments to Humboldt County Code Regulating Commercial Cannabis Activities Dear Mr. Lazar, The following comments are offered on behalf of the … Read more

Backcountry Drug War

In the Golden State, dangerous drug cartels are growing pot on public lands—putting wildlife, water supplies, and outdoor enthusiasts at grave risk. Read the original article here and enjoy the spectacular photographs. In the gray half-light of dawn, eight figures creep through the dry pine forest near Quincy, California. Seven of them wear camo uniforms … Read more

How Changing Marijuana Laws May Affect California’s Water and Wildlife

Northern California has become the center of the state’s cannabis-growing industry, with inevitable environmental consequences. Will legalization and new regulations ease its impact or make the situation worse? IN NOVEMBER 2016, California legalized recreational marijuana. The decision, supported by 56 percent of the state’s voters, allows marijuana to be shared, traded, grown at home and smoked … Read more

Mendocino County property owner fined $37,000 for water reservoir breach

Escaping water from a bladder used to store water for fire protection has fouled nearby land and run into the Upper Main Eel River in Mendocino County. As a result, the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board reports it has fined the property owners where the bladder was kept more than $37,000. Penalty for … Read more

Mohawks become first tribe to take down a federal dam

HOGANSBURG, N.Y. (AP) — A century after the first commercial dam was built on the St. Regis River, blocking the spawning runs of salmon and sturgeon, the stream once central to the traditional culture of New York’s Mohawk Tribe is flowing freely once again. The removal of the 11-foot-high Hogansburg Dam this fall is the … Read more

At Standing Rock – Water, History, and Finance Converge As Sioux Nation Mounts Storied Battle Over Dakota Access Pipeline

Heavy snow and winter cold settled this month on thousands of Native Americans and their supporters encamped on the banks of the Cannonball River, some 30 miles south of Bismarck, North Dakota. Nearby, the Missouri River slipped past. The river’s clean waters serve as the wellspring in what has steadily become one of the storied … Read more

State Assessing Contaminated Water Infiltration to Scotia Drinking Water

State agencies are currently assessing potential impacts to Scotia’s drinking water system after three separate incidents at the Humboldt Redwood Company sawmill caused water contaminated with woody materials to infiltrate into the town’s drinking water system on the Eel River. Other than an unpalatable taste, odor and a slight golden tinge, Scotia’s drinking water was … Read more

Regional Water Board Proposes Rules to Protect Water Quality from Impacts Associated with Marijuana Cultivation

A substantial crowd was on hand May 7 at Eureka’s Wharfinger Building as the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (generally known as the Regional Water Board) held a public workshop at its board meeting to discuss a draft framework for regulating water quality impacts associated with cultivation of marijuana and similar crops. The … Read more

The Long Road to Marijuana Regulation

EcoNews October 2013 By Scott Greacen Under the latest so-called Cole memo, US Attorneys are directed to avoid marijuana prosecutions where there is a regulatory system in place that will keep pot away from kids, out of interstate commerce, and out of the hands of criminal organizations, among other specific measures. Of course, California does … Read more

Increasing Toxicity of Algal Blooms Tied to Nutrient Enrichment and Climate Change

There are more than 123,000 lakes greater than 10 acres in size spread across the United States, and based on the last EPA National Lakes Assessment, at least one-third may contain toxin-producing cyanobacteria. Dams; rising temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations; droughts; and increased runoff of nutrients from urban and agricultural lands are all compounding the … Read more