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