RMC DIGEST
OF LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS
The RMC Digest is a subset of stories from the Current and Previous digests. It includes stories of particular interest to the RMC or its joint powers authorities.
Click on a story title below and you will be linked to the original story at the newspaper's web site. Note: Occasionally a story becomes unavailable online after the original publication date.
From the Current Digest
- Standing up to a flood of trash
Saturday, Dec 27, 2008, Los Angeles Times, by Louis Sagahun
When it rains, Lennie Arkinstall scrambles to stanch the outflow of urban debris churning along the Long Beach area's swollen rivers and channels. It's a routine task for Arkinstall, who last week was out in blustery weather resetting yellow trash-catching booms used to corral tons of lawn clippings, toys, plastic bottles, sofas and tens of thousands of cigarette butts.
It didn't take long for him to discover flaws in downtown rubbish control systems. At a small estuary known as Golden Shore Marine Reserve, a floating tree had rammed a chain-link fence, ripping a gaping hole in the mesh. A few blocks away at the Rainbow Harbor tourist complex, one end of a boom sagged beneath the surface of the water.
"After the last big rain we had, I collected 20,000 pounds of debris at Los Cerritos Wetlands alone," he said. Arkinstall is paid by the city to clean up nine coastal sites and parks. Separately, federal biologists and local officials have credited his volunteer work for making east Long Beach's Los Cerritos Wetlands an environmental showcase.
From the Previous Digest
- Walnut preparing to fight proposed NFL stadium
Monday, Dec 15, 2008, Whittier Daily News, By Bethania Palma Markus, Staff Writer
WALNUT - City officials will begin interviewing attorneys as part of a plan to possibly sue neighboring Industry if it approves an environmental impact report for a proposed NFL stadium. "In the event that the city of Industry certifies the EIR as presently adopted, the council feels a challenge is required," said City Attorney Michael Montgomery.
Billionaire developer Ed Roski Jr. has proposed an $800 million, 75,000-seat stadium inside Industry city limits. Industry is going through the entitlement process and expects it to be complete in early January. Roski had expected to onvince an NFL team to move in time to open the stadium in 2011, but that has been pushed back to 2012, officials said.
- U.S. tightens the tap on water from Northern California
Tuesday, Dec 16, 2008, Los Angeles Times, By Bettina Boxall
Federal wildlife officials on Monday released new restrictions on pumping water from Northern California, further tightening the spigot on flows to Southern California cities and San Joaquin Valley farms. The curbs, intended to keep the tiny delta smelt from extinction and stem the ecological collapse of California's water crossroads, could in some years cut state water deliveries by half. The cutbacks will vary depending on conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the smelt's only home and a major source of water for the majority of Californians..
"We're going to keep doing this until we do a long-term fix in the delta," state water resources Director Lester Snow said, complaining that the federal action placed too much of the blame for the smelt's problems on the huge delta pumps that send water south. Chemical contamination, invasive species, power plant operations and climate are all hurting the delta, he said.
Federal scientists say pumping has altered the hydrology and salinity of the delta and as a result, its suitability as a wildlife habitat. The pumps are so powerful that they reverse delta water flows, carrying fish to the pumps. The smelt is just one of several delta fish species in trouble. Recreational and commercial fishing for chinook salmon, which migrate through the delta to the Sacramento River, was banned this year because the fall-run population was so low.
The new restrictions are contained in a 410-page biological opinion issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
"This is a major new reduction in water deliveries that will impact families, businesses and farmers throughout California," said Laura King Moon, assistant general manager of the State Water Contractors.
- Wetlands Trade To Continue
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2008, Long Beach Gazette Newspapers, By Harry Saltzgaver, Executive Editor
Implosion of the proposed sale of 8 acres of land at the proposed sports park site has not derailed hopes to trade city land for the Los Cerritos Wetlands, but it likely has changed the shape of any deal. All parties — developer Tom Dean, city officials, Third District Councilman Gary DeLong — say negotiations are continuing. DeLong said there may be a way to take the controversial parts of the proposal out of the mix so at least a portion of the wetlands comes under public control.
The original deal was to immediately sell the wetlands property to the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority, a semi-government group that already has title to a small portion of the wetlands straddling the San Gabriel River. A state-sanctioned appraisal of the 180 acres controlled by Dean, although done several years ago, sets an open space value of that property at $25 million.
“I can see where it might make sense to remove the sports park and the Wrigley Heights parts of the deal,” DeLong said. “Since the sports park land appears to be the most controversial, let’s move ahead without it. Then we wouldn’t realize enough money to purchase the Wrigley Heights land, eliminating the other controversy.” Jerry Miller, a consultant with Inco representing Dean on the wetlands transaction, said that the developer is open to negotiations. City Manager Pat West also said talks are continuing, and noted that Signal Hill Petroleum, which is operating the oil wells on the Hilltop Property, has also become involved in the conversation. DeLong said that he has asked that alternatives to the full land trade be developed within the next 30 days. However, no report back to the council has been scheduled at this time.
- Industry residents to vote on infrastructure bond
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2008, Pasadena Star News, Ben Baeder, Staff Writer
INDUSTRY - With a developer poised to build an NFL stadium and retail project on the east side of the city, the Industry City Council is asking voters to approve a $500 million infrastructure bond. On Jan. 20, the city's 82 registered voters will decide whether to give Industry permission to borrow the money, according to documents on file in City Hall. The sheer size of the bond makes it unusual, said John Shirey, executive director of the California Redevelopment Association.
The city needs the money to build streets, lights, sewers, bridges and other infrastructure on 600 hilly acres northwest of the 57/60 freeway intersection, said Industry City Manager Kevin Radecki. A 75,000-seat NFL stadium could be built in the same area as soon as 2012. Billionaire developer Ed Roski Jr. has proposed building the $800 million stadium and entertainment complex near the area to be improved. An NFL team would likely play in the Rose Bowl for a few years while the Industry stadium was being built, officials said.The land for the project is owned by Industry, and the city agreed to perform all infrastructure work surrounding the development, according to a city contract. Roski is being allowed to use the land for 65 years. In return, he will split half the profits from the development with Industry.
Along with the bond, voters on Jan. 20 also will be asked to decide on five other measures. Two would create taxes on tickets and parking for entertainment venues. Another would establish Industry as a utility provider in part of the city, Radecki said. Another would give the council the power to award all public works contracts without a bidding process. Finally, another law would make it so only people living in residences could vote, which would exclude transients or people living in commercial areas or hotels.
- Arroyo Seco placed on national register
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2008, Pasadena Star News, Janette Williams, Staff Writer
PASADENA - The Arroyo Seco, Pasadena's recreational hub and defining geographic landmark, has officially been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The official nod from the National Trust in Washington, D.C., comes about eight months after the Pasadena Arroyo Park and Recreation District was unanimously approved by the state Historic Resources Commission.
Sue Mossman, Pasadena Heritage's executive director, said, "It's a new way of looking at and evaluating historic sites." "It includes both the natural environment and its significance to the human population, and also the imprint of the human population on the place." Tim Brick, executive director of the Arroyo Seco Foundation, said in some ways it was easier to get protection for historic structures than historic streams and rivers, like those in the Arroyo Seco. "We hope to restore the natural character of the Arroyo Seco stream, and one of our concerns was to make sure the designation didn't offer any protection to the (concrete) flood channel ... and there would be no complication of our environmental restoration program," he said.
- Governor's water panel urges state to build canal, dams
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2008, Pasadena Star News, The Associated Press
SACRAMENTO - A panel of the governor's top advisers on Monday backed a sweeping plan for water use in California, including taking a look at building a canal to pipe water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The Delta Vision Committee endorsed a draft plan that asks California lawmakers to revisit the canal idea that voters rejected long ago. It also promotes building dams, which Democrats oppose, and restoring 100,000 acres of habitat in the delta, where some native fish are struggling to survive. The committee of four cabinet secretaries and the chair of the Public Utilities Commission will give Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a final set of recommendations by the end of the year.
The panel's meeting came a day after the Bush administration told state and federal officials that they must drastically cut the amount of water pumped from the delta in order to save a California native fish from extinction. That decision has left many farmers in the Central Valley and cities in Southern California with the prospect of water shortages next year.
The new delta plan envisions a new plumbing system to funnel water from rivers in Northern California to the majority of the state's population in the arid south and San Francisco Bay area. The idea is to move away from the delta - a fragile maze of levees, islands, river channels and sloughs that are susceptible to rising sea levels, earthquakes and levee breaks. But transforming the delta and California's water system will have its costs.
- Discovery Center steps closer to building phase
Thursday, Dec 18, 2008, Whittier Daily News, By Airan Scruby, Staff Writer
COMMERCE - Officials are one step closer to building a center to help residents better understand the outdoors. The San Gabriel River Discovery Center Authority approved a strategic plan Thursday for the development of the educational building and outreach programs. The new building would include a museum area with exhibits, an outdoor classroom and a 150-seat conference center. The new strategic plan, which outlines long-term and mid-range goals of the center, was presented Thursday at a meeting of the authority.
The proposed 19,000-square-foot San Gabriel River Discovery Center in the Whittier Narrows is meant to teach people about water resources, provide educational and outdoor experiences and be an educational resource to better understand the San Gabriel River. About $9.5 million has been raised for the $24 million center and its services so far through donations by environmental groups, two water districts and the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County.
Some local environmentalists take issue with putting in a larger building at the site of the existing 1,200-square-foot Whittier Narrows Nature Center, saying the affected area, about 11 acres, sacrifices too much of the about 200 acres of open space located there. Anadel Miller, a member of Friends of the Whittier Narrows Natural Area, said the center would be best moved off the open space, to a location that wouldn't interfere with nature.
An Environmental Impact Report is expected to be released in January or February.
- El Monte Park renovation moves forward
Thursday, Dec 18, 2008, Whittier Daily News, from Staff Reports
SOUTH EL MONTE - A $1.9 million project to completely renovate Mary Van Dyke Park took one step forward last week when the city council voted to request construction bids. The project consists of demolishing the current facilities and building a new community building, playground area, picnic area, lighted basketball courts, fencing and landscaping at the park, located at North Central Avenue and Alpaca Street. The project will be funded largely through grants from the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, Roberti-Z'berg-Harris, and Quimby Funds, as well as state proposition and non-taxable bond funds.
- State cash delay brings area projects to halt
Friday, Dec 19, 2008, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, By Daniel Tedford, Staff Writer
AZUSA - The decision by the state legislature to delay the delivery of $4 billion in funds has brought area road, habitat restoration and water conservation projects to a grinding halt. The area's biggest habitat restoration agency has asked all of its partner cities to halt all new construction. "These projects literally had shovels in the ground, or at least they used to be in the ground until we told them to stop today," said Belinda Faustinos, executive director of the San Gabriel & Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC).
A project to beautify and clean up 26 acres of land near the Canyon Inn in the San Gabriel Mountains was put on hold after a planning agency lost $20,000, said Jane Beesley, also of the RMC. "Whatever projects we have moving forward, they're delayed," Beesley said. " It's going to be a tough few months for anybody depending on state funds, officials said. "We are not happy that this freeze is taking place," Faustinos said.