Volunteers Needed to Plant Redwood Trees

Volunteers are needed to help plant on beautiful Sonoma County
lands on January 9th & 10th

This January, Forest Unlimited will be planting approximately 1,500 two-year old bare root redwood seedlings for reforestation and erosion control at Sunset Beach Regional Park, Steelhead Beach Regional Park, Shone Farm (the agricultural educational facility of SRJC), and St. Dorothy's Rest above Camp Meeker. The only thing we are in short supply of are volunteers to help plant the trees. Supervised children are welcome.

The planting dates are on Friday, January 9th and Saturday, January 10th. On each day, we will rendezvous at 8:30 a.m. The morning session will end at around 12:30 and the afternoon session will end around 4:30 p.m. We could use your help, even if you can plant for only half of one day. All equipment and a free indoor lunch, including drinks and snacks, will be provided. Vegetarian food will also be available.

The seedlings average about 18-inches in height and are not difficult to plant.
These trees will be “forever protected.”

To sign up and/or to ask any questions:
Carl Wahl, Project Manager, at 874-9268 or mcwahl@poetworld.net,
Bob Nelson at 874-1740 or at ebnelson@sonic.net,
Rick Coates, Forest Unlimited Executive Director, at 632-6070 or rcoates@sonic.net, and
Larry Hanson, Forest Unlimited Board President, at 887-7433 or kimlarry2@comcast.net.

For further information regarding rendezvous locations, appropriate attire, etc., please read the “Supplemental Volunteer Information” sheet below.

Thank you - and please pass this message along to anyone interested in helping. This is an excellent educational experience as well as a great opportunity to be part of the envoironmental solution for generations to come.

Town Hall Coalition
6741 Sebastopol Ave. Suite 140
Sebastopol, CA 95472
707-824-4371
www.townhallcoalition.org


Forest Unlimited is a 13-year old 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation headquartered in Cazadero. Its mission is to protect, enhance, and restore the forests and watersheds of Sonoma County. Please visit our website at www.forestunlimited.org.
Please tell your friends, and thanks.

Redwood Seedling Reforestation Project
Supplemental Volunteer Information

On behalf of Forest Unlimited, thank you so much for volunteering to help with this season’s redwood seedling planting event.

We will be planting on two dates—Friday, January 9th and Saturday, January 10th. If you have not yet done so, please contact either Carl at mcwahl@poetworld.net or 874-9268 or Bob at ebnelson@sonic.net or 874-1740 with your date preference(s).

On Friday, we will rendezvous in the parking lot in front of the Union Hotel restaurant in Occidental at 8:30 a.m. We’ll explain the day’s itinerary, form car pools, and depart for the day’s planting site near Camp Meeker by around 9:15. We will have lunch in the dining hall at St. Dorothy’s Rest.

On Saturday, we will rendezvous just inside the entry gate to Shone Farm (located about 1-mile north of River Road at the intersection of East Side Road and Trenton Healdsburg Road) at 8:30 a.m. We will then divide into two groups with one group going to the nearby county parks on the Russian River and the other to the campground area at Shone Farm. We will all meet at the Dutton Pavilion at Shone Farm for lunch.

Please dress for the occasion. The county parks will have considerable exposure. Dress warm, consider layered clothing, use sunscreen, bring a cap, and wear comfortable boots. Waterproof boots (or slipover boots) will probably be a plus. Due to unpredictable weather, prepare to bring raingear. Consider bringing an additional pair shoes to wear in your car. Disposable latex gloves will be available. Bring work gloves if you prefer not using latex gloves.

Narrow trenching shovels and plastic buckets will be available. Most people will work in teams of two, and each team will be issued a kneeling pad. The terrain on Friday will, in general, be moderately sloped. The terrain on Saturday will be flat to slightly sloped.

In addition to improving the environment, we want you to have a good time. Preparation and proper attire are the keys to an enjoyable and rewarding experience—especially when planting in January.

Please contact us if there are any other questions and/or concerns. We need to keep a volunteer tally. If you cannot make the date, or wish to change dates, please let us know. Thanks again.

Sincerely yours,
Carl Wahl & Bob Nelson
Project Managers

Read article »

YOUR WATERSHED by Russian River Watershed Association

The Russian River Watershed Association writes a monthly column on what you can do to protect our home and water systems. This month's subject is how to safely dispose of unused and out-dated medications.

No Drugs Down the Drain!

Are unused and expired medications filling up your medicine cabinet? Don’t flush them down the drain or throw them in the trash. Help protect your family and the environment by taking your unwanted medication to a take-back location. This fall, in conjunction with the “No Drugs Down the Drain” statewide campaign, the Russian River Watershed Association and the Mendocino County Solid Waste Management Agency are adding additional take back locations where you can properly dispose of your unused medications.

Recent studies show that pharmaceuticals in rivers and streams, if present at high enough concentrations, can harm aquatic wildlife. When flushed down the drain, some medications are not completely removed by wastewater treatment plants and are discharged to surface waters. Proper disposal of unused pharmaceuticals can help protect the environment.

To minimize the amount of pharmaceuticals in local rivers and streams, the Russian River Watershed Association and the Mendocino County Solid Waste Management Agency are partnering with local agencies, pharmacies and law enforcement offices to provide additional safe medicine disposal locations in Cloverdale, Healdsburg, Windsor, and Ukiah. This effort expands programs sponsored by the Sonoma County Water Agency & the City of Santa Rosa.

The Safe Medicine Disposal Program will provide a FREE and convenient option for correctly disposing of expired and unused medications. Proper disposal of expired and unused medications can help avoid dosing errors and self-medication; reduce the risk of accidental poisoning; reduce the potential of abuse of medicines; and reduce the amount of medicine incorrectly disposed of in household garbage and flushed down drains.

Locations:

Cloverdale:
Cloverdale Pharmacy, 117 Broad St.

Cotati:
Walgreens, 7800 Old Redwood Hwy.

Guerneville:
Safeway Pharmacy, 16405 River Rd.
Lark’s Drugs, 16251 Main St.
Sonoma County Sheriff, 1st & Church

Healdsburg:
Longs Drugs, 455 Center St.
Healdsburg Police, 438 Center St.

Santa Rosa:
Costco, 1900 Santa Rosa Ave.
Creekside Pharm., 95 Montgomery Dr.
Dollar Drug, 1055 W. College Ave.
Longs Drugs, 2771 4th St.
Longs Drugs, 2075 Mendocino Ave.
Longs Drugs, 463 Stony Point Rd.
Medicine Shoppe, 990 Sonoma Ave.
Tuttles Pharmacy, 4731 Hoen Ave.
Tuttles Doyle Park Pharmacy, 1220 Sonoma Ave.
Walgreens Drugs, 4610 Sonoma Hwy.

Sebastopol:
Longs, 788 Gravenstein Hwy North
Safeway, 406 N. Main St.

Rohnert Park:
Costco Pharmacy, 5901 Redwood Dr.
Longs Drugs, 6378 Commerce Blvd.

Windsor:
Health First Pharm., 9070 Windsor Rd.
Longs Drugs, 9030 Brooks Rd. South

Sonoma:
Rite Aid/ Maxwell Village Shopping Center, 19205 Sonoma Hwy.
Safeway Pharmacy, 477 West Napa St.
Longs Drugs, 201 West Napa St.
Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department Valley Substation, 810 Grove St., El Verano
Sonoma Police Department, 175 1st St. West.

Ukiah:
Walgreens Pharmacy, 308 E Perkins St.


For more information on this program, please call the Russian River Watershed Association at 707-833-2553 or visit: www.rrwatershed.org/safemeds. For additional disposal sites in the Russian River Watershed please visit: www.scwasafemeds.org; www.srcity.org/safemed; for Mendocino County, please visit: www.mendorecycle.org; for Sonoma County, please visit: www.recyclenow.org; and for sites in the rest of the state visit: www.NoDrugsDownTheDrain.org.

Read article »

Whole Foods, Sebastopol supports Ceres Project

Ceres Project is a wonderful cooperative effort engaging the efforts of young cooks who prepare nutritious meals for people in need. To learn more about the Project - please visit their web site - link below. To help contribute to this project, please shop at Whole Foods Sebastopol from September 29th through December 28th.

Whole Foods Sebastopol has selected the Ceres Project to be the recipient of the Envirocents Program from September 29 to December 28th. This is a great opportunity for us to raise money, but even more to spread the word about our work.

There will be posters in the store featuring Ceres, and our logo will be on the change boxes at each register.

Folks can choose to put their extra change in the boxes, and all of the bag donations will also come to us.

Whole Foods is also giving us three opportunities to table in front of the stores. We will be there on Sunday, October 19 from 11 - 1, and again on the Sunday before Thanksgiving and again in December.

Here's what you can do:

1. Spread the word among your circles and encourage them to take their bags to Whole Foods and to donate their change to us via the change boxes.

2. Put notices up on WACCO and in other newsletters you have access to.

3. Shop at Whole Foods often, take your own bags with you, and donate that $0.05 to Ceres.

4. Help out by volunteering to table October 19, November 23, or pick a date in December.

Thanks for helping to spread the word!

And here's the complete story:

Whole Foods Envirocents Program Helps Get Meals to Local Cancer Survivors

Grab your reusable grocery bag and head to Whole Foods in Sebastopol to help a local non-profit that’s touching a lot of lives with the healing power of food. From now through the end of December, The Ceres Community Project will be the beneficiary of Whole Foods-Sebastopol’s Envirocents Program.

Envirocents gives Whole Foods shoppers the option to donate five cents for every bag they bring in to a local non-profit organization. Change boxes at each register are designed to collect additional donations. Local non-profits get visibility as well as funds to support their work.

The Ceres Community Project, founded in March 2007, provides organic, nutrient-dense meals to families dealing with serious illness while training young chefs in the art of healthy cooking and eating. This year, Ceres will deliver more than 15,000 meals to individuals throughout Sonoma County. More than 100 teens from ten area high schools have worked as chefs in the project’s kitchen.

The majority of the project’s clients are dealing with cancer and the debilitating effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Here’s what one of those clients had to say about the difference that The Ceres Community Project made for her and her family.

“I don't know how to fully express what a lifesaver the Ceres Project food was for me during my chemo. Having food already prepared, tasty food which I knew was good for me and helping me fight the cancer, made my life so much easier during an extremely difficult time. As it came to the end of the treatment, I grew more and more fatigued but there were things I really wanted to be able to do. It was important to me to help with my daughter's 8th grade play and graduation. After nine years of being an active volunteer in her school, especially with the plays, it would have been a shame to not be able to work on her last play. If I hadn't had the Ceres food waiting for me, I wouldn't have been able to handle it.”

Each Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, teen volunteers gather at The Community Church of Sebastopol’s commercial kitchen to chop, sauté, whisk, bake and roast their way through cases of mostly donated local organic food. The teens learn first hand about the relationship between the food we eat and our health, develop their culinary skills and discover how simple it is to make a difference in their world.

If you’d like to learn more about The Ceres Community Project visit their website, www.ceresproject.org . If you know someone who needs food support, call Cherie at 823-2529. If you are a teen or adult who would like to volunteer, call Judi at 829-8295. And from now until the end of December, visit Whole Foods Sebastopol with your reusable bag in hand. Donate that five cents – and whatever change you have – to The Ceres Community Project. If each of us gives a little, we can make a big difference for our neighbors who are struggling with illness, and for the young people who are becoming the leaders of the future.


Cathryn Couch
707-799-7489
www.kitchencosmology.com
"Humans are tuned for relationship. The eyes, the skin, the tongue, ears, nostrils -- all are gates where our body receives the nourishment of otherness." - David Abrams, The Spell of the Sensuous

Read article »

Blood Bank LOW on Blood and Platelets - Please Donate

My friend Mary Mount recently encouraged me to come by to Bank of the Redwoods while she donates platelets for cancer patients - get the story and tell our readers how much blood is needed. While I was there I met with Kent Corley the PR manager, and he gave me a good impression of our dire need for blood and platelets, especially with blood needed for Hurricane Ike victims and people injured by the train wreck in Los Angeles. The blood bank always takes care of local patients first and if it has excess inventory it can help those in need outside our community. Below is more information on how you can help - and who is eligible. I was amazed to learn that a mere 37% of the population can give blood. That makes keeping blood supplies full and available much more challenging. The information below comes from their web site - more later - V


Blood Brothers and Sisters
The common bond of blood unites us all. No matter who we are blood sustains us. Since it cannot be manufactured we rely on caring citizens to donate, forever connecting and changing lives with this simple act.

Every 15 minutes someone in our community requires lifesaving blood for a variety of reasons - traumatic accidents, surgery, and cancer treatments. Depending on the injury or form of illness, specific types of blood components are used. For instance, many cancer patients require platelet transfusions as part of their treatment. Platelets must be transfused within five days of donation, which means constant replenishment from dedicated donors is required.

The number of individuals in the U.S. who are eligible to donate blood is far smaller than previously believed - approximately 60 million fewer people. The new figures suggest that only 37 percent of the U.S. population is currently eligible to donate blood, and with anticipated demographic changes, that percentage is likely to drop.

"In the nearly sixty years of continuous operation in Sonoma County never has blood collection been more challenging than it is today," commented Public Relations Manager, Kent Corley. "The industry had the shared belief that 60% of the population was eligible to donate blood. With this new statistic, it makes a little more sense to me why we have had a hard time keeping up with demand. Add to that the huge number of layoffs we've seen over the past seven years in the local manufacturing sector and more in the mortgage industry just this week, you can easily see that we are fishing in a smaller and smaller pool."

As additional donor restrictions are implemented and the population ages, the country could lose more and more willing donors, which could pose an even greater threat to our national blood supply," said Karen Shoos Lipton, chief executive officer of AABB (formerly known as American Association of Blood Banks). "Ensuring an adequate supply of blood is increasingly more challenging, and these new data suggest it is extremely important that eligible donors give blood more frequently."

"Thank goodness for the people who donate on a regular basis," said Ryan Benjamin, Recruitment and Donor Services Manager. "We keep asking our existing donors to give more and they are tired of carrying the load.

Only 5% of our local population donates and that is unacceptable from a community that is so giving in other ways. I think there is a false sense of security out there - that someone else will donate. We need every person over the age of 17 (16 with parental and doctor's consent) to visit a blood drive to see if they are eligible. Some people know they are not eligible and that's fine. If you're not sure, please visit http://www.bbr.org/ and find a drive near you."

Blood Bank of the Redwoods
2324 Bethards Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95405
(707) 527-5617

Here is the web page schedule - please visit it often as it is updated:
http://www.bbr.org/upcoming.aspx

09/25/08	Petaluma	Plaza North Shopping Center	3:00 PM	6:00 PM	259 B North McDowell Blvd	Parking Lot
09/26/08	Petaluma	Redwood Business Park	8:15 AM	11:15 AM	1310 Redwood Way	Parking Lot
09/26/08	Healdsburg	Grove Street Plaza	9:00 AM	11:00 AM	511 Grove St.	Parking Lot
09/27/08	Santa Rosa	Kawana Elementary Health Fair	3:00 PM	7:00 PM	2121 Moraga Dr.	Parking Lot
09/29/08	Santa Rosa	Friedman's Home Improvement Ct	4:00 PM	6:00 PM	4055 Santa Rosa Ave.	Parking Lot
09/30/08	Petaluma	Lucky - Lakeville	4:00 PM	7:00 PM	939 Lakeville Highway	Parking Lot
09/30/08	Sonoma	Maxwell Village Shopping Ctr	3:00 PM	6:30 PM	19111 Sonoma Highway	Parking Lot
10/01/08	Healdsburg	Latter-Day Saints Church	3:00 PM	6:30 PM	310 Powell Ave	Cultural Hall
10/01/08	Cloverdale	Cloverdale Fairgrounds	3:00 PM	6:00 PM	1 Citrus Fair Dr	Tea Room
10/01/08	Rohnert Park	TCBY	2:30 PM	6:30 PM	7285 Snyder Ln	Parking Lot
10/01/08	Graton	Graton Fire Protection Dist	3:30 PM	6:30 PM	North Main & Ross Rd.	Parking Lot
10/02/08	Petaluma	G & G Market	3:00 PM	6:30 PM	701 Sonoma Mountain Pkwy	Parking Lot
10/02/08	Sebastopol	O'Reilly Media	9:30 AM	12:30 PM	1005 Gravenstein Hwy N	Parking Lot
10/02/08	Santa Rosa	Marmot	11:00 AM	2:00 PM	2321 Circadian Wy	Parking Lot
10/04/08	Petaluma	Petaluma Theater District	12:00 PM	3:00 PM	Suite 109 C Street	Corner of 1st & C
10/05/08	Petaluma	New Life Christian Fellowship	10:30 AM	1:30 PM	1310 Clegg St.	Secondary Room
10/05/08	Healdsburg	Healdsburg District Hospital	11:00 AM	3:00 PM	1375 University Ave	South Side of Main Entrance
10/06/08	Windsor	Windsor Regional Library	3:00 PM	6:00 PM	9291 Old Redwood Hwy	Conference Room
10/07/08	Petaluma	Washington Square Shopping Ctr	3:00 PM	6:00 PM	373 South McDowell Blvd	Parking Lot
10/07/08	Santa Rosa	Sonoma County Water Agaency	7:30 AM	10:30 AM	2060 West College Ave	Finely Ctr Parking Lot
10/08/08	Rohnert Park	Longs Drugs	3:00 PM	6:00 PM	6378 Commerce Blvd	Parking Lot
10/08/08	Forestville	Forestville Fire Dept	4:00 PM	7:00 PM	6554 Mirabel Rd.	Fire Station
10/08/08	Santa Rosa	S.C.O.E.	8:00 AM	11:00 AM	5340 Skylane Blvd	Parking Lot
10/09/08	Santa Rosa	Kaiser	3:00 PM	7:00 PM	401 Bicentennial Wy	Parking Lot
10/11/08	Cotati	Oliver's Market	10:30 AM	2:00 PM	546 E. Cotati Ave	Parking Lot
10/11/08	Windsor	Johnson Pool & Spa	11:00 AM	2:30 PM	9650 Old Redwood Hwy	Parking Lot
10/12/08	Sebastopol	Safeway	10:00 AM	2:30 PM	406 North Main St	Parking Lot
10/12/08	Sonoma	Safeway	10:00 AM	2:30 PM	477 W Napa	Parking Lot
10/14/08	Santa Rosa	Santa Rosa Marketplace	3:00 PM	6:00 PM	1960 Santa Rosa Ave	Parking Lot near Applebee's
10/15/08	Petaluma	Long's Drugs - E Washington	2:00 PM	6:30 PM	365 East Washington St.	Parking Lot
10/16/08	Petaluma	Petaluma Business Expo	4:00 PM	7:00 PM	320 McDowell Blvd	Parking Lot
10/17/08	Santa Rosa	Raley's	3:30 PM	6:30 PM	1407 Fulton Rd.	Parking Lot
10/18/08	Rohnert Park	Pacific Market	11:00 AM	4:00 PM	901 Golf Course Dr.	Parking Lot
10/19/08	Petaluma	Catholic Church of St. James	8:45 AM	12:15 PM	125 Sonoma Mtn Pkwy	Room 9
10/20/08	Petaluma	Kaiser	2:30 PM	5:30 PM	3900 Lakeville Hwy	Parking Lot C

Read article »

Volunteer at Tolay Pumpkin Fest for FREE Park Pass

This is a great opportunity to volunteer and have fun - meet wonderful people - and get a FREE Regional Parks Pass - all at the same time!


The Regional Parks Department needs volunteers to help out at this year's Tolay Fall Festival.

http://www.sonoma-county.org/parks/pk_tolay_fallfest.htm

Everyone who signs up and works a five-hour shift will receive a volunteer parking pass. This pass works exactly like our Park Pass, waiving the parking fees in all 44 Regional Parks.

The Fall Festival itself is a really fun event that truly benefits from volunteer involvement. The Festival highlights Sonoma County's Agricultural and Native American heritage through interactive, hands on crafts, exhibits and games. Volunteers assist staff with a number of different booths and activities. The Festival runs from October 9-12 and 16-19. Volunteers are asked to attend an orientation at our main office in Santa Rosa located at 2300 County Center Dr. Suite 120A. Orientations are being held on:


Thursday, 9/25: 6pm – 8pm
Saturday, 9/27: 10am – noon
Sunday, 9/28: 2pm – 4pm
Tuesday, 9/30: 10am – noon
Wednesday, 10/1: 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Saturday, 10/4: 3pm – 5pm

Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to sign up for one of the orientations. Due to the nature of the position, working with children, all volunteers will be fingerprinted and background-checked at County expense. All volunteers who go through an orientation and volunteer for a five hour shift receive a Festival T-Shirt, Park Hat, lunch and of course, the volunteer parking pass which waives all parking fees in the County parks for a year.

Thank you so much for your interest in our parks.

Sincerely,
John Ryan
Volunteer/Intern Coordinator
Sonoma County Regional Parks
Ph: 707-565-3356
Fax: 707-579-8247

Read article »

Santa Rosa Wastewater Discharge EIR Ready to Read

Santa Rosa is Seeking Wastewater Solution

Please see NEW NOTES and INFO on this subject below. 9/30/08

The City of Santa Rosa, California, is looking for another way to dispose of the wastewater they generate every day. At this point the water is treated to Tertiary level, and although very clean, it still contains elements like heavy metals and pharmaceuticals that can harm waterways, fish and the environment. The challenge is to dispose of the water in a way that is the least harmful. The Geysers Pipeline project takes treated wastewater up Pine Flat Road to geothermal wells managed by Calpine to recharge the steam fields and generate electricity for the Bay Area’s grid. But in very wet years the system generates more recycled water than that project alone can handle. This EIR is the study of alternatives for solving the problem into the future as Santa Rosa grows. Please see the link to view the EIR in this story.

The City of Santa Rosa Final Environmental Impact Report (Final EIR) for the Incremental Recycled Water Program's (IRWP) Discharge Compliance Project (DCP) is ready for public review. http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/departments/utilities/irwp/discharge/Pages/studies_reports.aspx

Compliance Project (DCP) is now available for review.
(http://www.SRCity.org/DischargeCompliance)
Please note time change: The BPU will consider EIR certification on October 2 at 5:00 PM instead of 1:30 PM.

In addition, on October 6th the Seasonal Storage Project (SSP) Final EIR will be made available.
http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/departments/utilities/irwp/storage/Pages/studies_reports.aspx

Information about the DCP and SSP, and the availability of their Final EIRs follows below. These documents are being provided within a close time frame to allow for the opportunity to cross reference them, in response to input we have received from the public.

Upcoming Activities

Discharge Compliance Project:

Final EIR available for Review - September 22, 2008

BPU considers EIR Certification - October 2, 2008* (Starts at 5PM and will be televised) BPU will probably certify the EIR. This is NOT a hearing but people will be given the opportunity to speak. There is no legal requirement for the BPU to consider anything that is said at that meeting. It is unlikely that they would make any changes to the EIR at that point before they certify.

BPU Study Session re: Project Selection - November 6, 2008
BPU has a study session at their regular meeting. They will probably take public comments at this meeting as well, but no decision would be made at this meeting.

SR Council Review Study Session Results - November 18, 2008 (about 5 PM) This discussion with probably have time for the public to speak. No decision would be made here.

BPU Project Selection/Approval - December 4, 2008 This is the meeting where they will select a project. This is the last chance for comments and public testimony.

Seasonal Storage Project:

Final EIR available for Review - October 6, 2008
BPU considers EIR Certification - October 16, 2008

The meetings where certification will be considered are held during Board of Public Utilities (BPU) meetings in the Santa Rosa Council Chamber, 100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Santa Rosa.
All meetings will be at 1:30 PM, *except the October 2nd meeting, which will be at 5 PM. Confirm agenda and schedule at http://www.SRCity.org/BPU.


WHERE TO FIND COPIES OF THE DCP and SSP FINAL EIRs

Both Final EIRs will be available for review at Sonoma County Branch Libraries in Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park/Cotati, Sebastopol, and Windsor and on the project Web site at www.SRCity.org/IRWP.

The DCP Final EIR will also be available at the libraries in Cloverdale, Guerneville, Healdsburg, Occidental, Petaluma, Forestville and Lakeport. The Final EIRs, appendices and reference material cited in the Final EIRs will also be available for review at the Laguna Plant Library, located at 4300 Llano Road, Santa Rosa. Hard copies and CDs of the Final EIRs will be available for purchase by calling ARC at 707-579-9096. (Prices at ARC are as follows: $100 per set of
2 volumes, $10 per CD and $8 per Executive Summary)

Please contact our office if you have any questions.

Other helpful site addresses are available at:
http://www.SRCity.org/DischargeCompliance
http://www.SRCity.org/SeasonalStorage
http://www.SRCity.org/BPU
http://www.SRCity.org/IRWP


NEW NOTES 9/30/08
Mark Millan called to say he has received some panic concerns and questions from people - this is his summary to allay fears:

The Laguna Site is noted in the EIR as the Environmentally Superior Alternative meaning it has the fewest or least significant effects on the environment. See pages 1-10 and 11 of the EIR. Steelhead Beach (Site D1) would be 20 to 30 times more costly (140 to 174 million) than the Laguna site.

The Russian River would not be closed for any period of time if they chose the Steelhead Beach site (D1) - they would use what is called a Coffer Dam that holds water back from where they are working - forcing the river around the dam - not stopping the flow.

Santa Rosa is in serious budget crisis - like the rest of the world - and simply doesn't have the resources to do a large scale project. But - they have to meet NCRWCB regulations for oxygen and temperature, thus the study and project. Plus CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) requires they study a range of feasible projects.

Calpine (The Geysers) would like just about every drop of water Santa Rosa creates so discharge would only be necessary in wet years when there is too much water coming through the treatment plant.

Leaky Pipes - they finally heard Brenda - are being fixed at a very slow rate - but have increasingly been recognized as a major source of inflow into the treatment plant.

Moving the Steelhead project site up River Road was intended to reduce the environmental impacts to the area. Steelhead Beach and Osprey Trail. - CEQA requires impacts to be avoided where possible.

Reverse Osmosis, also known as Advanced Membrane Treatment (AMT) facilities were reviewed in the EIR for each proposed discharge site including at the Laguna. Consideration for using AMT as a strategy to meet regulatory compliance is evaluated in the EIR and you can find it in the Draft EIR in Volume 4 of 6; Section 3.3.3., on page 51.

Also see Volume 6 of 6, TM-D10 Advance Membrane Treatment Evaluation, which
goes in to great detail how this type of treatment could be used.

All available on line at:
http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/departments/utilities/irwp/discharge/Pages/studies_reports.aspx

Source:
Mark Millan
Public Information Coordinator
www.SRCity.org/IRWP
707.836.0300
EM: millan@DataInstincts.com

COMMENTS from Brenda Adelman 9/30/08

Much of what Mark has written is basically correct and what I have been saying for years. What he doesn’t say is why they want concerned citizens to back off just as the big decision is going to be made. They are feeling the heat from concerned citizens now who have been alerted to their pending decisions.

The City has already removed five options from this proposal and were asked repeatedly to take this one off as well and they refused. They are now working very hard to get people in the community to back off at a critical juncture. Yet, the City has spent six years and about $16 million planning this direct discharge into the Russian River. Does it make sense that they would back off this easily?

Mark is a very nice man, but the City is absolutely not to be trusted in this. They have a long history of spinning and ignoring, etc. things we have been saying for years. Why is it, at this critical point in time, they are all of a sudden agreeing with us? Why are trying to diffuse public interest in the up coming decisions that will have very significant legal implications that will seal our fate on river discharge? It is imperative that the people speak out now and not buy into these empty assurances. Until the meetings/hearings are held and the votes are counted, we have NO assurance that what he says will happen.

Brenda

Read article »

Campaign to Protect Steelhead Beach

A group of advocates for protecting Sonoma County Regional Park's Steelhead Beach in Forestville from becoming a wastewater discharge site for the City of Santa Rosa, have formed a campaign and are collecting signatures on a petition.


Steelhead Beach
- Lower Russian River Jewel
Threatened to become a Wastewater Discharge Site for the City of Santa Rosa

With its deciduous riparian forest bordering inundating river beaches, Steelhead Beach Park is the quintessential Russian River recreation area. It contains 26 acres of beaches and beautiful trails shaded by riparian forests, and one of the most popular beaches in the lower river for walking dogs, sun bathing on the sloped sands, floating in an inner tube, or swimming in the river. Currently, the shallow water invites visitors to cool off in the middle of the river at Children’s Beach, bringing relief from these hot summer days. It is a lower river jewel.

The park was founded ten years ago. For years, recreationists felt a dire need for river access, and this spot, just west of Mirabel Road in Forestville, was perfect. It was publicly owned by the Department of Fish and Game through their Resource Conservation Department. It is now managed by Sonoma County Regional Parks. The parking lot, bathroom, and daytime picnic area were developed on the portion that had been formerly disturbed by an old gravel mining facility, leaving the remaining natural attributes virtually untouched.

There are two beautiful trails meandering through the park. Willow Trail travels along the Russian River for less than a mile. Osprey Trail winds through the forest a similar distance and ends at the river where it meets Willow Trail. The former path is darkened by the surrounding vegetation and one can hardly see the sky through the cottonwood trees, the big-leaf maples, the box elders, Oregon ash, and California Bays as they join the willows to form a thick riparian canopy. At its widest point, the winding trail is 15’ across. Much of the existing riparian to be cut for the pipeline consists of mature trees that cannot be replaced.

Steelhead Beach Threatened by Possible Santa Rosa Sewer Pipe!

NOW GUESS WHAT! The City of Santa Rosa is contemplating the placement of a big sewer pipe through the entrance of the park to Osprey Trail, down Osprey Trail almost to the end where the pipe will make a sharp right and head towards the river. Osprey Trail would be widened from 15’ to 50’ to accommodate construction and later permanently paved to serve as a 30’ access road.

This pipe would hook up to a diffuser (discharge equipment) that would almost cover the width of the river (dimensions: 12’ wide, 20’ deep, and 65’ long) and be constructed underneath, just upstream of Children’s Beach. This would create a circumstance whereby anyone at the beach before May 15th or after October 1st could be doused by wastewater at any time. The system would be designed to discharge as much as 69 million gallons a day, which is more than four times the treatment plant’s daily sewage intake during normal flows.

Sonoma County Regional Parks Expresses Concerns
Sonoma County Regional Parks submitted comments on this project including:
• “The park property was acquired for the sole purpose of providing public recreation, preserving and restoring habitat, and not for the development of a waste water discharge facility.”
• “Paving the trail within a flood prone area reduces the groundwater recharge capacity within the site.”
• “It would be difficult to avoid the removal of mature trees because of the existing dense vegetation.”
• “This potential health threat exposes the County and the State to liability and is unacceptable. It is the County and the State’s responsibility to provide safe public recreation at Steelhead Beach Regional Park.”
(The letter was signed by Director Mary E. Burns.)

The Russian River Watershed Protection Committee Opposes this Project

Russian River Watershed Protection Committee (RRWPC), has requested that the City drop this option from their plan. They had already dropped two other direct and three indirect discharge options and we are requesting that they save money and drop this one as well. So far they have refused.

The City has closed the public comment period on the environmental review and their consultants will soon begin their response to comments. We have developed a petition opposing this project, which which will be submited during the project selection process sometime next fall.

(Please contact RRWPC at rrwpc-1@comcast.net for copies of the petition and related questions.)

This Option is Unnecessary
The City does not need this option. It could cost them upwards of $150 million dollars. Last year they only discharged a total of 190 million gallons (about 13 days of dry weather flow) because of conservation practices. This is nowhere near the 4 billion they used to discharge and for which they claim they need capacity for now. They will expand Geysers discharge, system storage, and summer irrigation. They should expand conservation and the program to fix their leaky pipes. If and when they do all of this, they won’t need to discharge

STAY INFORMED - Brenda Adelman of the Russian River Watershed Protection Committee reports on water and wastewater issues in the West County Gazette. Log on to www.westcountygazette.com for past and present articles.

Russian River Watershed Protection Committee
PO Box 501, Guerneville, CA 95446

Read article »

Healing Options for Women with Health Challenges

Share Your Experiences
A call for submissions of women's stories who have been healed of various health challenges, mental, physical, or emotional.


The Women's School of Healing Arts and Sciences, a non-profit organization whose focus is to empower women by sharing information and resources.

First there is a call for submissions of women's stories who have been healed of various health challenges, mental, physical, or emotional. The upcoming book will be entitled "Healing Options for Women....Personal Journeys to Wellness." The book will be published in the Spring of 2009.

You may submit your photo or photos (before and after), and any collaborative material from health care providers or other people who were aware of your challenges, and your successful process. Please submit your stories by Sept 30, 2008. Please try to keep your stories to 2 pages. 8 1/2”x 11” Exceptions are permitted, but may be edited.

In collaboration with this project, The Women’s School of Healing Arts and Sciences will also be looking for women to speak about their experiences in an upcoming presentation, Healing Options for Women with Health Challenges, on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2008, from 1-4pm at the Rohnert Park Community Center, room 50. Our main intention is to create an awareness of healing options that women might not know of or haven't considered, and to share our experiences.

Pre-sale tickets are available at $20 and include a 20% discount on the upcoming book to be available in the Spring of 2009. Tickets purchased as the door will be $30. Some work exchange is possible. Contact Sharon Maser at 415 838-1155 for details.

For those women who market a product or service that assists in the healing process, there will be a limited number of tables available during the presentation for $15. Please submit fee to reserve your space by Sept 30th. First come, first served. Fee may be paid through Pay Pal or by check. If you will be paying with Pay Pal, let us know and we will invoice you. Checks may be sent to The Women’s School at 381 Linda Way, Mill Valley, CA 94941

For those who wish to advertise in the upcoming book .

Display and classified ads will be accepted. 2 sizes are available.
3 1/2”x 5” for $30 or 1 3/4”x 2 1/2” for $20.

Please submit stories, comments, and or questions to me at
SandyMurphey@Gmail.com

20% of the proceeds from sale of book will be donated to the Women’s School.

No phone calls at this time, please. I still have health challenges, and can't spend time on the phone. But your emails are most welcome. It may take me a few days to respond. Thank you for understanding.

Sandy Murphey
Women’s School of Healing Arts and Sciences
http://www.womenschool.org

Read article »

The Big Push for Midwives Campaign

The Way You are Born

Birth Into Being is part of The Big Push to keep home births legal. If this is something that inspires your interest and activism - please read this and decide if you wish to be part of the campaign.


The AMA has presented no evidence to support its claim that home birth is an unsafe choice for low-risk women and their babies. On the contrary, the medical research shows that low-risk women who deliver at home under the care of Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) have the same outcomes as low-risk women who deliver in the hospital, but with far fewer preventable and costly interventions. To date, no state has passed a law forcing hospitalization of all laboring women or dictating place of birth.

As news of the AMA’s anti-home birth proposal spread, legal experts wondered how the organization will propose to enforce such laws. “At best, we can expect to see them push for window-dressing laws that simply condemn home birth as unsafe but are used to harass families who make this choice, as well as the midwives who work with them,” said Susan Jenkins, Legal Counsel for the Big Push for Midwives. “At worst, I fear we could see scenarios very similar to the legislative battle in Missouri over legalizing CPMs, where the medical lobby strong-armed law makers into killing a bill that had broad support from both legislators and the general public. Unfortunately, when it comes to legislation, money talks, and the AMA has a lot of money. Some even go so far as to say Big Medicine is the new Big Tobacco.”

The Big Push for Midwives www.TheBigPushforMidwives.org is a nationally coordinated campaign organized to advocate for regulation and licensure of Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and to push back against the attempts of the American Medical Association to deny American families access to safe and legal midwifery care.


Thank you all so much!
~Birth Into Being

Read article »