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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEmail regarding the Butte County Groundwater Forum Sweeney, Kathleen From: Thomas E. Edgar, Esq. [tedgar05@comcast.net] Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 6:22 PM To: 'Marty Dunlap'; 'John Merz'; 'Bruce Smith'; 'Nani Teves'; 'Barbara Hennigan'; 'Jennifer Rotnem'; 'Sierra-Onnah Sisk'; 'Jim Brobeck'; 'Jim Brobeck'; 'Caroline Burkett'; 'Robyn DiFalco'; 'Karen Duncanwood'; 'Alicia Ekland'; 'Amanda Freeman'; 'Geoff Fricker'; 'Dave Garcia'; 'Chuck Greenwood'; 'Timarie Hamill'; 'Allen Harthorn'; 'Desi Hatton'; 'Robin Huffman'; 'Ali Knight'; 'Brad Mahler'; 'Grace Marvin'; 'Lindsay McDonnell'; 'John Merz'; 'Julia Murphy'; 'Gary Nelson'; 'Carol Perkins'; 'Tami Ritter'; 'Lucas Ray RossMerz'; 'Trish Saint-Evens'; 'Carolyn Short'; 'Tony St. Amant'; 'Joni Stellar'; 'Nora Todenhagen' Cc: 'Doug LaMalfa [Congressman-California'; 'Jim Nielsen [California State Senator'; 'Curtis Grima [District Representative For Senator Jim Nielsen'; 'Dan Logue [California State Assemblymember'; Kirk, Maureen; Connelly, Bill; Teeter, Doug; Wahl, Larry; Lambert, Steve; Alpert, Bruce; Gosselin, Paul; Newlin, Vickie; Buck, Christina; 'George Barber[Butte County Water Commissioner; Paradise Irrigation District'; 'John Scott [Butte County Water Commissioner'; 'Scott Gruendl [Chico City Mayor'; 'Mark Sorensen [Chico City Vice Mayor'; 'Mary Goloff[Chico City Council Person'; 'Sean Morgan [Chico City Council Person'; 'Tami Ritter [Chico City Council Person'; 'Ann Schwab [Chico City Council Person'; 'Randall Stone [Chico City Council Person'; 'Todd Greene PhD [Associate Professor; Department of Geology and Petrology; CSUC'; 'Eric Houk PhD [Agricultural Economist; CSUC College of Agriculture'; +� 'Allan Fulton PhD[University of California Cooperative Extension; Irrigation And Water te#SE Resources Management; Farm Advisor For Tehama; Glenn; Shasta And Colusa Counties'; ,M % '�Q13 'Thaddeus L Bettner PE [ Manager- Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District'; 'Leigh McDaniel [Glenn CvV County Supervisor'; "'Oscar Serrano PE [Colusa Indian Community _R,,����p WOW' Council"'@Hormel3.buttecounty.net; 'Dan McManus [California Department of Water +`""" ' Resources'; 'Daniel Peterson [Sutter County Department of Public Works'; 'Eric Wedemeyer [Shasta County Public Works'; 'Lester Messina [Glenn County Water Advisory Committee'; 'Barbara Barrigan-Parilla [Restore The Delta'; 'Barbara Vlamis [AquAlliance'; 'Jim Brobeck [AquAlliance'; 'Robyn DiFalco [Butte Environmental Council'; 'Heather Hacking [Staff Writer- Chico Enterprise Record'; 'Mike McKenzie [California Sportfishing Protection Alliance'; 'Michael Reagan [Solano County Supervisor'; 'Karan Jo White'; 'Ray Johnson Jr Realtor'; 'Jack Van Rossum'; 'Nicole Rachelle Plottel Esq'; 'Richard Bradley'; 'Richard and Janet Leighty' Subject: RE: Event: Butte County Groundwater Forum on November 14, 2013, at 6 PM, in the Chico City Council Chambers Attachments: SB 4 --Fracturing Legislative Analyst [04-09-2013].doc; Chico ER--Water Commission -- Fracking On The Agenda [11-08-2013].doc; CNR Opposes BDCP [08-15-2013].doc; DWR Magazine --Water Transfers Improve California's Water Supply[Fall 2013].doc Gentlepersons, By this E-Mail message I am commenting upon the forthcoming new groundwater forum set for this Thursday, November 14, 2013, at 6:00 PM, in the Chico City Council Chambers. I understand that the agenda has already been set for the new groundwater forum; I am simply adding my comments at this time. Congratulations to County of Butte County, to City of Chico, and to AquAlliance for sponsoring this new groundwater forum set for this Thursday, November 14, 2013. I am hoping for a large turn-out at the forum. Thank you to the presenters of this forum for your efforts. Those of us who live in the Chico area (and/or the CSUC area) are almost exclusively dependent upon our groundwater for our survival. I would like to also send my comments to Ed McLaughlin, former Butte County Supervisor [and presenter at the new groundwater forum], but I do not have his E-Mail address. Can anyone help me with Ed McLaughlin's E-Mail address? 1 .r'c '. e 5 0A-0 (iesvv to 3 GROUNDWATER FORUM WHICH WAS PREVIOUSLY HELD ON OCTOBER 23, 2013: Congratulations to Dr. Christina Buck, and to Dr. Todd Greene, for presenting the prior groundwater forum which was held on October 23, 2013, in the Gateway Museum. In this regard: 1 . Both Dr. Christina Buck, and Dr. Todd Greene had very good PowerPoint presentations for the groundwater forum which was held on October 23, 2013; is it possible for a person to obtain MS-Word or PDF copies for those presentations which was held on October 23, 2013? 2. Toward the end of the groundwater forum on October 23, 2013, someone asked Dr. Christina Buck if she had any information concerning "Hydraulic fracturing [of geologic strata to enhance oil and gas recovery] in the Butte County area". It was my understanding that Dr. Christina Buck responded that "No, she did not have any information concerning possible hydraulic fracturing of geologic strata in the Butte County area". In this regard: 2.1 Question--Is County of Butte currently collecting information concerning possible hydraulic fracturing of geologic strata in the Butte County area? 2.2 I have been told that the Butte County Department of Agriculture, and the Butte County Health Department do not claim to have any information concerning possible hydraulic fracturing of geologic strata in the Butte County area. Question—Is this true? 2.3 The California State Legislative Analyst Office [see below] has advised that there has been hydraulic fracturing of geologic strata in Colusa County, Sutter County, and Glenn County (all of which are close to Butte County). In this regard: 2.3.1 Question--What is the nature of the petroleum-bearing geologic strata in Colusa, Sutter, and Glenn Counties, and how do those petroleum-bearing geologic stratas relate to our Tuscan Formation Aquifer strata (located in Butte County)? 2.3.2 Question—Under these circumstances, can we safely assume that there is not now (and will not be in the future) "Hydraulic fracturing of geologic strata to enhance oil and gas recovery located in the Butte County area?" 2.3.3 Question—Does the State of California have a reliable [publicly available] data base which might help us understand the answers to these questions? I personally believe that the answer is "No, the State of California does NOT have a reliable [publicly available] data base which could help us understand the answers to these questions". 3. County of Butte requires that large agriculture water wells must apply for, and obtain, a permit issued by County of Butte, prior to the time that an agricultural water user can drill a new large agriculture water well in Butte County. Question--Why do we not have a similar permitting process required of petroleum companies who propose to perform hydraulic fracturing of geologic strata in the Butte County area? CALIFORNIA STATE LEGISLATIVE ANALYST'S REVIEW OF SB 4 JCALIFORNIA'S (PURPORTED) FRACKING CONTROL STATUTE: 2 On about September 20, 2013, Governor Jerry Brown executed, and signed into law, Bill Number SB 4 [California's (Purported) Fracking Control Statute]. However, on approximately April 9, 2013, California State Legislative Analyst provided its review of SB 4 [California's (Purported) Fracking Control Statute]. In this regard: 1. Please find attached my compiled document entitled "California State Legislative Analyst's Analysis of Bill Number SB 4 [California's (Purported) Fracking Control Statute]" which I downloaded from the California State Legislative Analyst's website entitled http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/sen/sb 0001- 0050/sb 4 cfa 20130405 145817 sen comm.html. I converted this website document into "my" MS-Word document, described above; in the rush for time, the converted formats are still a little rough, and need additional cleaning; 2. The California State Legislative Analyst has some very disturbing comments concerning the activities of the hydraulic fracturing industry in California; 3. The California State Legislative Analyst asserts that the State of California does NOT have its own independent systematic data collection related to fracking; instead, the State of California relies upon a private industry website called "Fracfocus.org". The California State Legislative Analyst states, in part, the following: "Various forms of fracking have been used in California since the1950s. There has been no systematic data collection related to fracking and estimates of how many wells in California have been fracked vary. Informal reports from industry sources suggest that a majority of wells in the state are fracked. At the urging of DOGGR, industry has started to voluntarily report frack treatment data on the website Fracfocus.org (operated by a consortium of the oil and gas industry and regulators). WSPA announced in 2012 that its members fracked 628 new and existing oil and gas wells in California in 2011, a small fraction of the more than 50,000 existing wells. (The data reported to Fracfocus are discussed further in the Comments.) Counties where wells have been fracked include Kern, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Colusa, Sutter, Glenn, Los Angeles, and Monterey". The California State Legislative Analyst expresses a general lack of confidence in the accuracy of the data included in the website Fracfocus.org (operated by a consortium of the oil and gas industry and regulators), and the California State Legislative Analyst expresses a general lack of confidence in the activities of the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) within California's Department of Conservation. The website of http://www.fracfocusdata.orq/DisclosureSearch/StandardSearch.aspx is useful for looking at local information concerning fracking in the Northern California; 4. The California State Legislative Analyst described the government agencies and the private lobbying groups which had appeared and had advocated positions for and against Bill Number SB 4 [California's (Purported) Fracking Control Statute]. It does not appear that County of Butte or City of Chico appeared, or commented upon, Bill Number SB 4 [California's (Purported) Fracking Control Statute]. 5. Question—Does County of Butte and/or City of Chico intend to participate in the forthcoming, continuing discussions concerning the rules and regulations and interpretations of Bill Number SB 4 [California's (Purported) Fracking Control Statute]? 3 ON NOVEMBER 6, 2013, THE BUTTE COUNTY WATER COMMISSION RECEIVED PRESENTATIONS AND COMMENTS CONCERNING PROPOSED BUTTE COUNTY FRACKING ORDINANCES: Thank you, Heather Hacking and thank Chico Enterprise Record, for the excellent article entitled "Group Wants Vote To End Fracking Practice". Please find attached my compiled document entitled "Chico ER– Fracking On The Agenda [11-08-2013]" which I downloaded from the Chico Enterprise Record website entitled http://www.ch icoe r.com/news/ci_24481119/g ro u p-wants-vote-end-fracki ng- practice?IADI D=Search-www.chicoer.com-www.chicoer.com In the article, Butte County Counsel Bruce Alpert was quoted, in part, as: "But it's unclear where the county could step in and regulate, said the county's attorney Bruce Alpert. More will be known as the rules passed by the state come into play, he said". I am hoping that this topic will be further discussed during the forthcoming new groundwater forum set for this Thursday, November 14, 2013. Repeated Question—Does County of Butte and/or City of Chico intend to participate in the forthcoming, continuing discussions concerning the rules and regulations and interpretations of Bill Number SB 4 [California's (Purported) Fracking Control Statute]? SAVE THE DELTA fAND NORTHSTATE WATER RESOURCES -STOP THE TUNNELS: I absolutely support the efforts of the environmental community to protect the Butte County area from being raped by the hydraulic fracturing industry. However, I personally believe that the larger [more important] issue is the intended piracy/confiscation of our north state water resources by Governor Jerry Brown and by the California Department of Water Resources, etc, and by the Southern California Water Pirates, for the benefit of the Southern California Water Pirates. Thank you, Chico News And Review for the excellent article entitled "Water Fight --Gov. Jerry Brown's Tunnel Vision Has High Stakes For The North State And The Delta". Please find attached, my compiled document (in MS-Word format) entitled "CNR Opposes BDCP [08-15-2013]" which I downloaded from the Chico News And Review website entitled http://www.newsreview.com/ch ico/water-fig ht/content?oid=11012839 I salute the efforts of Butte Environmental Council, and of AquAlliance, and of Sacramento River Preservation Trust concerning the preparation of this article in Chico News And Review. I am hoping that this topic will be further discussed during the forthcoming new groundwater forum set for this Thursday, November 14, 2013. 4 I BELIEVE THAT THE ARROGANT WATER PIRACY ATTITUDE FROM GOVERNOR JERRY BROWN AND FROM THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, ETC, AND FROM THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WATER PIRATES IS BEST DISPLAYED BY THE DWR MAGAZINE 'FALL 20131 Please find attached my compiled document entitled "DWR Magazine Water Transfers Improve California's Water Supply [Fall 2013]" which I downloaded from the California Department of Water Resources website entitled http://www.water.ca.gov/pubs/dwrnews/dwr/dwr_mag azi n e/fall_2013_dwr_magazi ne/magazi n e_fi na l_ r2.pdf The official title of the article in the DWR Magazine [Fall 2013] is "Moving Water—Who Gets It, and How It Gets To You (Connecting The Dots—Water Transfers Improve California's Water Supply)". However: 1. When DWR asserts that "Water Transfers Improve California's Water Supply", DWR really means that "Water Transfers Improve California's Water Supply" for the benefit of Southern California's water supply, to the detriment of Northern California's water supply; 2. This magazine article provides a fascinating insight into the inner workings of DWR and its interactive relationship with the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation. The article states, in part, the following: "The State Water Project (SWP) was able to allocate only 35 percent of the requested water in 2013. The federal Central Valley Project (CVP) allocated a scant 20 percent of contract supplies to many south-of-Delta agricultural contractors. This dry year prompted Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., to sign Executive Order 8-21-13 in May, directing DWR and the State Water Resources Control Board to expedite water transfers requiring their approval. Water transfers play a crucial role in dry years, helping to fill shortages in local water supplies. Since 1991, DWR has approved hundreds of water transfers that allowed willing Northern California farmers and water districts to transfer water through SWP facilities to areas with water supply shortages. 'DWR's criteria for water transfer proposals has changed significantly since 1991 as we learn more about water transfers from our experience from previous years,' said Maureen Sergent, Senior Engineer with the State Water Project Analysis Office (SWPAO) who has reviewed water transfer proposals since the 1991 Drought Water Bank Agencies wanting to move transfer water through SWP facilities submit proposals to DWR for review and approval. The majority of these proposals involve the short term transfer of water, up to one year, from north of the Delta to areas within the San Joaquin Valley, San Francisco Bay Area or Southern California. Some sellers agree to idle farm acreage and thereby not divert a portion of their surface water onto their fields, while others substitute groundwater for surface 5 water they would otherwise divert. Other sellers agree to re-regulate their storage reservoirs to provide stored surface water for transfer. "DWR in coordination with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is committed to water transfers as a mechanism to assure continued flexibility in water management operations in support of a safe, reliable and sustainable water supply for all Californians," said Tom Filler, DWR's Water Transfers Program Manager in the Division of Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM). "Although the need for water transfers varies from year to year, external factors including climate change and other challenges facing the Delta may influence the frequency of need for water transfers to meet local water demands. . . ." 3. This magazine article provides a fascinating insight into DWR's view of groundwater substitution. The article states, in part, the following: "We don't get transfers every year, but this year we received 20 requests for conveyance through SWP facilities from both SWP and CVP water agencies," said Quan. "Most of the transfers this year were for groundwater substitution, the biggest with Yuba County Water Agency (YCWA)for 64,730 acre-feet. The smallest request was for 1,110 acre-feet of groundwater substitution water from the Eastside Mutual Water Company along the Sacramento River, this went to the San Luis and Delta- Mendota Water Authority." Because there are losses associated with moving the water through the Delta, the buyers do not get all of the water the sellers make available. The "carriage water" loss, which varies each year, is estimated at 30 percent for this year. Therefore, a buyer who purchases 100 acre-feet of transfer water north of the Delta will only be credited with 70 acre-feet at the Delta export pumps because the "lost" water is required to maintain Delta water quality standards. "There's also a loss associated with groundwater substitution transfers due to the interaction of surface streams with the groundwater basin," said Quan. "Over 300,000 acre-feet of transfer water has been purchased this summer for export at the Banks Pumping Plant during the July through September water transfer window 4. This magazine article asserts that DWR has very benevolent policies concerning water transfers [which I don't believe]. The article states, in part, the following: "Water Transfer Principles Water transfers follow these three fundamental water code rules: 1 Avoid injury to other legal users of water 2 Avoid unreasonable effects to fish, wildlife or other in-stream beneficial uses of water 3 Avoid unreasonable effects on the overall economy or the environment in the counties from which the water is transferred. 6 DWR's water transfers website: www.w a to r.c a.g o v/w a to rt ra n s fe rs" Feature I Water Transfers "Instead of taking normal supply from the Yuba River, the farmer there uses groundwater and lets the surface water go downstream to 21 of our SWP contractors and the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority," said Spencer. "The Yuba Accord's been very successful, moving more than 867,000 acre-feet of transfer water, including this year's transfer of more than 170,000 acre-feet of surface and groundwater substitution water. . . ." Thank you. Thomas E. Edgar Attorney At Law [SBN 70732] 1354 East Avenue, Suite R205 Chico, CA 95926 (530) 282-7202 [Voice] (530) 893-1525 [Fax] Tedgar05©comcast.net +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Forwarded Message From: Jim Brobeck <jimb@aqualliance.net> To: BThorlaksson@csuchico.edu Cc: GripenstrawSu@butte.edu; WLoker@csuchico.edu;Wilmarthti@butte.edu; lesandjohn@sbcglobal.net; DFCarter@csuchico.edu; DBarger@csuchico.edu;jcdunhaml @gmail.com; carpevita93401 @yahoo.com; CopelandEl2@yahoo.com; Glennon@email.arizona.edu; dunlaplegal@yahoo.com; hhacking@chicoer.com; barbhnign@aol.com; anikolai@csuchico.edu; lancelazt@sbcglobal.net; nanibay@hotmail.com;jdizard@csuchico.edu; egoodsell@csuchico.edu; robynd@becprotects.org; cuestageo@me.com Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 9:16 AM Subject: Event: Butte County Ground Water Forum Nov. 14. 6 PM AquAlliance Event News Butte County's Ground Water What do we know andhow are we trying to protect it? Butte County, the City of Chico, and AquAlliance will host a forum to provide the public with an update on local ground water monitoring, the County's current and past efforts to protect ground water, and the current and pending threats to this life-sustaining resource. After the 1994 Drought Water Bank, many farmers, residents, and policy makers became aware of the intense interest in Northstate ground water by state and federal water agencies. The resulting local response created a foundation for protecting the regional aquifer through County ordinances, legal challenges, and increased awareness. Speakers will provide a historical, political, and policy perspective from 1994 to the present. The emphasis of the program will be on the current status of groundwater conditions, trends and future research areas. The program will highlight current groundwater conditions compiled from over 100 wells monitored on a quarterly basis. Finally, a discussion of the emerging threats to the region's ground water will be presented. Speakers include: • Christina Buck, PhD., Water Resource Scientist for Butte County • Paul Gosselin, Director of the Butte County Department of Water and Resource Conservation • Ed McLaughlin, former Butte County Supervisor and Durham farmer • Barbara Vlamis and Jim Brobeck of AquAlliance "We want our residents to have the opportunity to understand how essential ground water is to Butte County's communities, economy, and the environment and what are the opportunities to protect it," stated Butte County Supervisor Maureen Kirk. What: Butte County Ground Water Forum When: Thursday, November 14, 2013 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Where: Chico City Council Chambers, 411 Main Street in Chico Who: Butte County, City of Chico, AquAlliance CONTACT INFORMATION AquAlliance Butte County Department of Water Barbara Vlamis, Executive Director and Resource Conservation (530) 895-9420 Paul Gosselin, Director info(daqualliance.net (530) 538-4343 BCWater@buttecounty.net 8