HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.14.22 Public Comment Packet (2)
Clerk of the Board Andy Pickett
Chief Administrative Officer and Clerk of the Board
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200 T: 530.552.3300
buttecounty.net/administration
Oroville, California 95965 F: 530.538.7120
Members of the Board
Bill Connelly | Debra Lucero | Tami Ritter | Tod Kimmelshue | Doug Teeter
MEMORANDUM
, 202
DATE:
Public Comment Submitted for , 202 Butte County Board of Supervisors Meeting Item
RE:
Enclosed please find all public comment related to Item . at the , 202 Board of
Supervisors Meeting.
Shyanne Valencia
Administrative Assistant to Clerk of the Board
From:Paulsen, Shaina
To:Bennett, Robin;Clerk of the Board;Connelly, Bill;Cook, Holly;Cook, Robin;Hironimus, Patrizia;Kimmelshue,
Tod;Lucero, Debra;Paulsen, Shaina;Pickett, Andy;Reaster, Kayla;Ring, Brian;Ritter, Tami;Stephens, Brad J.;
Sweeney, Kathleen;Teeter, Doug;Valencia, Shyanne
Subject:Public Comment Item 3.09 - FW: Public Comment for BOS meeting 6/14/22 Agenda item 3:09. VIP
Date:Tuesday, June 14, 2022 1:45:32 PM
Please see public comment below pertaining to item 3.09.
Shaina Paulsen
Associate Clerk of The Board
Butte County Administration
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200, Oroville, CA 95965
T: 530.552.3304 | F: 530.538.7120
From: K Brazil <fewzil@att.net>
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2022 11:20 AM
To: Clerk of the Board <clerkoftheboard@buttecounty.net>
Subject: Public Comment for BOS meeting 6/14/22 Agenda item 3:09. VIP
ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening
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ClerkpleaseprintandgiveacopyofmylettertoallBoardofSupervisorsasa
recordofpubliccommentonthisagendaitem.
Re:agendaitem 3:09
Iamwriting tosubmitpubliccommentaskingtheBoardofSupervisorstonotapprovethe
letterinsupportofBiomass.Yet,ifyouvotetoapprovetheletterinsupportofbiomass,where
exactlydoyouplantohavethebiomass facility?WillitbebuiltinChico?HastheCSUand
ButteCollegeadminbeenconsultedregardingthisissues?Havetribalagenciesbeen
involved?Ialsoquestionyourintentiontosupportbiomassknowingtherecentnegativehealth
issuesButteCountyresidentshavefacedduetobreathingwildfiressmoke. Whatisthereal
purposeof havingtheButteCountyAirQualityManagementDistrict?Ifnottoprotectand
assurequalityofairinourCounty. Iquestionifanyofyouactuallyreadtheinformationlink
Isubmittedfromthe AmericanLungAssociationregardingbiomassimpact.Ialsowantto
remindyouoftheneedtoaddressEnvironmentalJusticeissuesinButteCountyandthe
impactsresidentsofdisadvantagedcommunitiesalreadyface.
IdonotagreewithanyletterfromtheButteCountyBoardofSupervisors
voicingsupportofAB2878Biomasscogeneration.Ifunreliableelectricityisthe
reason,let’saddresstherealelephantintheroom,PGE.Donotallowthe
wildfirevictimstobecometakenfurtheradvantageofbythisbill. Iurgeall
BoardofSupervisorstolookdeeperintothenegativehealtheffectsofthis
Biomasscogenerationissue.ThefutureoftheButteCountycommunitydepends
oncleanairandcleanwater,noamountofmoneycanreplacetheseresources
onceourleadersallowthemtobemisusedorpolluted.
Withthe CampFire andNorthComplexWildFirestheideathatanylocalleaderswould
suggestbiomassoccurinButteCountyaddsinsulttoinjury. The American Lung Association
says how toxic biomass is to our lungs. There is a known increase of breathing issues for
the people of Butte County after inhaling woodsmoke particle filled air.
ReadthisinfofromtheAmericanLungAssociationdon’tbefooledor
ignorant!"https://www.lung.org/blog/dangers-wildfire-known-biomass#
"burningbiomassisalsooneofthemostdangerous:particlepollution. These
particlesaresosmallthattheycanenterandlodgedeepinthelungs,triggering
asthmaattacks,heartattacks,strokesandevendeath.Burningbiomassalso
releasescarbonmonoxide,leadingtoheadaches,nausea,dizziness,andinhigh
concentrations,prematuredeath.Burningbiomassforelectricityalsoproduces
nitrogenoxides(likenitrogendioxide)andnastycancer-causingchemicals,
includingbenzeneandformaldehyde.
Whilethesepollutantsareharmfultousall,theyposeevengreaterhealthrisksformillionsofmorevulnerableAmericans,suchas
infantsandchildren,olderadults,individualswithrespiratoryorcardiovasculardisease,anddiabetics.Toooften,powerplantsare
locatedwherelowerincomecommunitiesliveorwork.Peopleinlowerincomecommunitiesareevenmorevulnerabletothese
pollutants.
WhydowehavetheButteCountyAirQualityManagementagency https://bcaqmd.org/cap/ifourleadersareconsidering
biomass?Itjustdoesn’taddup?
KBrazil
SentfrommyiPad
Clerk of the Board Andy Pickett
Chief Administrative Officer and Clerk of the Board
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200 T: 530.552.3300
buttecounty.net/administration
Oroville, California 95965 F: 530.538.7120
Members of the Board
Bill Connelly | Debra Lucero | Tami Ritter | Tod Kimmelshue | Doug Teeter
MEMORANDUM
, 202
DATE:
Public Comment Submitted for , 202 Butte County Board of Supervisors Meeting Item
RE:
Enclosed please find all public comment related to Item at the , 202 Board
of Supervisors Meeting.
Shyanne Valencia
Administrative Assistant to Clerk of the Board
Clerk of the Board Andy Pickett
Chief Administrative Officer and Clerk of the Board
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200 T: 530.552.3300
buttecounty.net/administration
Oroville, California 95965 F: 530.538.7120
Members of the Board
Bill Connelly | Debra Lucero | Tami Ritter | Tod Kimmelshue | Doug Teeter
MEMORANDUM
, 202
DATE:
Public Comment Submitted for , 202 Butte County Board of Supervisors Meeting
RE:
Item
Enclosed please find all public comment related to Item . at the , 202 Board
of Supervisors Meeting.
Shyanne Valencia
Administrative Assistant to Clerk of the Board
From:Paulsen, Shaina
To:Pack, Joshua;Nuzum, Danielle;Snyder, Ashley
Cc:Reaster, Kayla;Pickett, Andy;Ring, Brian;Valencia, Shyanne
Subject:Public Comment Item 4.06 - FW: Board Agenda Item 4.06 - Contract with SCS Engineers for NRRWF - June 14,
2022
Date:Monday, June 13, 2022 12:05:27 PM
The below public comment was sent to the full Board. It will be processed as PC for Item 4.06 on
tomorrow’s BOS Meeting Agenda. Thanks
Shaina Paulsen
Associate Clerk of The Board
Butte County Administration
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200, Oroville, CA 95965
T: 530.552.3304 | F: 530.538.7120
From: sonshineranch@mynvw.com <sonshineranch@mynvw.com>
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2022 12:01 PM
To: Connelly, Bill <BConnelly@buttecounty.net>; Kimmelshue, Tod
<TKimmelshue@buttecounty.net>
Cc: Lucero, Debra <DLucero@buttecounty.net>; Teeter, Doug <DTeeter@buttecounty.net>; Ritter,
Tami <TRitter@buttecounty.net>; Clerk of the Board <clerkoftheboard@buttecounty.net>; 'Andrew
Packard' <andrew@packardlawoffices.com>; 'Will Carlon' <wncarlon@packardlawoffices.com>
Subject: Board Agenda Item 4.06 - Contract with SCS Engineers for NRRWF - June 14, 2022
ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening
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attachments, clicking on links, or replying.
Good morning Chairman Connelly and Supervisor Kimmelshue,
I am writing as a concerned citizen re: board agenda item 4.06, to be heard at tomorrow's
board meeting. Re-awarding this contract to SCS Engineers (without competitive bid) is NOT
fiscally responsible nor is it a necessary requirement in order for the landfill to function
properly. This contract can and should be put out to bid for any number of qualified firms to
bid on. In light of SCS Engineers failures over the course of 2019, I cannot see any other
logical conclusion BUT to put this out to competitive bid and find a better monitoring firm.
As you are both well aware, SCS Engineers held the monitoring and reporting contract for
the NRRWF during the worst environmental events in the history of this landfill, perhaps in the
history of the North State. SCS Engineers sought to underreport and keep hidden the actual
events that took place. The harm of these pollution events is still very much under
investigation. The Investigative Work Plan, that was mandated by the State Water Control
Board's Office of Enforcement, was ordered to evaluate the environmental harm done to
any/all those living downstream of the landfill. I assure you, the fallout of the 2019 pollution
events (and the actions of those involved) are far from over with.
SCS Engineers (specifically Edward Wayne Pearce) was personally (and via email) notified of
the leachate pollution events on Feb 14, 2019, and again on Feb 26/27, 2019, and he failed in
his contractual obligations to:
(1) advise his client (Butte County) to immediately report the incident via phone (as required
in the permit and Waste Discharge orders);
(2) to gather the facts of the pollution pumping event and identify the cause of the pollution
and corrective actions to take (also as required by permit and orders);
(3) he was paid to perform these acts and FAILED at them. His failure to perform on the
nd
first pollution pumping event was a significant contributing factor to the 2 and more
egregious event not two weeks later.
(4) in a very damning email (with landfill managers and other contract engineers) Mr. Pearce
conspired to keep hidden the details of the leachate pumping events (when he and others had
a contractual duty to report them).
(5) Mr. Pearce’s failures in part, were responsible for the increased monitoring now being
placed on the landfill. For our board to award Mr. Pearce an even more lucrative contract
(without bid) when he was largely responsible for the increased monitoring in the first place, is
certainly unethical and could perhaps border on illegal conduct.
Agenda item 4.06 seeks to award Mr. Pearce an even larger contract for his failure to
perform during his last contract. Even as you read this, Mr. Pearce's professional license is
under review by an expert, at the Dept of Consumer Affairs (the agency that licenses
professional engineers and geologists). His license is under review for several reasons, not
least because he failed to exercise due care as the paid professional, resulting in significant
pollution events that caused harm to the State of California and its citizens.
I think our board will be hard-pressed to:
(1)justify to the citizens of this county, how you gave an increased financial reward to
one of the actors that brought such great environmental and financial harm on this
county;
(2)Justify fee increases to the citizens of this county when this (fiscal irresponsibility)
issue is presented in its entirety.
I urge you to take responsible fiscal action on behalf of our county. Do NOT reward this
contractor for his failures to perform for this county. If you require additional information
regarding this matter, please contact me at my cell phone (530) 990-3822 or via email.
Sincerely,
Steve Jackson
Command Master Chief Petty Officer
Enlisted Surface and Aviation Warfare Specialist Qualified
United States Navy (ret.)
Clerk of the Board Andy Pickett
Chief Administrative Officer and Clerk of the Board
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200 T: 530.552.3300
buttecounty.net/administration
Oroville, California 95965 F: 530.538.7120
Members of the Board
Bill Connelly | Debra Lucero | Tami Ritter | Tod Kimmelshue | Doug Teeter
MEMORANDUM
, 202
DATE:
Public Comment Submitted for , 202 Butte County Board of Supervisors Meeting
RE:
Item
Enclosed please find all public comment related to Item . at the , 202
Board of Supervisors Meeting.
Shyanne Valencia
Administrative Assistant to Clerk of the Board
Clerk of the Board Andy Pickett
Chief Administrative Officer and Clerk of the Board
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200 T: 530.552.3300
buttecounty.net/administration
Oroville, California 95965 F: 530.538.7120
Members of the Board
Bill Connelly | Debra Lucero | Tami Ritter | Tod Kimmelshue | Doug Teeter
MEMORANDUM
, 202
DATE:
Public Comment Submitted for , 202 Butte County Board of Supervisors Meeting
RE:
Item
Enclosed please find all public comment related to Item . at the ,
202 Board of Supervisors Meeting.
Shyanne Valencia
Administrative Assistant to Clerk of the Board
Clerk of the Board Andy Pickett
Chief Administrative Officer and Clerk of the Board
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200 T: 530.552.3300
buttecounty.net/administration
Oroville, California 95965 F: 530.538.7120
Members of the Board
Bill Connelly | Debra Lucero | Tami Ritter | Tod Kimmelshue | Doug Teeter
MEMORANDUM
, 202
DATE:
Public Comment Submitted for , 202 Butte County Board of Supervisors Meeting Item
RE:
Enclosed please find all public comment related to Item . at the , 202 Board of
Supervisors Meeting.
Shyanne Valencia
Administrative Assistant to Clerk of the Board
From:Paulsen, Shaina
To:Bennett, Robin;Clerk of the Board;Connelly, Bill;Cook, Holly;Cook, Robin;Hironimus, Patrizia;Kimmelshue,
Tod;Lucero, Debra;Paulsen, Shaina;Pickett, Andy;Reaster, Kayla;Ring, Brian;Ritter, Tami;Stephens, Brad J.;
Sweeney, Kathleen;Teeter, Doug;Valencia, Shyanne
Cc:Loeser, Kamie;Hatcher, Casey
Subject:Public Comment Item 4.18 - FW: Agenda Item 4.18 Request for Funding for the Department of Water Resources
& Conservation
Date:Tuesday, June 14, 2022 10:38:06 AM
Please see public comment below pertaining to item 4.18 on today’s Board Meeting Agenda.
Shaina Paulsen
Associate Clerk of The Board
Butte County Administration
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200, Oroville, CA 95965
T: 530.552.3304 | F: 530.538.7120
From: Richard Harriman <richardharrimanattorney@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2022 9:24 AM
To: Clerk of the Board <clerkoftheboard@buttecounty.net>
Subject: Re: Agenda Item 4.18 Request for Funding for the Department of Water Resources &
Conservation
ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening
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attachments, clicking on links, or replying.
ChairmanConnellyandHonorableMembersoftheBoardofSupervisors
IwouldliketosupplementtheStaffReporttotheBoardbyincludingthefollowingcomment
for
yourconsiderationoftheabove-referencedmatter.
AtboththepreviousmeetingsoftheVinaGSASHACandduringtheexcellent
presentation bythe
consultantsfromProvost&Pritchard,Ithinkitisaccuratetostatethattherewassubstantial
agreement
bythemajorityoftherepresentativesoftheagriculturalcommunitystakeholders,property
owners,and
theenvironmentalcommunityonthefollowingpoint.
SGMAincludesastate-mandatedlocalprogramwhichshouldbefundedbytheState
Departmentof
WaterResources;notthelocalregulatedcommunityandnotCountytaxpayers.
Thebasicreasonforthisconsensus isthatButteCountypropertyownersandtaxpayerswho
donotreceiveadirectbenefit
fromtheimplementationoftheSGMAprogramshouldnotberequiredtosubsizethis
programforthebenefitoftheprivate
partieswhohavecausedtheoverdraftoftheTuscanAquiferandwhohaveobtained
substantialprivateeconomicbenefit
fromtheiroverdraftingoftheTuscanAquifer.
Therefore,onbehalfofthegeneraltaxpayingpublicwhichdoesnotbenefitdirectlyor
indirectlyfromtheimplementationofthe
state-mandatedSGMAprogram,IamrequestingyourBoardnottosubsizetheprivate
propertyinterestswhohavecausedthe
overdraftbyexpendingpublicfundstosupportthisprogramwithoutrequiringrepaymentof
thepublicfundingbyeithertheState
ofCaliforniaortheprivatepropertyinterestswhicharebenefittedbytheimpropergiftof
publicfundstotheVinaGSA.Instead,
ifyourBoardisinclinedtoapprovetheadditional budgetedfundingforthebenefitoftheVina
GSA,suchfundingshouldbeinthe
formofaloantoberepaidbytheVinaGSAbythepropertyownersrepresentedontheGSA,
ifandwhentheyreceivereimbursement
bytheStateofCalifornia.
Thebestargumentinsupportofthisrequestisthat,whenPaulGosselinwastheDirectorof
theButteCountyDeparmtentofWater
ResourcesandConservation,theCountywasabletorecovermillionsofdollarsoflocal
taxpayers'fundsbythereceiptofGrantfunds
fromtheState.Thisprocessshouldberequiredforthecurrentfundingrequestedbythe
DepartmentofWaterResourcesand
Conservation.
Thankyoufortheopportunitytocommentonthismatterandforyourconsiderationofthis
commentinyourdecision-making
processbyyourBoard.
Respectfullysubmitted,
RichardHarriman
WaterCommissioner(foridentification,only),notonbehalfoftheWaterCommission
Clerk of the Board Andy Pickett
Chief Administrative Officer and Clerk of the Board
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200 T: 530.552.3300
buttecounty.net/administration
Oroville, California 95965 F: 530.538.7120
Members of the Board
Bill Connelly | Debra Lucero | Tami Ritter | Tod Kimmelshue | Doug Teeter
MEMORANDUM
, 202
DATE:
Public Comment Submitted for , 202 Butte County Board of Supervisors Meeting Item
RE:
Enclosed please find all public comment related to Item at the , 202 Board
of Supervisors Meeting.
Shyanne Valencia
Administrative Assistant to Clerk of the Board