Historic Lows in Lower Eel Require the County to Protect It, Says Friends of the Eel River to Supes
Welcome to our letters to the editor/opinion section. To submit yours for consideration, please send to [email protected]. Please consider including an image to be used–either a photograph of you or something applicable to the letter. However, an image is not necessary for publication.
Remember opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of Redheaded Blackbelt nor have we checked the letters for accuracy.
Dear Humboldt County Supervisors:
The Eel River is facing one of the most challenging years in the county’s history. Below-average rainfall and above-average temperatures over the last two years have left flows in the Eel at historically low levels, threatening critical public trust values including fisheries and recreation.
While we have just received a bit of very welcome rain on the coast, flows in the Eel River remain the lowest on record. (The only time recorded flows in the mainstem Eel River have been lower at this time of year was in 1924, when the Lake Pillsbury reservoir behind newly- constructed Scott Dam at the top of the mainstem Eel River was being filled for the first time.)
Figure 1 plots hydrographs of mean monthly flow on the Eel River at Scotia for the six driest years for the 104-year period 1917 through 2020. A hydrograph for the first half of the current water year (2021) is also plotted as the red line. The historic hydrographs indicate that after the wet season and through the summer, the flow rates on the Eel River recede at a consistent rate. This is indicated by the parallel nature of the historic hydrograph limbs between April and August. This phenomenon allows a reasonable prediction for this summer’s flow rates as depicted by the dashed red line portion of the 2021 hydrograph. This also illustrates that Eel River flows during the upcoming summer will be very similar to those experienced in 1977 and 2014 — again, the only time recorded summer flow rates were lower in the mainstem Eel was in 1924, when the upper Eel was being impounded.
In the fall of 2014, when flows were higher in June than they are this year, the lower Eel River disconnected downstream of Fortuna, immediately above the reach where the tides affect the river’s height. At the time, it was evident that groundwater pumping throughout the lower Eel River was still in full swing, and probably even proceeding at a greater rate than usual because the late summer had been so warm. Unfortunately, the chinook salmon run holding at the mouth of the Eel was unable to ascend the river. Many of those fish died from outbreaks of disease associated with high water temperatures.
As the Court of Appeals for the Third Appellate District affirmed in a 2018 case regarding groundwater extraction which impacted surface flows in the Scott River, Environmental Law Foundation v. State Water Resources Control Board, 26 Cal.App.5th 844, groundwater resources that are connected to the surface water flows of navigable waterways are subject to California’s public trust doctrine. The court held the public trust doctrine “protects navigable waters from harm caused by extraction of groundwater, where the groundwater is so connected to the navigable water that its extraction adversely affects public trust uses.”
The County has a duty to ensure that its programs are designed and implemented to take into account the public trust and, wherever feasible, protect the trust. The County “shares responsibility for administering the public trust and ‘may not approve of destructive activities without giving due regard to the preservation of those resources.’” (26 Cal.App.5th at 868 (quoting Center for Biological Diversity, Inc. v. FPL Group, Inc. (2008) 166 Cal.App.4th 1349, 1370, fn. 19.) This duty extends to the County’s issuance and oversight of well permits pursuant to the Humboldt County Code § 631-1, et seq.
As currently written and implemented, the County’s well permitting program fails to comport with the County’s duty to employ its powers to ensure that, to the extent feasible and consistent with the public trust, pumping is curtailed from wells that will contribute to the extraction of water from the lower Eel River and its disconnection from its estuary this coming summer and early fall.
Currently, it does not appear that the County has taken into account impacts to the Eel River’s public trust values when issuing well permits. FOER’s review of the well permitting procedures also indicates that the County’s program poses an improper obstacle to the County’s public trust duties and the absence of well permit reopening or enforcement provisions in the County Code violates the County’s duty to ensure the public trust is taken into account by those well permit approvals.
We strongly suspect that groundwater pumping in the lower Eel River groundwater basin will adversely affect the public trust values in surface flows by contributing to and extending the duration of the river’s disconnection this summer and early fall. The county’s own data show groundwater pumping lowers the aquifer water table 0.5- to 0.8-feet immediately adjacent to the river in the lower Van Duzen River portion of the basin. This increases the rate of river depletions to the aquifer and reduces the river flow rate.
Under ELF v SWRCB, Humboldt County “‘shares responsibility’ for administering the public trust” with the state, and thus has affirmative duties, first to consider the public trust, and second to restrain groundwater extraction in the lower Eel groundwater basin, where such extraction will harm public trust values in surface flows.
In ELF v SWRCB, Siskiyou County both denied that it had any obligation to prevent harms to surface flows, and argued the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act preempted plaintiffs’ public trust claims. The Court of Appeals rejected both arguments, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Thus, the question your Board faces is not whether the county’s pending Groundwater Sustainability Plan will be accepted by the state Department of Water Resources
as sufficient under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. It is whether the Board will act to protect the public trust values in the lower river threatened, in part, by extraction of groundwater that is connected to surface waters.
We are writing today to urge and request your Board take immediate, specific actions to ensure Humboldt County can instruct groundwater users to reduce their pumping as necessary to sustain public trust values in connected surface waters beginning this summer. Humboldt County presently lacks an ordinance under which groundwater users can be required to reduce their pumping as necessary to protect the public trust in hydrologically connected surface waters. We strongly urge your Board to pass such an ordinance on an emergency basis. The county will also need to consider how it wishes to assess, balance and protect the public trust values in surface flows that may be affected by groundwater pumping.
As well, we urge Humboldt County to proceed with its current SGMA data-gathering efforts in ways that will most effectively demonstrate any connections that do exist between surface flows and groundwater extraction in the lower Eel River groundwater basin. We are concerned the present modeling effort will obscure rather than illuminate those relationships.
Thank you for your attention to these important matters.
Alicia Hamann Executive Director
Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules
Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/
Too late for Humboldt’s aquifers. Sold it all to the mega grows with millions and millions of gallons of storage on site that will never enter the rivers. How can grows suck the aquifers dry around streams and rivers, while others are working their butts off to restore habitat? What’s the point? County screwed up by allowing the draining of groundwater while also allowing all those diesel generators in the backcountry.
The county should be sued. John Ford should be sued. Permits for mega-grows should be reviewed and in the immediate they should be restricted. There was never an EIR done on any of these and they are delivering the death blow to our river.
I agree. No overall environmental impact report.
And what about toxic algae and the added nutrients to the waterways? That hasn’t been taken into account either.
We live on the Trinity River and it’s like watching an old friend getting so sick.
Plus the damn dams. What do people think is going to happen when massive amounts of water are taken completely out of the watershed?
I’ve seen unimaginable change to the river in my forty years in this area.
Eel, Trinity, and Klamath: Death by marijuana. Money wins out over the environment.
Just saying- no it’s really just that it hasn’t rained.
Dear Willow Creeker
Yes and no. I’ve watched the Trinity river for forty years and all of the different things are adding up.
Damn dam being the first and foremost.
Added nutrients to the waterways. Just look at fertilizer sales at the grow supply stores.
Overpopulation and drought.
There was an article somewhere showing aerial photos over a period of many decades and our blue water all over the planet is turning green and yellow.
😭
I’m sure some unregulated capitalism can fix it!
The fact that the County Planning Department continues to permit any grows under these incredible drought conditions is horribly wrong!! Look at the weekly/monthly postings under the Zoning Administrator and you can see 10 or more grows getting permitted every time.
The BOS approved up to over 1,000 permits to be doled out to growers, all of these up to an acre or much more in size, and all with water diversions either directly from streams, creeks, or springs, or groundwater, or rainwater. All of which used to be either directly connected or indirectly connected to our creeks and then eventually to the rivers (Eel, Mad, Van Duzen, Trinity, Mattole, Redwood Creek). The same ones where we are seeing record breaking low flows!!
The Planning Department should place an immediate moratorium on issuing any new permits, the BOS should require an immediate stoppage to installing all the approved permitted development, and no new permits until we can figure this all out.
Sorry Bill, your interpretation of facts and conclusions is not correct. If the County is even closet 1,000 permits it is for 10,000 square feet, not an acre. Likelymeaning a total of 250 acres in the county. The main point you misrepresent is the water directly from streams, creeks, springs, groundwater or rainwater. The Sate Water Board and Fish and Wildlife are very strict in these rules. All of the diversion into storage must end between March and April 15. That means all water for these farms is already stored during the winter months and no diversions should be happening since then. It takes a lot of infrastructure and management to accomplish this. To not recognize this is FALSE and you claiming it is happening is false.
Groundwater feeds streams via springs and seeps, the more you pump it, the less the streams and rivers flow.
To get a well permit you have to prove its not hydrologically connected to any surface flows, something CDFW and State Water Board make almost impossible to get a well permit for cannabis. Stored. Stored is the way in almost all cases.
You forgot the 15000 illegal grows
And its just not the County who are issuing these water permits for grows, its also the Garberville Sanitary District. They have applicants for water will service letters waiting around the block to get water from GSD to irrigate these grows, legal or not, on top of new development, i.e. new hospital, hotels, restaurants and the Southern Humboldt Community Park.
“Supervisor” michelle bushnell has long time been a part of creating this problem. She has long time mega industrial grows all over the place that she’s now , as “Supervisor” , seeking permits for. This is just ONE example of her hideous greed in operation in Blocksburg, to say the least about her obvious Conflict of Interest that nobody , including the media, seems to care about, or report on.
PUBLIC NOTICE
HUMBOLDT COUNTY ZONING ADMINISTRATOR NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
On Thursday, April 15, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter can be heard, the Humboldt County Zoning Administrator will hold a public hearing to consider the matter listed below.
3. Boot Leg Farm, LLC; Blocksburg Area, Record Number PLN-2019-16127 (filed December 31, 2019); Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN) 217-256-008. The applicant is seeking a Special Permit for 43,560 square feet of outdoor cultivation consisting of 20,000 square feet of outdoor cultivation utilizing light depravation techniques, and 23,560 square feet of full-sun outdoor cultivation. Two harvests are anticipated annually for the cultivation area utilizing light depravation, and one harvest is anticipated annually for the full-sun outdoor cultivation area. The project will be implemented in two phases. The first phase will include cultivating only the 23,560 square-foot full-sun outdoor cultivation area, with irrigation water sourced from an existing permitted groundwater well. The second phase will begin when the existing 600,000- gallon seasonal pond is permitted to be utilized for rainwater catchment or more water storage is obtained. During the second phase, all 43,560 square feet will be cultivated. The first phase of the project will require 110,000 gallons of water annually, which will increase to 220,000 gallons annually when the full 43,560 square feet is cultivated. There are 60,000 gallons of hard tank water storage proposed for the first phase of the project. Drying and curing will be conducted onsite in an ag-exempt structure. Further processing will occur off- site at a licensed third-party processing facility. Power will be provided by a solar array, with battery storage. Five seasonal employees are anticipated for the project. This project is located in Humboldt County, in the Blocksburg area, on both sides of Church Street, approximately 1.67 miles north from the intersection of Church Street and Alderpoint Road, on the property known to be in the northwest and southwest quarters of Section 16 of Township 02 South, Range 05 East, Humboldt Base & Meridian. The Zoning Administrator will consider an Addendum to a previously adopted Final Environmental Impact Report per §15164 of CEQA Guidelines Specific questions regarding the proposed project may be directed to Abbie Strickland, Planner, at (707) 441-2630 or by email at [email protected].
MG, That is a big conflict of interests !
Well, Here is yet another example of one of many of “Supervisor” michell bushnell ‘s conflict of interest mega grows she is trying to ram a permit through for. Down in Kimtu ,Connick Creek in Garberville . bushnell has had this grow property for years .
10/9/2020 In control: Humboldt County Planning and Building
On agenda: 10/15/2020 Final action:
Title: Chronic Creek, LLC, property owner Michelle Bushnell Special Permit Record Number: PLN-2019-16103 Assessor’s Parcel Number: 222-231-012 Garberville area A Special Permit for 22,000 square feet of mixed light cannabis cultivation. There is 3,500-square feet of existing mixed light cultivation and the applicant is proposing to expand the cultivation area by 18,500 square feet. There will be a maximum of three cultivation cycles annually. Cultivation activities extend from January to December. Water is sourced from three existing permitted wells. The anticipated maximum water usage is 178,600 gallons. During peak of operations a maximum of six employees will be on-site to assist with cultivation activities. Processing such as drying, curing, trimming and packaging, is proposed to occur onsite inside of a 576-square-foot shop building and two proposed 1,800-square-foot barns. Power will be provided by generators until P. G. & E. is developed on the subject parcel. Until P. G. & E. power is available, outdoor cultivation…
Attachments: 1. PLN-2019-16103 Staff Report.pdf, 2. Attachment 4.A_16103 Revised Cultivation and Operations 04.24.2020.pdf, 3. Attachment 4.B_16103 Biological Report 12-31-19.pdf, 4. Item C-1 Supplemental #1.pdf
Sigh.
I don’t think we can hold applicants for permits responsible for the rules enacted by Estelle fennel, even if they later become stupidvisors themselves.
This legalization thing has done more to divide our community than reggae and the mateel ever could.
For instance, If walks in the muddy woods and Bonnie blackberry could have seen past the ends of their nose when they filed that lawsuit, maybe we wouldn’t be here with Megatron permits being the only way to possibly pay off the cost of getting a permit. Lord knows the horrendous rules lost Estelle a pretty paycheck. And got the rest of us a less efficient knowledgeable representative.
Marijuana is the economic life blood of this place. The environment is vital. Those things have to work together.
We can have thousands of 100 plant grows sustaining everyone or hundreds of Megatron grows and all the money in a few hands.
Estelle chose B with the help of her not to sweet campaign donors.
Instead of pushing the county that way by trying to say “no” to permitted cultivation, the environmental lawsuit people could have been at least as smart as adonna white and demanded that water storage and sediment runoff be the constraining facts instead of money for lawyers.
As an environmentalist, I feel like the lawsuit hurt far more than helped. But here comes another one. Probably not any better directed.
I don’t think Bushnell would know much of this. She’s not a deep thinker, but it doesn’t make her to blame for the fucked up way things were when she applied.
And if you want her to get a clue, you gotta do more than cry at night. Get articulate. Come up with a plan that everyone, including the fish, can live with.
So this chart is from the gauge at Scotia where very little ground water has been pumped from the ground. Wouldn’t it be more accurate if they had a record of the water table in the lower part of the Eel Valley. One reason the river went under the surface in 2014 has been because of all the sand and gravel that has washed downstream over the last seventy years. There were many fishing holes from the box cars in Fortuna down to the Fulmor hole that were fifteen feet or more even in the late sixties.
Well, I think it illustrates that before corn and dairy farmers get a drop, the flow is horrendously low.
That has to be addressed.
I love Marijuana and it’s original economy, but I think this year anyone, and I mean anyone, who doesn’t have all the water they need for the garden they’re growing already in storage, should go to jail.
1. Water flows at the gauge at Scotia are effected by far more than water use near that gauge.
Groundwater pumping anywhere in the basin may, and in many instances likely does, affect the main stem flow. Groundwater, especially in western California is very tricky and is not greatly understood.
2. The Eel River has the highest recorded average suspended sediment yield per drainage area of any river of its size in the United States.
By area this production is naturally higher than the Colorado River.
This is it’s natural state…going back to the Holocene and Pleistocene epochs.
Though, that sediment flow has increased w human activity the Eel has not been impounded by mining run offs at anywhere even close to the levels most other rivers in CA have been as the Eel is not a significant source of gold or mercury or other precious or heavy metals. So it missed that affliction.
UNACCEPTABLE!!!😪🦊🦝🐦🦆🦎🐟
Another problem is the braided channels below the van duzen mouth. These can be fixed by using equipment to direct the flow into one riffle. Then the early returning fish can make it to the deeper thermally stratified pools above. The worst place is at the Mercer Fraser gravel site, where massive gravel extraction has spread out the river channel. Fish and game and other authorities have continually dragged their feet on annually rectifying this problem which is an inexpensive fix. The farmers used to open the riffles every summer to allow fish passage before the govt. came along and said no. That particular gravel operation is also partly responsible for filling in all the once deep pools that existed below there.
I know there are two dams/reservoirs (Scott Dam-Lake Pillsbury and Cape Horn Dam-Van Arsdale Reservoir) on the main fork of the Eel, but the best thing for the river might be to build dams (reservoirs) off river in non-fish-bearing canyons to store water while recharging ground water supplies and release that water when flows are low. Although I beleive dams/reservoirs are the answer, Eel River water should not be diverted the Russian River watershed.
Also, GeneO, is spot on. The river is being choked with gravel. We all know there is water flowing under the gravel (called “Thalweg”). Many old timers have told me there are places on the river where there were 30 foot deep holes that are now filled with gravel. It’s called “Aggradation”. This aggradation chokes out the riparian habitat which leads to increased water temperatures, which leads to fish kills and algae blooms.
The County and the State require that cultivators not utilize surface water (Forbearance) between April 1st and October 31st. Of course this just applies to cannabis farmers.
Does FOER have any suggestions? I assume FOER is part of the County’s Eel River Valley Groundwater Working Group?
Waterboy, your description or depiction of the word “Thalweg” is not accurate, please see here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalweg
I hate to remind you, but the BOS is a wholly owned subsidiary of the cannabis, dairy & logging interests. Nothing will be done to remedy this situation.
Dope cultivation should move to the Central Valley.
Only reason it’s in Hum/Men Counties is because the Sheriffs/National Guard didn’t do their job in the past.
Bummer.
Well Bozo. Where in bloody run do you think the water in the central valley comes from?
And where are you gonna get your money if we ship our only economy out of town?
Water from the Eel River is NOT diverted to the Central Valley unless by truck…which is very illegal.
No wait ??? Dredge the lower Eel out to it’s historic pools ? Oh my gawd !
Greenies will have a lawsuit binge over that.
Back in the 90s when I was a planning commissioner I actually proposed using Trinity River type dredges to make some deeper cooler holes in the river. Heck even a CAT cutting a channel to release fish from riffle bound holes would help. Its hard to convince people that the load of gravel brought down by the 64 flood has created an environment that may take many more years to return to anything like a “natural” state. The fact that there is much more population pressure on the fishery and all aspects of co existence calls into question the belief that mother nature will have enough unmolested time and resources to do the job. I feel we need to take a more pro active approach. You are right Bozo they threw a shit fit at the idea.
Well, I don’t know about then, but now it’s the agencies that can’t handle common sense.
Seems like some equipment operators ought to be able to get it done in a few moonlit nights with the water so low this year.
My neighbors remember when their parents moved to Redway about 90 years ago, when he was 3 yrs old. For at least 20 years, they say the river was 12 ft deep with a bedrock bottom. And they caught fish everyday for dinner. They still spend summers here, but are heartbroken to the current state of our once beautiful, full River.
It sure seems like dredging the silt out of the river & returning deep pools wld be a great thing to do, using best practices& techniques to accomplish the job.
Demonizing organic farms in the Eel River basin for providing FOOD!! Yet nothing mentioned about the pot farms upstream pumping water to provide a recreational drug.
Way to go Friends of the Eel, way to go
And where did their letter mention farms?
Or organic farms?
Did you even read the letter?
We should not be driving in the river either. Too much habitat damage is happening with vehicles driving in the water. Save the salmon!
Ed….. See 1.c
Thalweg…..