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Bulletin Board
Surface Cleaner Runoff
Surface cleaners are the target of a new runoff pollution reduction initiative launched by the Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association (BASMAA). According to BASMAA, there are over 150 of these cleaners of sidewalks, plazas, parking areas, driveways, drive-throughs and building surfaces in the Bay Area. Almost a hundred of them turned up at a Hayward workshop this August to hear how they could reduce pollution from their activities and to get a training certificate signed by BASMAA and the S.F. Regional Board. Much of the focus was on how to minimize washwater pollution via screening, collection or containment, and by avoiding soaps and solvents and letting pressurized hot water do the job. BASMAA plans two more training workshops this fall as a pilot for a larger program aimed at all 4000 of the region's mobile cleaners. (510)286-0615
Port of Oakland Gets Demonstration Money
Leftover greenbacks in the state's budget for Sonoma Baylands (see page 6) got divvied up this summer by the Coastal Conservancy. Most of the remaining money -- designated for demonstrating ways to reuse dredged material to the benefit of economy and environment-- went to the Port of Oakland. The port plans to spend their $550,000 working with other dredging interests to take the most viable proposed reuse sites in the region through feasibility studies and to the point of permitting. According to the port's Jim McGrath, leading candidate sites include Port Sonoma, some former North Bay salt ponds, and Mare Island. The port's effort will be backed up with public outreach help from the California Environmental Trust ($145,000) and technical assistance from the S.F. Bay Commission ($75,000). Other dollars went to the City of Novato ($200,000) to study wetland restoration at the Hamilton Army Airfield. (510)286-4170
Agricultural Water Management
Legislation (AB3616)to create a list of efficient agricultural water management practices has spawned a follow-up MOU five years later. This draft memoranda of understanding among water districts and other interests includes two lists of efficiency measures -- required practices and conditionally applicable practices -- as well as a new net-benefit analysis methodology. The methodology -- tested in eight pilot projects organized by the Dept. of Water Resources -- helps water districts determine which practices they will implement in a form that best suits their conditions. BurRec's Tracy Slavin says the "jury's still out" on the future impact of the MOU -- many water districts are already meeting new federal conservation planning criteria established under CVPIA. But Slavin says the MOU offers "a more rigorous evaluation process and allows the ag community to better document for the public what they're doing." Officials trotted the MOU through workshops this summer to gain final input from districts and environmental groups, and hope to have them sign on the dotted line this September. Contact: Curtis Lynn (209)732-7513
South Bay Watershed Management
Watershed management is brewing in the extreme South Bay as the S.F. Regional Board and local municipalities firm up a planning partnership. Since April 1996, the board has he ld several focus group meetings with municipalities, treatment plants, environmentalists, industries, water districts and the public to figure out how best deal with the South Bay's remaining water quality problems. Conventional regulatory approaches have led to contentious appeals or litigation, according to the Board's Tom Mumley. "There's too many layers and too many players. We're trying to find a way to set common goals and integrate land use and water quality management for the good of the whole," he says. (408)945-3070
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