This week, I got to drive over the
new bridge at Shackleford Creek. The bridge, spanning a prime coho
stream, has been several years mired in environmental review and
development. It is a relief to know that heavy fire equipment can now
safely make the trip directly down
Quartz Valley Road
without having to go ‘round the long way. The Cottonwood Creek
bridge in Hornbrook has also been completed; a fish barrier removed at
Kelly Gulch; and County
crews have recently done flood repair work to Copco Road, Scott River
Road and Bar Road .In my opinion, the County Road Department in my
neck of the woods is doing a great job!
Recently, the North Coast Regional Water Quality
Control Board (NCRWQCB) staff met with the County to discuss
implementation of the Scott River TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load
limits for sediment and water temperature.)
The County is required to: 1) Complete an inventory of
sources for river sediment from County Roads in
Scott
Valley
, establish a schedule for correcting those sources, and sign a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreeing to use established best
management practices for road work. 2) Develop a groundwater study
plan that considers all groundwater, evaluates transpiration by
stream-side vegetation and identifies potential solutions to mitigate
any adverse impacts to beneficial uses. 3) In addition, the County is
requested to pass a grading ordinance or other “enforceable
mechanism” to address land disturbing activities.
The 5 County Coho Planning group was able to help
Siskiyou
County
acquire grant funding to start training personnel for the road
inventory in June of 2006. By August 31, 20 miles of inventory had
already been completed. It is anticipated that all the ground work
will be completed sometime in 2008. Then a prioritized project list
can be developed. With the failure by Congress to reauthorize the
Secure
Schools
and Communities Act, (which gives county roads and schools federal
payments in-lieu of a 25% share of National Forest timber,) the Road
Department is operating on half of its former revenue. Actual project
completion will depend upon some sort of grant or other funding to fix
the problems. County Road personnel continue to be trained in best
management practices and are operating accordingly.
Siskiyou
County
has retained jurisdiction over groundwater use. The TMDL
implementation plan directs that, by September 8 of 2007, Siskiyou
County as lead, with partners such as the Siskiyou RCD, Scott River
Watershed Council (SRWC) will create a formal groundwater study plan
that will: 1) Evaluate changes in river flows and the water table
elevations from groundwater pumping; 2) Determine the magnitude of
groundwater recharge from leaking ditches and percolation of irrigated
water; 3) Determine the impacts of water table fluctuations on
riparian vegetation; and 4) Identify opportunities, such as
conjunctive use, to increase subsurface water storage. It is suggested
that
Siskiyou
County
hire a contractor to complete the study.
There will be much additional discussion among partners
concerning the study currently in place, which measures static water
levels and is modeled after
Tehama
County
’s plan. SRWC also has in place a “hypothesis testing” strategy
developed with input from many agencies. Discussions will explore how
these might satisfy expectations as envisioned by the NCRWQCB. Funding
would also have to be acquired to complete any study plan.
The issue of a general grading ordinance has been
raised previously and denied by the Board of Supervisors. However, at
the Board’s request, the Planning Department has completed a draft
Land Development Manual for new construction which will be first
reviewed at a workshop of the Siskiyou County Planning Commission on
Wednesday November 1 at the Board of Supervisors’ Chambers in the
Courthouse. The regular meeting starts at
9 a.m.
The SRWC
and RCD will continue its work with technical support and grant
funding assistance to landowners, helping to develop grazing and other
land use strategies to prevent, minimize and control sediment and
temperature impacts to rivers and streams.
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Source: http://users.sisqtel.net/armstrng/opinion102706.htm
