Humboldt County’s Environmental Health issued a reminder last week for residents to keep their eyes peeled for algae on rivers and lakes that can produce harmful compounds. Growths of algae generally pick up in late July and August, as water slows down and heats up, situating Humboldt County at the start of the season.“They’re most likely to occur later in the summer when the river flows are low,” said Ben Dolf, a supervising environmental health specialist for Humboldt County.Water warms up to create conditions for algae blooms to be more likely in freshwater, he said, including the harmful kind.Environmental health has so far received three reports of algae this year — and all were determined to be the non-harmful type, said Dolf. Algae in the Mad River was found by the Blue Lake Rancheria to be non-harmful, and the state determined algae at the South Fork of the Eel River and Van Duzen River at Swimmers Delight to contain no harmful species.While these blooms were friendly clusters of photosynthetic organisms, the harmful ones look similar to laypeople. The harmful kind, cyanobacteria (or blue-green algae), can grow in any freshwater, look dark green, black, orange, blue green or brown, can float around, be foamy or in a mat. The harmful algae can produce toxins, tastes and odors with health risks to humans and animals, according to DHHS.Dolf encouraged people to report algae blooms to discover if any harmful toxins are afoot.“If the water doesn’t look clean, if the water looks cloudy or just it doesn’t look pristine, and seems — for lack of a better word — gross, be cautious, avoid it,” advised Dolf, then take photos, send to their office and “we’re happy to help assess whether or not the conditions are safe or harmful.”The North Coast Water Quality Control Board and the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services Environmental Health Division investigate reports of algae, which can be e-mailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 844-729-6466. Blooms can also be reported via the “bloomWatch” app. Photos of suspected blooms can also be emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..Read More
On Tuesday evening, the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District will provide an additional look at how exactly the offshore wind project slated for waters roughly 20 miles west of Eureka could proceed.The Harbor District is holding a community meeting to show simulations of future operations at the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Multipurpose Marine Terminal, located between the town of Samoa and Tuluwat Island, from a few angles.“We’re really excited for the public to see this,” said Chris Mikkelsen, the Harbor District’s executive director. While drafts of the site plan have been available to view for quite some time, these images are new.The planned 180-acre terminal is set to host the staging, storing and manufacturing of components and assembly of massive turbines. These will be then towed and installed in lease areas in the Pacific Ocean, like one roughly 20 miles west of Eureka and other projects off the coasts of California and Oregon.How large the turbines built locally will be is still to be determined, but they could reach around 900 feet high. Humboldt Waterkeeper, a local environmental advocacy organization, noted this is about three times taller than the former pulp mill smokestack in Samoa. The terminal will be built on what was once part of the former Hammond Lumber Mill.Keep Reading
California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a state Assembly bill by Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) on Thursday that would beef up water regulations during droughts on the coast. AB 1272 would have made the State Water Resources Control Board outline guidelines for water use and diversion in some coastal watersheds during times of drought.“While I support efforts to protect coastal watersheds from the extreme dry conditions exacerbated by climate change, this bill creates significant, ongoing costs in the millions of dollars that should be considered in the annual budget process,” Newsom wrote in his veto message.An Assembly floor analysis of the bill said the State Water Resources Control Board estimated a one-time cost of about $10 million and ongoing costs of $1.1 million annually to administer the program. The Department of Fish and Wildlife estimated approximately $1 million in costs annually to pay for new positions. The state is facing a deficit projected to be $27.3 billion in 2025-26.The bill, introduced in early 2023, includes watersheds along the North Coast like the Eel River, plus those near the San Francisco Bay and the Central Coast. It would have added teeth to guidelines by authorizing the board to issue cease-and-desist orders if guidelines were violated, and would authorize up to a $500-per-day civil liability.Keep Reading
A few local environmental organizations have put together a new website, which was announced on Monday, with aims to answer questions about offshore wind and help people learn about the massive projects in development stages in Humboldt County.“I am currently reading through questions that people are submitting and writing up new answers. And so if you have a question about offshore wind that you want someone, who isn’t a developer, a representative of a local environmental nonprofit to research and try to answer, this is the place to do it,” said Matthew Simmons, climate attorney for the Environmental Protection Information Center in Arcata, reached by phone Tuesday.The website, www.northcoastoffshorewind.org, has contributions from EPIC, Humboldt Waterkeeper and the Redwood Region Climate and Community Resilience Hub (part of the Humboldt Area Foundation).With offshore wind development off the coast of Humboldt County likely at least a decade away, including a planned offshore marine terminal set to be built in Humboldt Bay and two lease areas with developers off the coast of Eureka, Simmons says this website is laying the groundwork for both keeping the community informed about the projects in development in Humboldt County and to preemptively dispel persistent myths about offshore wind. Simmons said that the organizations are putting out factual information, with citations and sources, in part to combat misinformation about offshore wind, such as wind turbines causing whale deaths.Keep reading
In the third episode of Humboldt Waterkeeper's special series on communities at risk from sea level rise, we hear from long-time residents and relative newcomers who share their thoughts and concerns about sea level rise. We are also joined by Laurie Richmond of the Cal Poly Humboldt Sea Level Rise Institute, which is a network of academics, tribes, government agencies, NGOs, private consultants, and civic and community groups working to envision the future of our region. How will we adapt to increased flooding and rising groundwater in low-lying areas? Whether we decide to protect certain areas, relocate critical facilities, or figure out how to live with rising water levels, major changes are on the horizon. The good news is that we have time to plan, and a lot of people are thinking deeply about these issues.Many thanks to Hilanea Wilkinson, Maurice Viand, Lia Stoffers, Weeramon Sudkrathok ("Cake"), Laurie Richmond, and to Jessie Eden, who produced this episode with funding provided by the California Coastal Commission Whale Tail Grant Program.For more info: Cal Poly Humboldt Sea Level Rise Institute's Digital Commons (reports and publications on sea level rise) California’s new Sea Level Rise Guidance Wiyot Tribe's Climate Adaptation Plan Episode 1: Is Humboldt Bay the Canary in the Coal Mine for Sea Level Rise? Episode 2: Can We Clean Up Humboldt Bay Before the Sea Rises?Tune in to listen to the show or download it wherever you get podcasts.
