The Humboldt Bay Harbor District’s Board of Commissioners last night decided that they need more information before green-lighting the repair/rebuilding of a billboard that’s been lying face-down in Humboldt Bay since winter.In a 3-0 vote, with Commissioners Craig Benson and Patrick Higgins absent, the board opted to require an initial study under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) before ruling on a permit application from OutFront Media, the advertising company that owns the billboard.Harbor District staff had characterized the project as a “repair” of an existing billboard, though plans to re-erect the thing involved removing the existing uprights and using an excavator to pile-drive a dozen new posts 10 feet into the ground. Staff’s assessment found that the project was exempt from CEQA review because the new structure would be located on the same site and have the same purpose and capacity as the one being replaced.Keep Reading
At a special meeting this evening, the Humboldt Bay Harbor District’s Board of Commissioners will consider issuing a permit to re-erect a billboard that was damaged during January storms and has been lying face-down in Humboldt Bay’s tidal mudflats for months.The sign in question, located on the west side of Hwy. 101 directly across from Indianola Boulevard, never received a permit. It was first erected in 1961, a dozen years before the Harbor District was created, and it stands (or rather stood) on land currently owned by the County of Humboldt.Harbor District staff says the “repair project,” which would involve replacement of the damaged uprights and pile-driving a dozen new posts into the ground, qualifies for an exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because the new structure would be located on the same site and have the same purpose and capacity as the one being replaced.Jennifer Kalt, executive director of the environmental nonprofit Humboldt Waterkeeper, agrees with that recommendation.“The Harbor District was created by the voters in 1973 to protect the bay and public trust wetlands for the benefit of all of us,” she said. “Rebuilding this billboard in the wetlands is contrary to protecting the environment, the scenic views we all enjoy, and the use of the Bay Trail that we’ve worked toward for decades.”Keep Reading
California has given America a glimpse at what running one of the world’s largest economies on renewable energy might look like.The state recently hit a milestone: 100 days this year with 100% carbon-free, renewable electricity for at least a part of each day, as tracked by Stanford University engineering Professor Mark Z. Jacobson.The state notched the milestone while — so far — avoiding blackouts and emergency power reductions this year, even with the hottest July on record.That progress is largely due to the substantial public and private investments in renewable energy — particularly batteries storing solar power to use when the sun isn’t shining, according to energy experts.“California has made unprecedented investments in our power grid in recent years — and we’re seeing them pay off in real time,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement to CalMatters. “Not only is our grid more reliable and resilient, it’s also increasingly running on 100% clean electricity.”The state faces a huge challenge in coming years: A series of mandates will require carbon-free energy while also putting more electric cars on roads and electric appliances in homes. California, under state law, must run on 60% renewable energy by 2030, ramping up to 100% by 2045.Signs of progress are emerging. From January to mid-July of this year, zero-carbon, renewable energy exceeded demand in California for 945 hours during 146 days — equivalent to a month-and-a-half of 100% fossil-fuel-free electricity, according to the California Energy Commission, the state agency tasked with carrying out the clean energy mandates.But California still has a long way to go to stop burning fossil fuels for electricity. Natural gas, which emits greenhouse gases and air pollutants, remains its single largest source of electricity.Just over half of power generated for Californians in 2022 came from solar, wind, other renewables and nuclear power, while 36% came from natural gas plants.Keep Reading
Residents along the Elk River spoke at length Friday during a public forum of a North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board meeting. The board was taking a fresh look at the Humboldt Redwood Co.’s existing waste discharge requirement on the Upper Elk River Watershed, adopted in 2019. The water board was considering whether to reopen the case or keep it as is, and allow new logging to start in 2025 in what is considered high-risk areas and riparian zones.The discussion inflamed a long-standing issue about flooding — people’s homes and properties downriver fill with water and silt due to sediment from historic logging, and largely saw the extension of logging as a gut punch.“The lower part of the river is not going to fix itself. So why would you keep allowing more sediment to keep coming down?” asked Monte Lowe, a 60-year resident of the north fork of the Elk River.Christy Wrigley, whose family apple farm was decimated by flooding in 1997, showed a recent video of her home flooding. Since ’97, she said she and her neighbors have been trying to get state agencies to protect their water, land and homes, with no success.“Our safety, security and sanity are all sacrificed to one rich landowner. This is not finding balance. Every removed tree from the forest is another nail in the coffin of the upper Elk River community,” she said.Read More
In a North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board meeting Friday, water board staff said Kernen Construction Co. sought an extension Thursday for violations over stormwater discharge at a property in the community of Glendale.The company was sent a notice of violation from the water board in May 2024 for 11 alleged violations — largely allowing untreated industrial stormwater to flow off the site that stages construction materials and failure to submit reports and technical studies surrounding water before construction, including in a wetland.While the company has so far failed to send required technical reports, the extension means they are seeking more time while board staff help the company with compliance.“We’re going to make a recommendation to our executive officer as to whether to approve or not that extension,” said Claudia Villacorta, water board assistant executive officer at the meeting.The meeting was mostly a public forum, an opportunity for people to comment on water issues in the district. A few people spoke on the impacts from the company on their neighborhood and urged the water board to hold the company accountable.Residents who live nearby said at the meeting the issues began in the last year and a half — around the time the company started staging for the Indianola project for Caltrans.One resident, Lynne Owens, said she’s moved into her van because of the noise and dust at the site.Read More
