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Humboldt Bay water district to appeal Mercer-Fraser pot facility

1/19/18

The Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District Board of Directors voted this week to appeal Mercer-Fraser Company’s proposed construction of a cannabis edibles and concentrate manufacturing facility that the district claims has the potential to contaminate drinking water for 88,000 county residents.

The district’s main concern, as brought up by its board members at the Planning Commission meeting, was not the construction of the cannabis facility, but a proposed zoning classification change that would allow the facility along with other industrial uses to be allowed along the site. The proposed zoning change would be from “agriculture general” to “qualified heavy industrial.”

Glendale pot project prompts drinking water contamination concerns

1/16/18

The governing board for Humboldt County’s main water supplier is set to decide Wednesday whether to appeal the construction of a Glendale cannabis edibles and concentrates manufacturing facility that would be located near one of its drinking water pumps on the Mad River.

Last week, several district representatives urged the county Planning Commission to reject the project and a proposed land use zoning change on the property because they have the potential of contaminating drinking water for about 88,000 county residents.

“It’s a simple question for us: Are there other properties where this facility might be better suited?” Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District John Friedenbach said Tuesday on why the district plans to appeal. “... This one is literally right on top of the drinking water source.”

Former Arcata Community Development Director Larry Oetker named Humboldt Bay harbor district executive director

12/8/17

Former longtime Arcata Community Development Director and Eureka-based consultant Larry Oetker has been named the new executive director of the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District.

The harbor district’s five-member board of commissioners voted 4-1 on Thursday evening — with 1st Division Commissioner Larry Doss dissenting — to appoint Oetker. Oetker is set to start in his new position on Dec. 20 and will receive an annual salary of $110,000, according to 4th Division Commissioner Richard Marks.

Success! California’s first-in-the-nation plastic bag ban works

11/13/17

Preliminary results are in on California’s grand experiment to reduce plastic bag litter along its majestic coastline and streams.

Take a bow, California voters. It’s working.

The early litter data from the Coastal Clean-up Day, held annually in September, shows that plastic bag litter had dropped by 72 percent when compared to 2010. Plastic bags now account for less than 1.5 percent of all litter, compared to nearly 10 percent in 2010.

In Alameda County, officials reported finding 433 plastic bags, compared to 4,357 in 2010.

Monterey County reported even better news, with volunteers discovering only 43 plastic bags while performing their clean-up efforts, compared to 2,494 in 2010.

California is proving that its plastic bag ban stops litter from polluting our waterways and filling up our landfills, demonstrating again the state’s leadership role on environmental issues.

Royal Gold settles lawsuit

Humboldt Baykeeper warns of chemical runoff on former mill sites

10/4/17 - The Arcata-based soil company Royal Gold LLC recently settled a federal civil lawsuit filed by Humboldt Baykeeper that alleged the company allowed harmful chemicals at its Glendale soil mixing facility to contaminate the Mad River and the nearby Mill Creek. The company agreed to make a variety of infrastructure changes to prevent contaminated runoff from entering soil and groundwater.