News

Removing 4 million gallons of caustic chemicals a top priority

8/13/13

The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District board, after nearly a year of negotiations, has decided to go through with the acquisition of the former Samoa pulp mill site.



The district’s Board of Commissioners voted unanimously, with Aaron Newman absent, during a special session meeting Monday evening to take over the 72-acre industrial site from Freshwater Tissue Co., which closed the mill in October 2008.



Under the agreement, the district will acquire the property — which includes 225,000 square feet of buildings, a boiler, a water treatment plant and a 1.5 mile ocean outfall line — at no cost.



Although harbor district officials expressed excitement Monday about potential projects that could be developed at the site — including a public docking facility, commercial aquaculture and a Humboldt State University research facility — the acquisition is not without challenges for the cash-strapped district.



For one thing, harbor officials will need to figure out what to do with the roughly 4 million gallons of pulping liquors — a caustic byproduct of the pulp­ing process — currently stored in tanks at the site. The cost of removing the materials, according to Commissioner Mike Wilson, has been estimated at around $2 million.

That’s money that the harbor district does not have readily available. After years in the red, the agency has eaten away at its reserve funds. Debt from dredging Humboldt Bay in 2000, combined with lost revenue from disappearing timber companies and the closure of the Simpson pulp mill in 2008, saw the district’s reserve funds plummet from $6 million in 2006 to just over $2 million in 2010.

In addition to another round of dredging — which District CEO Jack Crider has said will likely need to happen in about four years given the rate at which silt sediment is piling up in the bay— the district also needs to start thinking about replacing more than 50,000-square-feet of marina floats that make up the harbor dock.

District officials are hoping a transformation of the for­mer mill site could turn their financial situation around.

In the meantime, Wilson said the district is looking at pulp mills outside the area that could receive the pulping liquors as well as possible treatment options.

Pacific Coast Seafoods, owned by Commissioner Greg Dale, has offered a letter of credit to the district for a loan in the amount of $1.25 million — at 3 percent interest — to help kickstart the removal process.

“We feel that the pulp liquors are a big issue,” Dale said. “As oyster farmers, a potential leak into the bay could ruin our business. The district has the funds to pay for the removal — but not all at once. It could drag out for years. Now the district can approach other agencies with some funding ready to go.” While all of the commis­sioners present at Monday’s meeting agreed that coming up with a means to dispose of the liquors won’t be easy, they also agreed that it was a task worth taking on.

“That pulp liquor situation, it’s grave,” Dale said. “But I don’t see anyone else stepping up to fix it or take care of it. I think we have the opportunity and the obligation to do so.” Commissioner Richard Marks, who worked for nearly three decades at the facility, agreed.

“If we do nothing else but clean up that, I am going to be happy,” he said.

During Monday’s meeting, concern was raised over tax­payer liability should a tank rupture and a leak occur before the district is able to remove the chemicals from the site. Crider said the district is in the process of obtaining catastrophic insurance cover­age should such an event occur.

“Right now, getting those liquors offsite is our number one priority,” he said.

Although the district has agreed to purchase the site, Commissioner Pat Higgins stressed that the project is far from complete. In addition to finding the funding sources necessary to remove the liquors, the district will also be starting the process of finding occupants to fill the property. Higgins said the district will begin holding economic development committee hearings on that topic on the second Monday of each month going forward.

“There will be plenty of opportunity for the commu­nity to engage in that forum, in terms of potential use for this site,” Higgins said. “This is going to be a long, ongoing relationship with the harbor district and the community. The plans will only continue to evolve as the capital forms and we get feedback from the public.”

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7/31/13

Several weeks after the approval of a resolution discouraging the use and sale of rodenticides, the Board of Supervisors has been updated on the state’s proposal to restrict them and ban retail sales.

The status of the state Department of Pesticide Regulation’s effort to limit the availability of rodenticides was reported by Jeff Dolf, the county’s agricultural commissioner, at the July 23 supervisors meeting.

The state is proposing to regulate products that contain the four active ingredients found in commonly-sold second generation rodenticides. That category includes highly toxic anti-coagulants that linger in body tissues, potentially harming predators that eat poisoned rodents.

Dolf said the state released its regulatory plan the previous week and a public comment period on it ends Sept. 3. Second generation rodenticides are being targeted for restriction because they’re “responsible for most of the contamination and the poisoning deaths of wildlife,” he continued.

His office would regulate rodenticides as restricted materials if the state’s plan is approved. Dolf told supervisors that under that scenario, possession and use of the rodenticides would require certification, effecting “oversight from our agency on the use of these materials.”

The rodenticides are mostly accessed at stores now but the new regulatory scenario would remove them from the retail market. “It wouldn’t entirely eliminate the problem but it would go a long ways toward reducing the misuse of these pesticides,” said Dolf.
He added, “We know what we’re talking about – we’re talking about illegal use by marijuana growers.”

What Dolf described as the “off-label” use of rodenticides in marijuana grows has been identified as a threat to a variety of wildlife. Those who use the poisons responsibly will continue to be able to do so, but will have to either hire a specialist to apply them or do it themselves after being certified.

The latter option is available to agricultural producers who would be permitted to use restricted materials through Dolf’s office. That process would require “site-specific information” and application review, he said.

“It would give us an opportunity to do a pre-site inspection and look at where these things are going to be used,” he continued.
With the added supervision of his office, use of the rodenticides in livestock operations will be allowed for the first time, said Dolf.

Supervisor Mark Lovelace pointed out that marijuana growers won’t be able to use rodenticides legally because marijuana cultivation doesn’t count as an agricultural use under Department of Pesticide Regulation standards.

Dolf confirmed that and said, “If they were to try and represent themselves as producing a legitimate agricultural commodity, we don’t have to accept them on their word.” He reiterated that with the restricted materials category, pre-site inspections can be required.

“Through that level of oversight we will hopefully catch anybody who might be trying to improperly acquire, through our permitting process, these rodenticides,” said Dolf.

Asked what would be done about rodenticides bought out of state and used in California, Dolf said his office will be authorized to impose fines if it discovers unregulated possession and use.

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7/31/13

Facebook followers of “Olive the Oiled Otter” received good news today: Scientists found her with what they believe is her second pup. The birth of Olive’s first pup last fall was a milestone in oiled wildlife rehabilitation as it was the first pup born to a previously oiled sea otter in California.  The birth of this pup further confirms that oiled wildlife can continue contributing to the population after rehabilitation and release.

After a several week hiatus, during which scientists could not locate Olive, she was spotted Tuesday morning clutching a newborn pup, according to CDFW Environmental Scientist Colleen Young, based at CDFW’s Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center in Santa Cruz.

Both mom and pup appeared to be healthy and Olive was observed holding, grooming and nursing her new pup at the Capitola surf spot she’s been known to frequent, known to locals as “The Hook.”

“Olive’s second known pup further demonstrates that formerly oiled wildlife can successfully reproduce, again validating the importance of rehabilitating oiled wildlife,” Young said.

In July 2012 sea otter researchers from CDFW, the U.S. Geological Survey and Monterey Bay Aquarium discovered Olive was pregnant with her first pup when they brought her into a mobile veterinary lab for the first exam since her release. The team determined she was about halfway through a normal pregnancy term. She was given new flipper tags and released back to her capture site.

“Olive,” who was estimated to be a year old at the time of her rescue in February 2009, earned her name during rehabilitation when the staff used olive oil as part of the intensive washing process.

After being rehabilitated, she was released back into the wild on April 7, 2009 and has been monitored since. Most of her sightings have been at the near shore kelp beds off Capitola.

CDFW scientists will continue monitoring Olive and her new pup at a safe distance to document her success in the wild while avoiding disturbance to the new family.

CDFW teams with the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the U.S. Geological Survey to study the ecology and population trends of the Southern Sea Otter, which is listed as a federally threatened species. Results of the 2012 sea otter survey listed a population index of 2,792, which represents a very small increase in number and reverses the downward trend of the last few years.

The public has the opportunity to donate to the Sea Otter Tax Check-off Fund to support sea otter research. Donations can be made on line 410 of Californians’ individual income tax returns. For more information on the Sea Otter Tax Check-off Fund visit www.dfg.ca.gov/taxcheck.

Additional information on Olive’s progress and photos are available at www.facebook.com/Olivetheoiledotter. General information on sea otter research is also available at 
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/ospr/Science/marine-wildlife-vetcare/index.aspx#.

For photos and video links, click HERE.

7/26/13

Officials with the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) are warning recreational users of the South Fork Eel, Van Duzen, Klamath and Mattole rivers, Big Lagoon, Freshwater Lagoon and all other freshwater bodies to avoid contact with algae this summer.

Low flows along the South Fork of the Eel River as well as the Van Duzen, coupled with sustained high temperatures in the inland areas, have created the ideal conditions for rapid blooming of blue-green algae.

DHHS is aware of 11 dog deaths that may have been caused by blue-green algae poisoning since 2001. The dogs died shortly after swimming in Big Lagoon, the South Fork Eel River and the Van Duzen River.

A nerve toxin associated with blue-green algae was found in the stomachs of the dogs that died on the South Fork Eel River in 2002. The same toxin was found in water samples from the South Fork Eel and Van Duzen rivers in 2009 just after two dogs died.

This poison is the most likely cause of the dog deaths on these rivers. Dogs are more vulnerable than people because they may swallow the toxin when they lick their fur. The onset of symptoms can be rapid; dogs have died within 30 minutes to one hour after leaving the water.

Blue-green algae blooms that produce a liver toxin have been documented in Klamath River reservoirs and the Klamath River this year. The current status of this river may be found at the Klamath Basin Monitoring Program website: http://www.kbmp.net/blue-green-algae-tracker.

Blue-green algae can be present in any freshwater body. It looks like green, blue-green, white or brown scum, foam or mats floating on the water. Usually, it does not affect animals or people. However, warm water and abundant nutrients can cause blue-green algae to grow more rapidly than usual. These floating algal masses, or “blooms,” can produce natural toxins that are very potent.

Dogs and children are most likely to be affected because of their smaller body size and tendency to stay in the water for longer periods.

Potential symptoms in dogs following exposure to blue-green algae toxins can include lethargy, difficulty breathing, salivation, excessive urination, vomiting, diarrhea or convulsions. People can experience eye irritation, skin rash, mouth ulcers, vomiting, diarrhea and cold- or flu-like symptoms.

DHHS officials recommend the following guidelines for recreational users of all freshwater areas in Humboldt County:

• Keep children, pets and livestock from swimming in or drinking water containing algal scums or mats.
• Adults should also avoid wading and swimming in water containing algal blooms. Try not to swallow or inhale water spray in an algal bloom area.
• If no algal scums or mats are visible, you should still carefully watch young children and warn them not to swallow any water.
• Fish should be consumed only after removing the guts and liver and rinsing fillets in tap water.
• Never drink, cook with or wash dishes with water from rivers, streams or lakes.
• Get medical attention immediately if you think that you, your pet or livestock might have been poisoned by blue-green algae toxins. Be sure to tell the doctor about possible contact with blue-green algae.
• Human activities can have a big effect on nutrient and water flows in rivers, streams or lakes. Phosphorous and nitrogen found in fertilizers, animal waste and human waste can stimulate blooms. Excessive water diversions can increase water temperatures and reduce flows. People can take the following measures to prevent algal blooms in local waters:
• Be very conservative with the use of water, fertilizers and pesticides on your lawn, garden or agricultural operation.
• Recycle any “spent” soil that has been used for intensive growing by tilling it back into gardens, or protect it from rainfall to avoid nutrient runoff.
• Plant or maintain native plants around banks. These plants help filter water and don't require fertilizers.
• Pump and maintain your septic system every three to four years.
• Prevent surface water runoff from agricultural and livestock areas.
• Prevent erosion around construction and logging operations.

For more information, contact the DHHS Division of Environmental Health at 707-445-6215 or 1-800-963-9241. People may report unusual blooms or conditions, including photographs, to Environmental Health by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The California Department of Public Health website also has more details at www.cdph.ca.gov/healthinfo/environhealth/water/Pages/bluegreenalgae.aspx.

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