BPC’s Monthly Newsletter

  • BPC News
  • by BPC Staff
  • on October 31, 2012
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Bay Planning Coalition October 2012 Newsletter

 

 

Hi friend of BPC,

Happy Halloween, and happy fall!
We hope you have had a happy, healthy and productive month. We certainly have! October flew by here at the Bay Planning Coalition.

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Energy and Water Nexus Summit

The highlight of the month was our Energy and Water Nexus Summit, an all-day workshop event held on October 24 that delved into the issues around the supply and pricing of energy and water in our region, and covered future considerations for energy and water conservation and supply. Our all-star lineup of panelists and speakers managed to convey a huge amount of information in a limited time, and started a truly engaging conversation that we look forward to continuing in the months and years to come. We are grateful for their participation, and for the support of our workshop sponsors.

On the Workshop’s webpage, you can find:

-video of the entire workshop
-all of the panelists’ and speakers’ Power Point slides
-audience questions answered after the workshop


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PIANC Dredging 2012 Conference

BPC Executive Director John Coleman traveled to San Diego to participate in the PIANC USA/COPRI ASCE Dredging 2012 Conference. He gave a presentation entitled “The Maritime Economy in Northern California,” outlining the importance of properly maintained channel depth to the movement of goods through our ports, and its overall economic importance to legislators, the public and regulatory agencies.


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Political Input


Wetlands Delineations

The State Water Resources Control Board continues its efforts to develop a new wetland regulatory program and, toward that end, it released in May a Preliminary Draft Policy for Wetland Area Protection and Dredge and Fill Permitting and in September three revised technical reports on a wetland definition, wetland delineation, and a landscape framework for analysis. The policy, if adopted, would establish a new regulatory program that would on one hand largely duplicate existing federal, state, and local regulations, yet on the other hand add different rules expanding the reach of state regulation, further restricting activities in wetlands and other wet areas, and complicating the process for obtaining needed permits. The State Board announced that it released the preliminary draft policy for “informational purposes only” and it expects to formally issue a draft policy, along with an environmental review document, for public comment later this year. The Bay Planning Coalition joined two dozen regulated community organizations this September in sending a letter to the Governor objecting to the proposed policy as unnecessary and burdensome and urging the Board to drop it.

 

No on F

The Bay Planning Coalition supports the efforts of the No of F – Save Hetch Hetchy campaign.
Ballot measure F, the “Water Sustainability and Environmental Restoration Planning Act of 2012,” proposes that San Franciscans vote in November 2012 to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to develop a plan to destroy the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir- even though this idea has already been studied at least 7 times, at great expense, over the last 30 years. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir supplies water to 2.6 million people in over 30 cities and generates 1.6 billion kilowatts of clean, hydroelectric energy, powering many of our municipal services. Actually carrying out the destruction of the Hetch Hetchy reservoir could cost taxpayers $3-$10 billion, and seriously jeopardize many people’s access to clean, reliable water and power, as well as destroying jobs and endangering downstream ecosystems. Save Hetch Hetchy estimates that, without this high-quality water source, affected citizens could see annual water bills increase $700-$2,700, and face frequent shortages. The proposition does not suggest any reasonable sources of water to replace the 85% of our drinking water that Hetch Hetchy currently stores.
We support the efforts of the Save Hetch Hetchy campaign, which advocates the use of the millions of dollars that would be spent on this redundant study to instead be put toward the many other improvements and services our community needs. Hetch Hetchy is a precious and valuable resource that needs to be preserved for the benefit of the Bay Area.
BPC joins dozens of elected officials, including San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, dozens of business and community leaders, and thousands of San Francisco citizens in saying No on F.


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Upcoming Workshop

Next month, we are looking forward to the third and final workshop in the 2012 workshop series, which will focus on Long Term Management Strategy (LTMS) and Environmental Mitigation Banking.
    The Long Term Management Strategy for the Disposal of Dredged Materials in the San Francisco Bay is in its 12th and final year of review. Representatives from the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the EPA and other interests will join us to look back over the LTMS and discuss the future of dredging in the bay.
    Environmental Mitigation Banking is defined by the California Department of Fish and Game as “Privately or publicly owned land managed for its natural resource values. In exchange for permanently protecting the land, the bank operator is allowed to sell habitat credits to developers who need to satisfy legal requirements for compensating environmental impacts of development projects.” Representatives from the US Army Corps of Engineers, environmental consulting firms, ports and other shoreline interests, as well as regulators, engineers and environmental groups will be on hand to discuss the details and future of this growing industry.


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Annual Luncheon

Coming up in December: save the date for our Annual Luncheon, to be held on Thursday, December 13 at the Saint Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. Chairman of the board of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) Zach Wasserman, and new Executive Director of BCDC Larry Goldzband will be our guest speakers. Watch the website for sign-up information!


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Welcome to our New Members!

Bay Planning Coalition is pleased to welcome this month’s new members:

Morrison & Foerster LLP


WRA, Inc.

 

 

Not a member yet?

 

Join us!


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