SANTA - Sierra Club...The Santa Lucian is published 10 times a year. Articles, environmental...
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Santa Lucian 1 SANTA LUCIAN Don’t Miss: January 28 2016 Environmentalists Rendezvous - page 2 January 2016 Volume 53 No. 1 Just Say No to the TPP The release of the once secret text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership makes it clear: this is a toxic trade deal Santa Lucian Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club P. O. Box 15755 San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 84 SAN LUIS OBISPO CA 93401 Not So Fast on the Los Osos Basin Plan Sierra Club’s troubling questions get the Water Board’s attention Diablo’s Fate Awaits State Water Board hearing set for Jan. 19 I I I n s i d e n s i d e n s i d e n s i d e n s i d e Your 2016 Chapter ballot 2 The year in review 3 What about a wind farm? 6 Phillips 66 tries to fake it 5 Classifieds 7 Outings 8 Please recycle This newsletter printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with soy-based inks The official newsletter of the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club ~ San Luis Obispo County, California Rush to Sludgment Haste will make waste in the County’s push to permit sewage sludge on ag land SLO County is proposing an ordinance allowing the application of sewage sludge on agricultural lands used to grow food for human consumption, feed for animals and provide grazing livestock. The or- dinance would replace a current moratorium on the practice that will expire in 2018. The proposed ordinance permits the spreading of excessively contaminated sludge and massive in- creases in soil contamina- tion with toxic, carcino- genic, mutagenic, patho- genic and hormone-disrupt- ing pollutants. The draft ordinance does not comply with directions given to County staff by the Board of Supervisors about the type or ordinance that They thought they were kidding When John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton were trying to come up with a title for their landmark 1994 take-down of the public relations industry, they had no idea there was an actual p.r. campaign dedicated to convincing communities that disposing of sewage sludge (rechristened “biosolids”) by spreading it on farmland is a wonderful thing. should be drafted to regu- late sewage sludge land SLUDGE continued on page 4 In the final days of 2015, the victories for the cli- mate justice movement came fast and furious – from fracking bans to pipeline wins to break- through climate policies. And on December 8, after years of a hard- fought community-led campaign, the oil services company WesPac with- drew its permit applica- tions to build the biggest oil terminal on the West Coast in Pittsburg, Califor- nia. That means 242,000 barrels a day of toxic and explosive extreme crude oil from the tar sands and the Bakken will stay in the ground and off the tankers, oil trains, and pipelines WesPac would have built to bring this dangerous crude to Bay Area refiner- ies. This is an extraordinary victory, and one that dem- onstrates that grassroots organizing can overcome the power of big oil. I re- member two years ago hearing that “no one can organize in this town,” because for so long Pittsburg had been domi- nated by heavy industry after heavy industry, from petrochemical plants and waste dumps to power sta- tions and oil facilities. The campaign started out small, led by two coura- geous neighbors Kalli Gra- ham and Lyana Monterrey, who started knocking on doors and enrolling more and more community mem- bers to the fight. I remem- ber my first day canvassing outside the Pittsburg sea- food festival in August 2013, thinking to my- self how the hell are we ever going to win this thing? But as these brilliant and resilient grassroots leaders California Crude Oil Project Stopped in Its Tracks by Ethan Buckner, ForestEthics Extreme Oil Campaign PITTSBURG continued on page 5 With the October 14 certi- fication by the court of a stipulated judgment in the adjudication of the Los Osos groundwater basin and approval of a deeply flawed Basin Plan (see “It’s Crunch Time for Los Osos,” April 2015), the future is looking grim for the basin, the 14,000 residents above it, and the wildlife and habitat of the Morro Bay Estuary that depend on it. In a nutshell, after 35 years of severe overdraft due to lack of management by the water purveyors and the County – who ignored recommendations in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s to move wells and conserve water — seawater intrusion is knock- ing out key supply wells and threatening many oth- ers, with salt levels in the deep aquifer so high it may be beyond salvation. 90% of the water in the Los Osos Basin is below the level needed to stop seawa- ter intrusion (even before the worst drought on record lowered water tables fur- ther). The wastewater project is about to start up, and its benefits depend on saving the basin. After eight years of negotiations, we should be looking at a Basin Plan that will save the Basin -- which this plan won’t because it lacks es- sential elements of sustain- able management. Throughout the process, the Sierra Club was unable to get our concerns ad- dressed by the County, the Regional Water Board or the water purveyors. As a result, the process produced a Ba- sin Plan obviously and omi- nously dedicated to finding a way to lift the building moratorium in Los Osos and On November 5, the gov- ernment of New Zealand published the text of the previously secretive Trans- Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-nation international trade deal. The release came after years of closed- door negotiations by trade officials and select corpo- rate advisers and years of opposition and demands of transparency from the Sierra Club and millions of Americans. As predicted, the TPP turns out to be a very bad deal for the health of com- munities, the environment, and our climate. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said on De- mocracy Now “The irony is that the president came out and said, ‘This is about who makes the trade rules, China or the United States?’ But I think the big issue is, this is about who makes the rules of trade: the American people, our democratic pro- cess, or the corporations? And who the rules are made for, which is, for the corpo- rations or for all of us?” We now have concrete evidence that the Trans- Pacific Partnership threat- ens our families, our com- munities, and our environ- ment. It’s no surprise that the deal is rife with polluter giveaways that would un- dermine decades of envi- ronmental progress, threaten our climate, and fail to adequately protect wildlife, because big pollut- ers helped write the deal. The words “climate change” don’t even appear in the text, a dead giveaway that this isn’t a 21st-century trade deal. It sets us back further, empowering fossil fuel corporations to chal- lenge our public health and climate safeguards in unac- countable trade tribunals while increasing dirty fossil fuel exports and fracking. Many provisions in the deal’s environment chapter are toothless and fail to offer any of the protections proponents of this deal have touted. Some provisions even fail to meet the mini- mum standards of environ- mental protection estab- lished in the “fast-track” law and included in past trade deals negotiated under the George W. Bush admin- istration. Congress must stand up for American jobs, clean air and water, and a healthy climate by rejecting the toxic Trans-Pacific Partner- ship. While the range of con- servation issues mentioned in the TPP is wide, the obli- gations–what coun- tries are actually re- quired to do–are very shallow. Vague obli- gations combined with weak enforce- ment, as described below, may allow countries to continue with business-as-usual practices that threaten our environment. Rather than prohib- iting trade in illegally taken timber and wildlife – major issues in TPP coun- tries like Peru and Vietnam – the TPP only asks coun- tries “to combat” such trade. To comply, the text requires only weak mea- sures, such as “exchanging information and experi- ences” while stronger mea- sures like sanctions are merely listed as options. Rather than banning com- mercial whaling and shark fin trade – major issues in TPP countries like Japan and Singapore – the TPP includes a toothless aspira- tion to “promote the long- term conservation of sharks...and marine mam- mals” via a non-binding list of suggested measures that countries “should” take. The TPP would under- mine efforts to combat the climate crisis, empowering foreign fossil fuel corpora- tions to challenge our envi- ronmental and climate safe- guards in unaccountable trade tribunals via the con- troversial investor-state LOS OSOS continued on page 6 TPP continued on page 5 kept organizing, and it started working. Within months our volunteer base PROTECTSLO.ORG After a year of delay, the staff of the State Water Re- sources Control Board have written a report and recom- mendations for how Diablo Canyon should be required to comply with new state regulations phasing out the use of ocean water to cool coastal power plants. On January 19 in Sacra- mento, the Board will hear the report. Staff will be looking for input from the board and the public on additional information the board should consider when determining whether to modify the state’s policy for Diablo later this year. The hearing could mark the beginning of the end of the road for “California’s largest marine predator,” as California Coastal Commis- sion staff summed up the impacts of the plants cool- ing system on the marine environment at a water board hearing last year. At press time, the staff report was not available. Go to www.swrcb.ca.gov/ board_info/agendas/.
Transcript of SANTA - Sierra Club...The Santa Lucian is published 10 times a year. Articles, environmental...
Santa Lucian • January 20161
SANTA LUCIAN
Don’t Miss:January 28
2016 Environmentalists Rendezvous
- page 2
January 2016Volume 53 No. 1
Just Say No to the TPPThe release of the once secret text of the Trans-Pacific Partnershipmakes it clear: this is a toxic trade deal
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Not So Fast on the Los Osos Basin PlanSierra Club’s troubling questions get the Water Board’s attention
Diablo’sFate AwaitsState Water Boardhearing set for Jan. 19
IIIII n s i d en s i d en s i d en s i d en s i d eYour 2016 Chapter ballot 2
The year in review 3
What about a wind farm? 6
Phillips 66 tries to fake it 5
Classifieds 7
Outings 8
Please recycle
This newsletter printed on100% post-consumer recycled paper with
soy-based inks
T h e o f f i c i a l n e w s l e t te r o f th e Sa n ta L u c i a C h a p te r o f t h e S i e r r a C l u b ~ Sa n L u i s O b i s p o Co u n t y, C a l i f o r n i a
Rush to SludgmentHaste will make wastein the County’s push topermit sewage sludgeon ag land
SLO County is proposingan ordinance allowing theapplication of sewagesludge on agricultural landsused to grow food forhuman consumption, feedfor animals and providegrazing livestock. The or-dinance would replace acurrent moratorium on thepractice that will expire in2018. The proposed ordinancepermits the spreadingof excessively contaminatedsludge and massive in-creases in soil contamina-tion with toxic, carcino-genic, mutagenic, patho-genic and hormone-disrupt-ing pollutants. The draft ordinance doesnot comply with directionsgiven to County staff by theBoard of Supervisors aboutthe type or ordinance that They thought they were kidding When John Stauber and
Sheldon Rampton were trying to come up with a title for theirlandmark 1994 take-down of the public relations industry, they hadno idea there was an actual p.r. campaign dedicated to convincingcommunities that disposing of sewage sludge (rechristened“biosolids”) by spreading it on farmland is a wonderful thing.
should be drafted to regu-late sewage sludge land
SLUDGE continued on page 4
In the final days of 2015,the victories for the cli-mate justice movementcame fast and furious –from fracking bans topipeline wins to break-through climate policies. And on December 8,after years of a hard-fought community-ledcampaign, the oil servicescompany WesPac with-drew its permit applica-tions to build the biggestoil terminal on the WestCoast in Pittsburg, Califor-nia. That means 242,000barrels a day of toxic andexplosive extreme crudeoil from the tar sands andthe Bakken will stay in theground and off the tankers,oil trains, and pipelinesWesPac would have builtto bring this dangerouscrude to Bay Area refiner-ies. This is an extraordinaryvictory, and one that dem-onstrates that grassrootsorganizing can overcomethe power of big oil. I re-member two years agohearing that “no one canorganize in this town,”
because for so longPittsburg had been domi-nated by heavy industryafter heavy industry, frompetrochemical plants andwaste dumps to power sta-tions and oil facilities. The campaign started outsmall, led by two coura-geous neighbors Kalli Gra-ham and Lyana Monterrey,who started knocking ondoors and enrolling moreand more community mem-bers to the fight. I remem-ber my first day canvassingoutside the Pittsburg sea-food festival in August2013, thinking to my-self how the hell are weever going to win thisthing? But as these brilliant andresilient grassroots leaders
California Crude OilProject Stopped in
Its Tracksby Ethan Buckner,ForestEthics Extreme OilCampaign
PITTSBURG continued on page 5
With the October 14 certi-fication by the court of astipulated judgment in theadjudication of the LosOsos groundwater basin andapproval of a deeply flawedBasin Plan (see “It’s CrunchTime for Los Osos,” April2015), the future is lookinggrim for the basin, the14,000 residents above it,and the wildlife and habitatof the Morro Bay Estuarythat depend on it. In a nutshell, after 35years of severe overdraftdue to lack of managementby the water purveyors andthe County – who ignoredrecommendations in the‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s to movewells and conserve water —seawater intrusion is knock-ing out key supply wellsand threatening many oth-ers, with salt levels in thedeep aquifer so high it maybe beyond salvation. 90%
of the water in the LosOsos Basin is below thelevel needed to stop seawa-ter intrusion (even beforethe worst drought on recordlowered water tables fur-ther). The wastewaterproject is about to start up,and its benefits depend onsaving the basin. Aftereight years of negotiations,we should be looking at aBasin Plan that will savethe Basin -- which this planwon’t because it lacks es-
sential elements of sustain-able management. Throughout the process,the Sierra Club was unableto get our concerns ad-dressed by the County, theRegional Water Board or thewater purveyors. As a result,the process produced a Ba-sin Plan obviously and omi-nously dedicated to findinga way to lift the buildingmoratorium in Los Osos and
On November 5, the gov-ernment of New Zealandpublished the text of thepreviously secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a12-nation internationaltrade deal. The releasecame after years of closed-door negotiations by tradeofficials and select corpo-rate advisers and years ofopposition and demands oftransparency from theSierra Club and millions ofAmericans. As predicted, the TPPturns out to be a very baddeal for the health of com-munities, the environment,and our climate. NobelPrize-winning economistJoseph Stiglitz said on De-mocracy Now “The irony isthat the president came outand said, ‘This is about whomakes the trade rules, Chinaor the United States?’ But Ithink the big issue is, this isabout who makes the rulesof trade: the Americanpeople, our democratic pro-cess, or the corporations?And who the rules are madefor, which is, for the corpo-rations or for all of us?” We now have concreteevidence that the Trans-Pacific Partnership threat-ens our families, our com-munities, and our environ-ment. It’s no surprise thatthe deal is rife with pollutergiveaways that would un-dermine decades of envi-ronmental progress,threaten our climate, andfail to adequately protectwildlife, because big pollut-ers helped write the deal.
The words “climatechange” don’t even appearin the text, a dead giveawaythat this isn’t a 21st-centurytrade deal. It sets us backfurther, empowering fossilfuel corporations to chal-lenge our public health andclimate safeguards in unac-countable trade tribunalswhile increasing dirty fossilfuel exports and fracking. Many provisions in thedeal’s environment chapterare toothless and fail tooffer any of the protectionsproponents of this deal havetouted. Some provisionseven fail to meet the mini-mum standards of environ-mental protection estab-lished in the “fast-track”law and included in pasttrade deals negotiated underthe George W. Bush admin-istration. Congress must stand upfor American jobs, clean airand water, and a healthyclimate by rejecting thetoxic Trans-Pacific Partner-ship. While the range of con-servation issues mentionedin the TPP is wide, the obli-gations–what coun-tries are actually re-quired to do–are veryshallow. Vague obli-gations combinedwith weak enforce-ment, as describedbelow, may allowcountries to continuewith business-as-usualpractices that threatenour environment. Rather than prohib-iting trade in illegally
taken timber and wildlife –major issues in TPP coun-tries like Peru and Vietnam– the TPP only asks coun-tries “to combat” suchtrade. To comply, the textrequires only weak mea-sures, such as “exchanginginformation and experi-ences” while stronger mea-sures like sanctions aremerely listed as options. Rather than banning com-mercial whaling and sharkfin trade – major issues inTPP countries like Japanand Singapore – the TPPincludes a toothless aspira-tion to “promote the long-term conservation ofsharks...and marine mam-mals” via a non-binding listof suggested measures thatcountries “should” take. The TPP would under-mine efforts to combat theclimate crisis, empoweringforeign fossil fuel corpora-tions to challenge our envi-ronmental and climate safe-guards in unaccountabletrade tribunals via the con-troversial investor-state
LOS OSOS continued on page 6
TPP continued on page 5
kept organizing, and itstarted working. Withinmonths our volunteer base
PROTECTSLO.ORG
After a year of delay, thestaff of the State Water Re-sources Control Board havewritten a report and recom-mendations for how DiabloCanyon should be requiredto comply with new stateregulations phasing out theuse of ocean water to coolcoastal power plants. On January 19 in Sacra-mento, the Board will hearthe report. Staff will belooking for input from theboard and the public onadditional information theboard should consider whendetermining whether tomodify the state’s policy forDiablo later this year. The hearing could markthe beginning of the end ofthe road for “California’slargest marine predator,” asCalifornia Coastal Commis-sion staff summed up theimpacts of the plants cool-ing system on the marineenvironment at a waterboard hearing last year. At press time, the staffreport was not available. Goto www.swrcb.ca.gov/board_info/agendas/.
2 Santa Lucian • January 2016
The Executive Committee meetsthe second Monday of every monthat 5:30 p.m. The ConservationCommittee meets the secondFriday at 1p.m. at the chapter office,located at 974 Santa Rosa St., SanLuis Obispo. All members arewelcome to attend.
Denny Mynatt PRINT MEDIA COORDINATOR
Energy Task Force Karen MerriamIntergenerational Task Force
Water Subcommittee Keith Wimer
Committee ChairsPolitical David BouquinDevelopment Greg McMillanConservation Sue Harvey
Nuclear Power Task Force Rochelle Becker Linda Seeley Climate Change Task Force Heidi Harmon
Victoria Carranza
Sierra Club General Meeting2016 Environmentalists Rendezvous
7 p.m., Thurs., Jan. 28Thurs., Jan. 28th, 7-9 p.m. 7th AnnualEnvironmentalists’ Rendezvous: TheSustainable City. At this year’s annualforum of local environmental activists,leaders of five prominent groups workingto improve the urban habitat of our countywill speak. This is a unique opportunity tohear reps from ECOSLO, SLO CleanEnergy, SLO Foam Free, the City ofSLO’s Division of Natural Resources and,of course, the Sierra Club discuss theirefforts and plans for 2016. Also learn the implications of the Paris agreement on climatechange for our county. Bring your comments and questions.
Steynberg Gallery, 1531 Monterey St., SLO. Info: Joe Morris, 549-0355.
Printed by University Graphic SystemsCal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Mailingservices courtesy of Silver Streaks.
Office hours Monday-Friday,1 p.m. - 7 p.m., 974 Santa RosaStreet, San Luis Obispo
Coordinator Kim Ramos, Admin and Development [email protected]
Santa Lucia ChapterP.O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA 93406
CNRCC Delegates Linda Seeley, alt: Greg McMillan John Burdett
Calendar Sales Bonnie Walters 805-543-7051Outings Joe Morris [email protected]/Kayak openWebmaster Monica Tarzier [email protected] Guide Gary Felsman
Chapter Director Andrew Christie
Santa Lucian
EDITOR
Greg McMillanLindi DoudLinda SeeleySandy SimonEDITORIAL COMMITTEE
The Santa Lucian is published 10 times ayear. Articles, environmental information andletters to the editor are welcome. Thedeadline for each issue is the 13th of theprior month.
send to:Editor, Santa Lucianc/o Santa Lucia Chapter, Sierra ClubP.O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA [email protected]
Santa Lucia Chapter
2015 Executive CommitteePatrick McGibney (12/17) CHAIRLinda Seeley (12/17) SECRETARYLindi Doud (12/17) MEMBERGreg McMillan (12/16) MEMBERJon Alan Connerley (12/16) MEMBEREmily Miggins (12/15) MEMBERKaren Merriam (12/15) MEMBER
Greg McMillan COUNCIL OF CLUB LEADERSLindi Doud, Patrick McGibney TREASURERS
Andrew Christie
As you contemplate theyear just past as summa-rized on the facing page,we hope something like atheme strikes you (in addi-tion to the obvious risingtide of opposition to thePhillips 66 oil-by-railproject): The scorecard forseveral local environmentalissues of long standingcame out looking prettygood as 2015 came to aclose. While significantprogress on significant is-sues takes a significantamount of time and effort,actual progress eventuallycan and does occur. Which leads to anothertheme: When our residentmedia outlets report on thevote of a local board or adecision by a federalagency, it often reports thatstory while locked in thegrip of the Eternal Now –i.e. yesterday a group ofofficials took a notion intotheir heads to do something,so they did it. Which is likewalking over a ridge, spy-ing a 100-year old oak treein the valley below, andassuming it descended fromthe sky five minutes earlierand is balancing on the baseof its trunk. That’s not how it works.And that’s why we go to thetrouble every year of com-piling the Year in Review,which we might subtitle“Here’s What Really Hap-
pened.” Two examples encompassboth of those themes: First, Community ChoiceEnergy has been the subjectof nearly a decade of educa-tion efforts for our localelected officials, city man-agers, planning staff, etc.,After two years of intensiveoutreach by SLO CleanEnergy, the message finallybroke through last October:The Board of Supervisorsdecided that perhaps lowerelectricity rates, cleanerenergy sources, and localcontrol of our energy des-tiny could be a good thing,and it would be nice to findout, so they decided to joina regional feasibility studydedicated to doing so. Second, after a two-yeardrive for nomination thatfollowed lord knows howmany years of local effortsto get a national marinesanctuary established on theCentral Coast, the nomina-tion for the Chumash Heri-tage National Marine Sanc-tuary was accepted by theNational Oceanic and At-mospheric Administration(NOAA). The Sierra Club investedheavily in those nine yearsof public outreach on Com-munity Choice, hostingclean energy town hallmeetings and assisting citieswith greenhouse gas emis-sion inventories and climate
action plans.Along withSurfrider Foun-dation and long-time local activ-ists, we helpedthe Chumashshepherd theirsanctuary nomi-nation to accep-tance. CCE and the
CHNMS would be hugeitems in the environmentalplus column for this county,and the activists who havepressed for both for so longhave achieved big wins. Onboth issues, we have milesto go before we sleep, butnow we will be coveringthose miles with much moreencouragement. And as encouraging asthose wins are, it’s equallyencouraging to contemplatewho lost. In the run-up to the Boardof Supervisors’ vote on theCommunity Choice feasibil-ity study, the Coalition ofLabor, Agriculture andBusiness (COLAB), re-liably reactionary no matterthe issue, devoted six pagesof its member newsletter toinvoking the scary monsterof Creeping Socialism thatwould surely devour us allif the Board allocated fundsto participate in a study andget information that mightcause it to make an in-formed decision. COLAB got its fear-mon-gering fanny paddled. So did a clueless Port SanLuis Harbor Commissionwhen it earnestly tried tokill the national marinesanctuary nomination, ap-proaching the Morro BayCity Council and Avila Val-ley Advisory Council andurging them to join it inopposition to the proposed
Time + Effort = Win
This is Your Ballot for Our 2016 ExecutiveCommittee Election
sanctuary. Both Avila and MorroBay refused, instead requestingmore information. And they de-cided to go to the source for thatinformation — NOAA — unlikethe Port, which voted to opposethe sanctuary essentially becausethey know a guy who knows a guywho told another guy that a na-tional marine sanctuary couldcause warts and hooliganism.Pismo Beach refused to evenagendize the Port’s requested let-ter of opposition. The times, theymay be a-changing. As we go to press, NOAA’s na-tional marine sanctuary outreach/town hall is scheduled for January6 in Morro Bay in response to thatrequest for more information. Hey, there’s another theme!More information is good. Be-cause when you find out whatCommunity Choice Energy andthe Chumash Heritage NationalMarine Sanctuary actually are andwhat they’ll do – as opposed tolistening to the voices of igno-rance and reactionary politicalflacks spreading disinformationthat actually describes whatthey’re not and what they won’t do– these turn out to be thingspeople want. A good lesson, and a nice way tostart a new year.
Karen joined the SantaLucia Chapter in the early1990’s to acquaint herselfwith the trails into our beau-tiful wild places. She soonbecame a hike leader, and,from 1995-1999, served asa member of the ExecutiveCommittee, much of thattime as Secretary, returningto serve as Chapter Chairfrom 2005-2009. Shehelped to establish a localoffice and staff for theChapter, moving our workfrom living room floors todesks and shared spaces,then to our own office. Her volunteer work hasincluded K-9 Search &Rescue and Hospice of SanLuis Obispo County’s Com-munity Crisis ResponseProgram. She is the authorof the book Searching forConnection: An Explora-tion of Trauma, Culture andHope. Karen’s special interest inserving the Chapter hasbeen to help coordinate ouractivities with other localgroups who share our inter-ests and commitments so asto achieve common goals.
Dr. Ted Case
Ted served on the Cleve-land National Forest Foun-dation Advisory Committeewhen the Foundation andSierra Club brought therecent landmark lawsuitforcing the San Diego Asso-ciation of Governments tothrow out its transportationplan due to its failure toadequately reduce green-house gas emissions. A biologist with researchinterests in EvolutionaryEcology, Biogeography,Conservation Biology, andCommunity Ecology, Tedhas authored or co-authoredover 140 scholarly articles.He was selected by thePresident of the EcologicalSociety of America to re-view the management planfor the California spottedowl, received a CareerAchievement Award fromthe University of Redlands,and was appointed to aNational Marine FisheriesService science reviewpanel by the National Re-search Council to reviewrecovery efforts for endan-gered salmon species.
The founder of TikkunFoods, Emily has served onthe Board of Directors ofthe GrassRoots RecyclingNetwork, Amigos de lasAmericas, and the NativeForest Network and variouscommittees for the SierraClub. She created EarthIsland Institute’s awardwinning ReThink Papercampaign and was ap-pointed to the White HousePaper Task Force. She wasan NGO Delegate to theUnited Nations Women’sConference in Beijing. As senior sustainabilitymanager for Safeway, shepushed for sustainable prac-tices in palm oil and tunaproduction, reduced antibi-otics usage in poultry, andcertified humane eggs. As asenior environmental scien-tist for Science ApplicationsInternational, she oversawzero waste programs, busi-ness planning for bio-diges-tion technology and climatechange research. She represents the SantaLucia Chapter on the PortSan Luis Harford Pier FishCleaning Station Ad-hocCommittee.
Emily MigginsKaren Merriam
It’s time to select yourSierra Club chapter’sExecutive Committee for2016. Three candidatesare running for twoseats. All current members ofthe Sierra Club’s SantaLucia Chapter are eli-gible to vote. If there ismore than one SierraClub member in yourhousehold, you may pho-tocopy the printed ballotand mail both in thesame envelope. After theelection, the ExCom willconvene a brief meetingto elect board officersand set the monthly datefor ExCom meetings forthe remainder of 2016.
Make an X orcheckmark in the box forthe candidate of yourchoice. You may vote forno more than two candi-dates. Ballots must bereceived by 5 p.m., Feb-ruary 1, 2016, at theChapter office. Sign and date theflap of the envelope. Donot write your name onthe ballot. Mail your ballot toElections CommitteeSanta Lucia ChapterP.O. Box 15755, SanLuis Obispo, CA 93406with sufficient time toarrive by the deadline, ordrop it off via the doormail slot at the Chapteroffice at 974 SantaRosa Street, SLO.
Karen Merriam Ted Case Emily Miggins
Members who subscribe to the electronic newsletter may print out this ballot. Householdswith more than two members may make duplicate ballots.
Santa Lucian • January 20163
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2015: The Year in Review
REVIEW continued on page 4
With Thanks~ Elaine Holder made a $100 donation in honor ofLinda Seeley.
~ ANONYMOUS has offered to match donationsreceived by the end of January up to $500.
January
Governor Jerry Brown be-gins his fourth term by out-lining a vision forCalifornia’s energy futurethat calls for increasingCalifornia’s share of cleanenergy to 50%, slashing oiluse by 50%, and doublingthe energy efficiency ofexisting buildings.
The City of SLO holds acommunity forum to gatherinput on what the city’sbudget priorities should befor 2015-17 and gets anoverwhelming messagefrom the public, thanks tothe organizing work of SLOClean Energy, the SierraClub and local energy advo-cates: Create a CommunityChoice Aggregation (CCA)Energy program. (SeeMarch.)
Oxnard, San Jose andVentura County join thegrowing list of local gov-ernments along the UnionPacific main line through-out California calling onSLO County to deny thePhillips 66 oil train project.
Nuclear Free Californiaconvenes at the SLOGrange Hall and CountyLibrary over the weekendof January 24, a strategysession on how to bring thenuclear era to an end on theWest Coast, featuring theNuclear Information Re-source Service, SierraClub’s Nuclear Free Cam-paign, Abalone Alliance,Nuclear Free Northwest, theEcological Options Net-work and Code Pink
February
The Associated Press re-ports that California’s De-partment of Oil, Gas andGeothermal Resources(DOGGR) has been allow-ing oil companies to dis-charge oil field wastewaterinto groundwater aquifersprotected by the FederalClean Water Act acrossCalifornia, including adozen injection wells inFreeport McMoran’s Ar-royo Grande oil field.
The Northern ChumashTribal Council, with theassistance of Sierra Club,Surfrider, and local oceanadvocates, files a nomina-tion for the Chumash Heri-tage National Marine Sanc-tuary with the NationalOceanic and AtmosphericAdministration. The nomi-nation calls for ecosystem-based management of the140-mile stretch of marinehabitat off the CentralCoast, home to a mix ofthreatened and endangeredspecies of plants and ani-mals found nowhere else inthe Pacific Basin.
On February 4, SLO FireChief Garret Olson andSLO City CouncilwomanCarlyn Christianson speakat a public forum on thePhillips 66 oil train projectat the SLO City Librarysponsored by the MesaRefinery Watch group, Si-erra club, ForestEthics, theCenter for Biological Diver-sity, SLO Clean Water Ac-tion, People of Faith forJustice and the Cal PolyStudent Sustainability Coa-lition. Chief Olson saidlocal fire departments arenot equipped to handle aderailment and oil fire.
On February 7 and 8, local
residents travel to Oaklandto represent SLO County inthe March for ClimateLeadership – urging Gover-nor Brown to say no tofracking – then join withresidents from communitiesthreatened by multiple oil-by-rail projects around thestate for a joint strategysession.
The City of San LuisObispo joins other Califor-nia communities in askingSLO County to deny thePhillips 66 oil train project“and thereby protect thehealth, safety and welfare ofSan Luis Obispo Countyresidents, including over46,000 City residents.”
The Associated Presscatches the Division of Oil,Gas and Geothermal Re-sources (DOGGR) illegallypermitting 2,500 oil fieldsaround the state to dump oildrilling wastewater intoprotected aquifers, includ-ing Freeport McMoran’sArroyo Grande oil field.The Regional Water Boardcites Cambria’s desalinationplant – which circumventedenvironmental review byway of an “emergency”permit – with 11 violationsof the state Water Code
March
“Redacted: Transparency,Democracy and NuclearPower,” a civic-minded artexhibit, opens at theSteynberg Gallery in SLO,showcasing poster-sizeblow-ups of heavily re-dacted e-mails exchangedby PG&E executives dis-cussing seismic safety atDiablo Canyon in a post-Fukushima environment,obtained by the Alliance forNuclear Responsibilitythrough the Public RecordsAct, with pages of blacked-out text or blank whitefields revealing a corporate
need to withhold vital infor-mation from public scrutiny.
The Board of Supervisorsapproves a Renewable En-ergy Streamlining Program.after the he Sierra Clubsecures a provision to en-sure that renewable energyprojects proposed to occupypotential habitat for endan-gered species will not beexempted from full environ-mental review.
The City of SLO resolves to“participate in an inter-jurisdictional investigationinto the feasibility of Com-munity Choice Aggrega-tion.”
NOAA declines the nomi-nation for the ChumashHeritage National MarineSanctuary, asking theNorthern Chumash TribalCouncil to provide moreinformation in a resubmis-sion of the nomination.
April
The Board of Supervisors,after a great deal of prod-ding, passes an ordinancebarring the export of waterfrom any of the county’sgroundwater basins.
State and federal agenciestell the Cambria Commu-nity Services District whatthey think of its plan tocreate an after-the-fact re-view of the environmentalimpacts of its EmergencyWater Supply Project. TheCalifornia Dept. of Parkssummed up: “This projectcould have substantial di-rect and indirect impacts topublic health and safety,from the direct impact ofmist contaminants andcreek contamination,” andalso noted that “projectconditions must include thecost of relocating the SanSimeon Campground, pres-ently estimated at a value of$35 million.”
Sierra Club files an appealof the County PlanningCommission’s approval ofthe California Flats SolarProject on the Monterey/SLO County line, notingthat, as sited, the projectwould heavily impact bio-logical resources, habitatand endangered species on3,000 acres of grasslands.
May
Sierra Club joins half adozen other environmentalgroups in suing the Depart-ment of Transportation overits watered-down and inef-
fective new rail safety rules,the federal government’sresponse to the increasingnumber of derailments,spills, explosions and in-ferno-like conflagrationsplaguing the shipment of“extreme oil” – tar sandsand Bakken shale crude –via rail. The new rules giverailroads up to ten years tophase out the most danger-ous tanker cars.
The Lucia Mar TeachersAssociation votes to opposethe Phillips 66 oil-by-railproject.
On May 16, Surfrider, Si-erra Club and the NorthernChumash Tribal Councilhold a “Hands Across theSands” event to warn aboutthe dangers of offshore oiland promote the permanentprotections from proliferat-ing offshore rigs that only aChumash Heritage NationalMarine Sanctuary couldoffer. Three days later,100,000 gallons of offshoreoil spills through a rupturedpipe in Santa Barbara, ashutting down fisheries andimpacting 100 miles ofcoastline.
The Santa Lucia Chaptersupports Senate Bill 657extending the life of DiabloCayon’s Iindependent PeerReview Panel. The billpasses, thus PG&E willhave to continue subjectingtheir “everything’s okay atDiablo” assurances to inde-
pendent review despite itseffforts to shut out, sidelineand go around the IPRP.
June
Bill Denneen celebrates his90th birthday with a fewhundred friends at the DanaAdobe on June 7.
Assemblyman KatchoAchadjian does the biddingof Big Oil and votes “no”on AB 356, helping to kill abill that would have ensuredthat the injection of toxicoil drilling fluids into thestate’s sources of drinkingwater never happens again.(See DOGGR scandal,April.)
SLO Foam Free persuadesthe SLO City Council topass an ordi-nance banningStyrofoam andall other types ofpolystyrene fromrestaurants andbusinesses.
The CaliforniaTeachers Asso-ciation votes tooppose the Phil-lips 66 oil-by-rail project onbehalf of its325,000 educa-tors.
The Santa Bar-bara City Coun-cil votes to op-pose the Phillips66 oil-by-railproject.
July
Throughout theweek of July 6,the #StopOilTrains week ofaction, morethan 5,000people partici-pate in 100events across theUS and Canada,including 400 atMitchell Park inSLO, comprisingthe largest oiltrain protest inhistory.
August
Sierra Club and Mesa Re-finery Watch Group get theword out on the Phillips 66oil-by-rail project at theStone Soup Street Faire inGrover Beach.
Our appeal of the permit forthe Harbor Terrace projectin Avila Beach alertsCoastal Commission staff tothe threat to pelicans andother marine wildlife posedby practices at the adjacentHarford Pier fish cleaningstation. We withdraw theappeal when Coastal Com-mission staff commit toactively encouraging effortsto resolve the issues aroundthe fish cleaning station.
4 Santa Lucian • January 20164
application on SLO Countylands. The failures of thedraft ordi- nance to conformwith those directions meansit is not ready for a reviewof its potential environmen-tal impacts and the prepara-tion of an EnvironmentalImpact Report (EIR). The Sierra Club agreeswith the Center for SludgeInformation that proceedingfurther with the EIR processthat has been initiated forthis grossly deficient draftordinance would be a wasteof time and money andshould be suspended whilethe County goes back to thedrawing board. Here’s the problem, aslaid out by CSI. The Countydirected the EnvironmentalHealth Division to form aSewage Sludge Land Appli-cation Task Force in 2000.The EHD convened abroad, multidisciplinarytask force consisting of theFarm Bureau, two localsewage plant managers, aCal Poly soil scientist, CSI,an Agriculture Commis-sioner representative, theSierra Club, a sewagesludge composting com-pany, the UC CooperativeExtension, a sewage sludgespreading company, the AirPollution Control District, aHealth Commission mem-ber, a Central Coast WaterBoard representative, ageologist, ECOSLO, a mi-crobiologist, two citizens-at-large, and the PlanningDepartment. Experts fromthe California Farm Bureau,Cornell University WasteManagement Institute, USEPA, UC Riverside, and theState Water Board attendedmeetings and presentedtheir analyses. Representa-tives from three Californiacounties informed the TaskForce about their own landapplication ordinances. The task force produced afinal report the followingyear. On March 12, 2002,the Board of Supervisorsadopted the recommenda-
tions of the task force anddirected staff to followthose recommendations indrafting an ordinance. Thirteen years later, thedraft ordinance is at hand,but staff seems to have mis-placed the directive fromthe board as to what it wassupposed to contain. The 2002 board directiverequired the ordinance toset limits on contaminantsin sewage sludge at levels“more stringent” than thosein federal and state regula-tions, set limits on the accu-mulation of contaminants insoil “considering local soilpollutant levels,” and use arange of contaminantsbroader than those used infederal and state regulationsfor setting limits on sewagesludge contamination andsoil pollutant accumulation. The draft ordinancedoesn’t do those things. The board directed thatthe ordinance should ensurethat SLO County doesn’tblindly forge ahead withland application as the pre-ferred means of sewagesludge disposal withoutanalyzing other methods ofdisposal or use; that thepublic will be notified ofany pending land applica-tion projects and providedthe opportunity to commenton them; that landowners beinformed of the potentialdangers and benefits of landapplication and provideinformed consent prior toreceiving such material ontheir property; that Countyproperty records documentthe depositing of any sew-age sludge so as to informpotential buyers and ap-praisers of that activityprior to sale; and that per-formance bonds and liabil-ity insurance be required toprotect landowners fromremediation and litigationcosts. It doesn’t do any of thosethings, either. Another problem: Thedraft ordinance relies on a2014 assurance by the Inte-grated Waste ManagementAuthority that the recycling
of sludge through land ap-plication and current meth-ods of disposal in landfillsare the most viable alterna-tives for the use and dis-posal of sludge. This assur-ance was based on a briefverbal account by IWMAmanager Bill Worrell on hisexperience with sewagesludge disposal, which didnot include any recent re-search. But it became thebasis for County staff’sanalysis of alternatives. “I called Bill Worrell afterthat report was presented,”said David Broadwater ofCSI. ”I pointed out that Billsaid he hadn’t studied sew-age sludge for ten years andhis information was thirtyyears old. County staff nowrepresents this thirty-year-old information as a currentassessment of managementalternatives and omits theuse of gasification, pyroly-sis, and fluidized-bed incin-eration in the production of
When County staff places this on the Board’s agenda,those wanting to blindly forge ahead on land applicationwithout looking at the available options, and with a seri-ously flawed ordinance, will be out in force. At that time,we’ll need to push even harder to get the County to actrationally and in accordance with their own directives. When that time comes, you’ll need to know when, whereand how to effectively influence the Board’s decision-mak-ing. Drop a note to [email protected] to get sludge alerts. Tell the Board of Supervisors:
Stop, go back, and get it rightDon’t waste any more staff and agency time on the cur-rent process Don’t expend taxpayer money on hiring a consultant towrite the EIR (estimated cost: $200,000)Conduct an examination of all methods of sewage sludgemanagement prior to selecting any method for environ-mental review, and re-initiate the CEQA/EIR process whensuch an ordinance is formulated.
liquid, solid and gaseousfuels, methane extractionfor electricity production,etc. Ventura and Bay AreaBiosolids-2-Energy projectsare using these alternativesright now. I provided theBoard with a half-inch stackof materials on these andother alternate means ofsludge management, but theCounty has neglected toassess any means of sewagesludge management otherthan land application.” On December 15, aftergetting a raft of complaintsfrom citizens, the CountySupervisors decided toplace the question of sus-pending processing of thedraft sewage sludge landapplication ordinance on anupcoming agenda. Congratulations to allwho wrote to the Board andtestified at the hearing. Ev-ery effort counted, and itworked. Now a biggerbattle looms.
Sludgecontinued from page 1
Reviewcontinued from page 3
Open Space in SLO
On December 10, TridentWinds LLC held a publicinformation meeting inMorro Bay on their pro-posed offshore wind farm. The project is bidding tobecome the first utility-scale offshore wind projectin California. Project outputis planned to satisfy a por-tion of California’s goalrequiring utilities to gener-ate 50% of their electricityfrom renewable sources by2030. As described by Tridentfounder Alla Weinstein andEric Markell, former ChiefFinancial Officer for PugetSound Energy, the MorroBay Offshore Project wouldinvolve 100-plus floatingturbines anchored to theocean floor, each 600 feettall, within an area of about70 square miles aboutthirty miles west of PointEstero. The permitting pro-cess, expected to take fiveto seven years, requiresobtaining 33 permits fromstate and federal agencies aswell as the City of MorroBay for the use of the out-fall structure of the defunctDynegy power plant, andinterconnection studies todetermine the existing inter-connect and transmissionsystem that would connectthe project’s power to thePG&E substation behindthe power plant. The Sierra Club advocatesfor renewable energy as ameans of countering climatechange, and we approachany proposed offshore re-newable energy projectfrom that starting point. Wewould be likely to supportprojects that can be shownto have minimal adverseenvironmental impacts, orwith adverse impacts thatcan be mitigated. As protec-tion of the environmentremains our overarchinggoal, we will oppose
projects with major un-avoidable, adverse environ-mental impacts and willwork to direct resources tobetter alternatives. In making that evaluation,we are dealing not only withrapid technological changesand an evolving regulatoryprocess, but also a shiftingbaseline in the marine envi-ronment due to the com-bined effects of climatechange and fisheries har-vesting on marine biota andtheir habitats. One conse-quence is a need for re-gional monitoring programsto describe these shiftingbaselines and provide acontext for site-specificmonitoring programs forrenewable energy projects. Unlike a coal, gas, ornuclear plant, the size of theproject need not be deter-mined at the outset andadditional turbines can beadded if the transmissioninfrastructure can accom-modate the power. The en-vironmental assessmentsand surveys for the Tridentproject will cover a largerarea than needed. Theproject would occupy afraction of the 70 squaremile site, but future expan-sion should be assumed. The United States got offto a slow start compared to
Do We Want aWind Farm?
IND continued on page 6
TAKE ACTION
We need to speak outloudly and clearly and tellGovernor Brown to protectthe public’s rights ratherthan timber industryprofits. Sign our petition toGovernor Brown now.http://tinyurl.com/hvrhrxe
TAKE ACTION
Governor Brown is allow-ing California’s forests,water and climate to bedegraded. California forestsare being clearcut at analarming rate, mainly by afew large timber industrycompanies. At a recentmeeting of the Sierra-Cas-cade Logging Conference,timber companies weregleeful at the prospect ofmaking billions sellingwood from our forests toAsia. Before that occurs, weneed to take stock of whatis happening to the climate,water, and forests in Cali-fornia. The California PublicTrust Doctrine obligatesgovernment to protect andpreserve waterways forpublic use. The rights ofCalifornia citizens are beingignored when clearcuttingprojects are approved.
SPACE continued on page 7
This isClearCut
In 1994, Sierra Club ac-tivists succeeded in per-suading the City of San LuisObispo to convene an Envi-ronmental Quality TaskForce that provided inputinto the City’s update of itsGeneral Plan. The result ayear later was the creationof the Natural ResourcesProtection Program and theposition of Natural Re-sources Manager, whichled to the creation of SLO’scelebrated greenbelt. Overthe next twenty years, thenumber and close proximityof SLO’s natural open spaceareas became the primaryreason for SLO’s famousOprah-approved designa-tion as “one of the happiestcities in the United States”in Dan Buettner’s bookThrive: Finding Happinessthe Blue Zones Way. But even before Thrivewas published in 2010,SLO city staff seemed tohave embarked on an ear-nest campaign to wreck thereason for its ranking. In2006, the “streamlining” ofthe city’s Conservation andOpen Space Element tookdead aim at the city’s natu-ral open space areas, threat-ening to develop them intoactive recreation zones, theequivalent of city parks.Sierra Club activists andaroused citizens, pointingout that the first priority ofthe City’s Conservation andOpen Space Element is the“protection of existing wild-life and natural habitat,” notrecreation, beat back thateffort. In 2009, the protection ofopen space fell off the listof Major City Goals, the listthat determines funding andbudget priorities. For thenext six years, the city’sstaff bowed to the desiresof the Chamber of Com-
merce and the EconomicVitality Corporation to jackup tourism and ignored thepleas of local neighbor-hoods and the directive in
A 2015 Turning Point
Letty French, a longtimeSierra Club activist whofounded the Chapter’sKathleen Goddard JonesAward in recognition of
September
Santa Barbara County joinswith the 40+ Californiacities, counties and publicagencies in asking SLOCounty to deny the Phillips66 oil-by-rail project.
Neighbors of the ArroyoGrande oil field confrontDOGGR and State WaterBoard officials over Free-port McMoran’s request tolegalize its ongoing dis-posal of oil drilling waste-water in a protected aquiferat a Sept. 21 public hearingin SLO. Sierra Club pointsout the proposed increase ininjection wells will increasethe potential for earth-quakes and the flow ofwastewater through frac-tures into the surroundinggroundwater.
Pismo Beach Mayor ShellyHigginbotham sends theCounty a letter opposing thePhillips 66 project unlessall its significant hazardsand environmental impactscan be mitigated.
Under steady pressure fromthe Sierra Club and ourallies over their continuingsilence on the Phillips 66oil train project, GroverBeach and Arroyo Grandeschedule back-to-back citycouncil meetings on theproject for Sept. 22 and 23.Despite intense lobbyingand turnout of refinery em-ployees by Phillips 66,Grover Beach votes to op-pose the project and ArroyoGrande takes no position.
The Sept. 4 Tribune printsthe Viewpoint “In defenseof local marine sanctuarystudy” by the Center for theBlue Economy authors ofthe economic study thatfound a national marinesanctuary has the potential
to add $23 million annuallyand 600 new jobs to thelocal economy. They pointout that critics who don’tbelieve what they found“need to cite a good reasonwhy.”
On September 22, theMorro Bay City Council,defying pressure from itsHarbor Commission and thePort San Luis Harbor Com-mission, declines to send aletter to NOAA opposingthe sanctuary proposal, andinstead directs staff to askNOAA to come to town andgive a public presentationon the subject. The BayNews takes a “dog bitesman” approach (see head-line), missing the real story:the Council, which hasn’tvoted to support the desig-nation of a marine sanctuaryin 25 years and routinelyvotes to oppose decided notto do so again, saying theydidn’t know enough to sup-port or oppose.
October
The Port San Luis HarborCommission, having failedto pressure the Morro BayCity Council into sending aletter opposing sanctuarydesignation, tries and failsagain with the Avila ValleyAdvisory Council.
Rep. Lois Capps opposesthe Phillips 66 oil trainproject.
Former Templeton fire chiefGreg O’Sullivan straightensout supporters of the Phil-lips 66 oil train project withthe scoop on just how dan-gerous and uncontrollablean oil train fire would be inan Oct. 24 Tribune View-point.
On Oct. 6, the San LuisObispo County Board ofSupervisors votes to allo-cate $50,000 to fund theirshare of a joint study with
Santa Barbara and VenturaCounties to determine thefeasibility of a regionalCommunity Choice Energyprogram.
On Oct. 9, NOAA acceptsthe nomination for the Chu-mash Heritage NationalMarine Sanctuary, making iteligible for designation.
November
SLO County fields a GlobalClimate March and a kayakflotilla over Nov. 28-29,doing our bit along with therest of the world in sendinga message to the climate
conference negotiators asthey convened in Paris.
December
The Tribune reports that aneffort to restore 8,000 acresof wildlife habitat on theCarrizo Plain — “one of thebiggest habitat restorationefforts in California history”– is underway thanks to en-dowments and land pur-chases by the two compa-nies that built solar powerplants there. “Settlementsfrom several lawsuits re-
quired the two solar com-panies to conserve the landas mitigation for the envi-ronmental impacts of theplants.” Sierra Club wasone of the organizationsthat threatened to sue – andtook considerable flack fordoing so – securing thelands now being restored.
The County Planning Com-mission approves FreeportMcMoran’s request for anextension of its 10-year-oldpermit to drill wells in theArroyo Grande oil field,skirting the need for anEnvironmental Impact Re-port. The Center for Bio-logical Diversity appealsthe permit to the Board ofSupervisors.
outstanding work on behalfof the environment bySierra Club volunteers,passed away in July andwas posthumously namedthe 2015 recipient of theKathleen Goddard Jonesaward.
Dan Williams - williamsrdan.us
Santa Lucian • January 20165
No Support? Just Lie!
In the movie Beau Geste,outnumbered and dwindlingFrench Foreign Legion-naires desperately prop upthe bodies of their fallencomrades in the parapets oftheir besieged fort, riflesshoved into their hands, inan attempt to fool the iratenatives outside into believ-ing their numbers aregreater than they are. Behold below the websitecreated to support the Phil-lips 66 Santa Maria Refin-ery rail spur project and itsattempt to drum up support-- or, failing that, the ap-pear-ance of support -- forthe proposal to transportdirty and dangerous tarsands crude oil through SanLuis Obispo County by rail. The first odd thing one
might notice are the promi-nent words of support forthe project attributed toThe Tribune, which is offi-cially opposed to the pro-ject. Every quote from the“news” looks like rote rep-etition of the standard ob-fuscations cited by Phillips’p.r. pros. “Egad!,” you sayto yourself, “have theseaugust publications decidedto trade in their reportersfor public relations flacks?” Give yourself a gold starif you’ve figured out thesolution to the mystery:None of the quotes wereever “In The News” or any-where close. They are takenfrom letters to the editor --several of them penned bythe same Phillips 66 em-ployee.
Phillips 66 p.r. team tries trickery
Oh what a tangled web they weave... Bad projects call fordesperate measures.
jumped from a handful todozens, and then to hun-dreds. Petition signaturesjumped from dozens tohundreds to thousands. Atnearly every door I knockedon, I met another commu-nity member sick of Pitts-burg’s reputation as an in-dustrial wasteland, tired ofindustry control. I don’tthink I’ve ever been any-where where opposition toindustry was so strong.When WesPac brought acompany man to town tohost a three hour informa-tional meeting, communitymembers showed up enmasse and drove him out oftown. Hundreds of citizensshowed up at city councilmeetings, week in and weekout. We hosted a toxic tour,dozens of community meet-ings, and the biggest marchPittsburg has seen in manyyears. We turned the Wes-Pac campaign into a re-gional and statewide issue,leveraging the power builtin Pittsburg to inspire andsupport other campaignsfighting extreme oil infra-structure in the Bay Areaand beyond. In January 2014, WesPac
agreed to take oil trains offthe table. That was a bigvictory, but they still wantedto build a crude oil tankfarm, tanker berth, andpipelines. We stood readyto continue the fight. ButWesPac was not, and offi-cially pulled their applica-tions prior to a city councilmeeting on December 14. Hats off to everyone whocontributed to this extraor-dinary effort: especially thecommunity leaders at thePittsburg Defense Counciland Pittsburg Ethics Coun-cil, and at Communities fora Better Environment, Sun-flower Alliance, SierraClub’s SF Bay Chapter,Natural Resources DefenseCouncil, and 350 Bay Area,among others. This victorybelongs to our movement,but most of all to the tire-less, resilient, creative andcourageous people ofPittsburg. Let WesPac’s demiseserve as a warning toValero, Phillips 66, andother oil giants that aretrying to build oil train ter-minals in California now:our movement will not stopuntil all oil trains projectsare halted in their tracks,and extreme oil stays in theground where it belongs.
Pittsburgcontinued from page 1
dispute settlement system. The TPP’s extraordinaryrights for foreign corpora-tions virtually replicatethose in past pacts that haveenabled more than 600 for-eign investor challenges tothe policies of more than100 governments, includinga moratorium on fracking inQuebec, a nuclear energyphase-out in Germany, andan environmental panel’sdecision to reject a miningproject in Nova Scotia. The TPP’s provisionsregarding natural gas wouldrequire the U.S. Departmentof Energy to automaticallyapprove without review allexports of liquefied naturalgas to all TPP countries.Increased natural gas pro-duction would mean morefracking, which causes airand water pollution, healthrisks, and earthquakes, ac-cording to a litany of stud-ies.
TPPcontinued from page 1
2015 saw demonstrations, rallies, and actions opposing the proposed Trans-Pacific Part-nership with Pacific Rim nations, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership be-tween the U.S. and the European Union, and the corporate “free trade” model they bothrepresent. Those actions grew in both quantity and scope in the lead-up to the DecemberCOP 21 climate talks in Paris, where the Sierra Club urged world leaders to come to astrong agreement on climate. Alongside bold action at COP 21, stopping the TPP and otherbad trade deals is critical to averting climate chaos. We know what we’re up against — youcan read the Sierra Club’s analysis of the TPP in the online report above. The deal is nowgetting close to a vote from our Senators and Representatives, and it’s critical that we buildon the momentum and stop the TPP once and for all. You can join this movement by takingaction here: www.sierraclub.org/trade/activst-toolkit.
SierraClubat theSummit
At COP 21 The Sierra StudentCoalition held a joint pressconference at the Paris climateconference with their partnergroup, the China Youth ClimateAction Network (left), to issue aUS-China Youth Statement forthe Paris agreement. SSC del-egate Caroline Engle of Rich-mond, Kentucky, said “TheUnited States needs to take alarger role in making sure thatwe can have a livable planet inthe future.”
TAKE ACTION
Last November, the Port-land City Council approvedtwo ground-breaking reso-lutions as binding citypolicy: — Opposition to IncreasedCrude-by-Rail, focusing onadvocacy for health andsafety. — Prohibition on NewFossil Fuel Infrastructure,focusing essentially on pre-venting major projects fortransport or storage or ex-port. The second resolution isthe first of its kind in theUnited States. Here’s the sign-on state-
ment for other elected offi-cials: The following local, state,and provincial leaders haveendorsed the principlesexpressed in Portland’sFossil Fuel Resolution —that fossil fuels pose inher-ent health and safety dan-gers throughout their entirelife cycle — and commit tocreating similar restrictionson new fossil fuel infra-structure in their jurisdic-tions. So far, 29 elected officialsfrom Oregon, Washington,
By Ted Gleichman, Political Director, Climate & EnergyProgram, Center for Sustainable Economy; National Strat-egy Team, Sierra Club Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign
PORTLAND continued on page 8
Read it and weep, then take action Everything you need toknow about the TPP is at www.sierraclub.org/trade/trans-pacific-partnership.
Comeand GetYour Sign
The final text of the Parisclimate negotiations wasreleased on December 12.In a dramatic step forward,countries agreed to pursueefforts to limit warming tobelow 1.5 degrees Celsius,and are now compelled todevelop increasingly ambi-tious plans to stay within
way for every nation tocome to the table. The glo-bal community has nowagreed to do its part to pro-tect the millions of peoplealready confronting theclimate crisis’ extremedroughts, storms, and flood-ing and to better safeguardthe planet we turn over toour children and grandchil-dren. “Paris marks the begin-ning and not the end of thework that must be done. Wenow have strong transpar-ency and accountabilitymechanisms, as well asrobust climate financing fordevelopingcountries, thatbuilds undeni-
that boundary. “The Paris agreement is aturning point for humanity,”said Sierra Club ExecutiveDirector Michael Brune.“For the first time in his-tory, the global communityagreed to action that setsthe foundation to help pre-vent the worst conse-quences of the climate crisiswhile embracing the oppor-tunity to exponentially growour clean energy economy. “Decisive leadership andaction from PresidentObama and other worldleaders, an increasinglypowerful climate move-ment, and strong progress inthe U.S. and globally tomove off coal cleared the
able momentum towards ajust society that is poweredby clean energy. Anyone inWashington or in the boardrooms of fossil fuel compa-nies around the world whoattempts to stand in the waywill have the full weight ofthe international commu-nity, global markets, scien-tific consensus, the climatemovement, and public opin-ion firmly pushing backagainst them. This historicinternational agreement iswhat the American peopledemanded, what future gen-erations deserve, and whatthe world needs.”
Portland Has Had EnoughDon’t trade away the climate Ilana Solomon (below), director of the Sierra Club’s ResponsibleTrade program, traveled to the global climate conference in Paris to meet up with counterparts fromFriends of the Earth and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade, buttonhole delegates and host strat-egy sessions and other public events in opposition to the climate-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Want to save your neigh-borhood from an onslaughtof oil trains hauling tarsands crude through thecounty? As the dirty and danger-ous Phillips 66 oil-by-railproposal nears its first hear-ing at the County PlanningCommission, it’s time tosend a message. We’ve got your sign, andit’s suitable for your frontyard or for carrying to thePlanning Commission. Andit’s free. Just drop us a noteat [email protected] leave a message at (805)543-8717 to arrange forpick-up at a location nearyou.
6 Santa Lucian • January 2016
It’s time for the Board of Supervisors to revisit theSpecial Events ordinance. Actually, it’s time for them to re-visit, or re-re-visit it,depending on when you start counting (See “Ag Landor Disneyland?,” April 2007). After much back and forth and kicking of the can, anEvents Ordinance was approved by the Planning Com-mission and heard by the Supervisors in October 2011and then put on hold. Four years passed, marked by theever-increasing concern and alarm of rural residentsseeing their neighborhoods turn into event centers.There was a lot of discussion about the impacts ofevents on rural areas, with traffic and noise and hazardto life and limb increasing and the quality of life erod-ing due to the proliferation of more and larger eventsand tasting rooms and wedding venues and the con-struction of things like museums and conveniencestores on ag land under the catch-all of “visitor servinguses.” Residents in the Adelaida area, which has been par-ticularly hard hit by the impacts of the growing num-bers of rural events, have met with California HighwayPatrol personnel to see what can be done about numer-ous accidents, near misses, property damage and drunkdrivers. (There have been two separate fatal accidentslinked to increased event traffic on weekends.) The Avila Beach Advisory Committee and others inthe Avila area, facing many of the same issues, havebeen seeking a county solution to events that put lifeand property at risk due mainly to clogged roadsand inadequate parking facilities that impede the accessof emergency vehicles to the area during special events.Residents from both areas have contacted supervisorslooking for relief. Last July, as the pleas of residents got louder, Super-visor Frank Mecham told New Times “I think it’s gottento a point where we as a board need to take it on andstart figuring out how are we going to deal with this,because it can’t go on unending like this.” On October 13, the County Planning Departmentpresented their overview of long-range priorities to theBoard of Supervisors for consideration. The SpecialEvents Ordinance was listed with an “applicable guid-ing priority” rating of 4, meaning work on the Eventsordinance should be a focus of the department. Thereport also listed the Special Events Ordinance as 95%complete. The Board told staff that their priority issues are to bea resource capacity survey of traffic for Avila Beach, aninland vacation rental ordinance and an update of thesign ordinance to consider billboard retirement andscenic highways. They directed staff “to work on otherappropriate projects as time allows,” once again kick-ing the Events Ordinance down the road rather thantaking it on and figuring out how they are going to dealwith this. The County was presented with many good ideas andsolutions during the years of development of the ordi-nance language that went to the Planning Commissionand over the course of multiple hearings. An ordinancethat protects the Public’s health, safety and right topeaceful enjoyment of their property and reasonablyaccommodates event venues is achievable. The Special Events Ordinance should be broughtback and finalized.
The concept of inclusion-ary housing grew fromfailed experiments in ware-housing low-income resi-dents in project housing thatsoon deteriorated intoslums. Inclusionary housingis based on what history hasshown: that individuals,communities and economiesare better served whenneighborhood design cre-ates a housing mix that in-cludes a range of socio-economic status, improvingthe quality and diversity ofthe neighborhood and re-ducing the vehicle milestraveled between work andhome, easing the burden ofpollution and traffic ineveryone’s daily lives Inclusionary housing ordi-nances require developersto design and build a certainpercentage of affordableunits alongside their upscalehomes, and make themavailable to qualified buy-ers through deed restric-tions. Ideological opponentsof inclusionary housingclaim this is “social engi-neering.” Builders claim iteliminates their profit mar-gin. But successfulinclusionary programsaround the country haveprovided a reliable sourceof workforce housing — inthe most inclusive defini-tion of “workforce” — forhundreds of communitieswithout bankrupting thebuilding industry. San Luis Obispo Countyhas a markedly unsuccessfulinclusionary housing pro-gram, having passed anInclusionary Housing Ordi-nance that doesn’t actuallyrequire developers to in-clude affordable units intheir projects. Instead, theycan build the units some-where else in the county, orbuy some land and donate itfor somebody else to buildaffordable housing some-where else in the county, orwrite a check for someoneelse to build some housessomewhere else at somepoint in the future, in lieu ofproviding any houses orland. Offering the option ofin-lieu fees as an escapehatch for developers toavoid building affordableunits makes for lousy plan-ning, but if they are offered,in-lieu fees should be highenough to both discouragetheir use and provide fundsadequate to purchase landand build units. In 2008, the supervisorsapproved a five-year phasein plan to get to the goal ofrequiring that developersmake 20% of new homesaffordable, with incrementalincreases each year. In yearone, 4% of new units had tobe affordable; in year two,8% would have to be af-fordable, and so on. Like-wise, the in-lieu fee wassupposed to be increased by20% each year for fiveyears until the target ofapproximately $20,000 perhome was reached. Thisgradual phase-in approachwas taken despite the ur-gency of the affordablehousing problem in thecounty at the request of the
Offering the option of in-lieu fees asan escape hatch for developers to
avoid building affordable unitsmakes for lousy planning, but if they
are offered, in-lieu fees should behigh enough to both discourage their
use and provide funds adequate topurchase land and build units.
Affordable housing: not this year
Special events: still out of control
In 2015, our supervisors let big problems get bigger
Homebuilders Association,which argued that it wasneeded because of the de-clining economy and theneed to adjust their financ-ing models. It costs about $100,000for the County to build anaffordable home with in-lieu fees. But because theordinance only requiredone-fifth of the required fee,by the end of the first yearof the five-year plan, theCounty had collected only$6,500 in fees. In 2009, when the Boardwas set to embark on yeartwo of the phase-in plan,they heard testimony fromthe Homebuilders that be-
cause of the decliningeconomy, they should delaythe implementation of thesecond year of the phase-in.Supervisors Gibson and
Patterson pushed to keep tothe approved schedule,rightly pointing out that theeconomy was sputtering
when they approved thephased approach the previ-ous year at the request ofthe Homebuilders, and thatif they didn’t move aheadwith it, they would nevermeet their target. SupervisorHill sided with SupervisorsMecham and Achadjian andgave the builders anotherpass, precluding the con-struction of untold numbersof affordable units or in-lieucontributions toward theconstruction of affordableunits. If much of the abovelooks familiar to longtimemembers, it should. Most ofit is lifted verbatim from asix-year-old issue of theSanta Lucian that evaluatedthe performance of theBoard of Supervisors afterthe 2008 election (“How
Are They Doing?” March2010.) Today, three yearsafter the in-lieu fee of theinclusionary housing pro-gram was supposed to haveachieved full funding, eightyears after the passage ofthe ordinance, it has yet toreach year two of itsphased-in funding plan. Attheir November 17 meeting,Supervisors Compton,Mecham and Arnold electedto keep the in-lieu fee fro-zen at year-one fundinglevels, with SupervisorsGibson and Hill dissenting. In the December 12 issueof The Tribune, JohnFowler, president ofPeople’s Self-Help Hous-ing, provided details of thehuman cost of the ongoingsaga of failure to provideaffordable housing. Hewrote: “These in-lieu feesrepresented an opportunityto address an ever-growingcrisis, but the board insteadpushed the issue off to an-other year by a 3-2 vote. Wejust hope it won’t be toolate.” So do we.
Los Ososcontinued from page 1
start issuing permits, andnot so much with actuallysaving the basin from de-struction from the growingthreat of sea water intru-sion. The stipulated judg-ment sets a purveyor alloca-tion of 1,430 acre feet peryear, which represents anincrease in production ofabout 200 AFY over 2014levels. This allows the “sus-tainable yield” to be ex-ceeded and means purvey-ors don’t have to meet theGovernor’s order to reduce2013 use by 25%. It couldalso be used to justify about1,000 new homes in pur-veyors’ service areas with-out any infrastructure pro-grams in place or anydemonstrated improvementin seawater intrusion. The court-approved planwould appear to lock in thiswhimsical increase in wateruse in a highly threatenedbasin and place the BasinPlan’s half-hearted conser-vation measures beyondreach for modification andimprovement. But eventhough the legal process hasconcluded, there may be away to save the basin inspite of the Basin Plan. At the November 19meeting of the RegionalWater Quality ControlBoard, the parties to theadjudication presented anupdate to the Board. It wasassumed that no actionwould be taken. But thenKeith Wimer, Chair of theWater Subcommittee of theSanta Lucia Chapter,stepped to the microphoneand made the point about a200 AFY increase over theprevious year’s water pro-duction, blowing past thebasin’s sustainable yield – afeature of the plan the pur-veyors had neglected tomention in their presenta-tion. Some eyes opened wide,and some board membersstarted leaning forward andtook up the questions wehad submitted to them, di-recting them at the County’srepresentatives and the pur-veyors (such as why are noprivate wells to be includedin monitoring, and why will40% of the basin go un-metered?) Unsatisfied with the an-swers they got, the boarddirected their staff to pre-pare a report for the board’sJanuary 28-29 meetingwhich will determine whatactions the Board can takeon five issues suggested bythe Sierra Club as areaswhere the Water Board can
and should exercise its au-thority as regulators of wa-ter quality:
1. The Stipulated Judg-ment states that the partieswill still have to complywith state and federal lawsfor the projection of waterquality. The Water Boardshould determine if it canimplement a water qualityobjective and control planfor chlorides. An enforce-able, time-specific objectivefor reducing chlorides in theBasin is a bottom line forsustainable management ofthe Basin. 2. Implement or modifythe salt and nutrient man-agement plan, recycledwater master plan and sep-tic system management planso that they require conser-vation, recycled water use,and metering and monitor-ing. All of these improvewater quality. 3. Require a storm watermanagement plan that cap-tures and infiltrates the run-off now flowing into theestuary and Los OsosCreek. The Basin Plan re-jects storm water rechargeas a supplemental watersource, but low cost, lowimpact development (LID),recognized by the WaterBoard as Best ManagementPractice, could infiltrateand clean up a substantialamount of water that nowpollutes the estuary andcreek. 4. Request that the partiesto the adjudication makeimprovements in the BasinPlan agreement. 5. Request that the StateWater Board seek legisla-tion to place the Los OsosBasin on probationary sta-tus and intervene in the nearfuture to ensure the BasinPlan is improved. Santa Lucia ChapterChair Patrick McGibneylaid out these five areaswhere the board could exertsome beneficial influence,saying “There is no excusefor the Water Board tostand by and watch the Ba-sin disappear due to a basinplan that fails to commit theparties to stopping seawaterintrusion as soon as pos-sible.”
Europe and has no offshorewind energy production. Atleast 14 projects have beenproposed on the east andwest coasts, in the GreatLakes, and off Texas, ac-cording toOffshoreWind.net. As with wind turbines onland, the turning of offshoreturbine blades can poten-tially pose a threat to birds,which must be consideredin the environmental assess-ment. Other concerns, gen-erally less understood, in-clude acoustic impactsduring construction, electro-magnetic field (EMF) im-pacts from buried or surfacepower lines, conversion ofsand/mud habitats to hardsurfaces, and the alterationof migratory pathways formarine mammals and birds. We must be mindful ofthe fact that there is muchwe don’t know about theocean. New research willinevitably affect the evalua-tions of projects. The ma-rine environment poseschallenges different fromthe land environment—fordevelopers, for regulators,and for the environmentalcommunity. It is a fluidworld with different organ-isms and habitats in thewater column (the pelagiczone) and on or in the seafloor (the benthic zone).
Wind turbines in the oceancan potentially affect bothpelagic and benthic marinebiota and their habitats. Benthic organisms haveeither more limited mobility(lobsters, crabs, and star-fish) or no lateral mobility(clams, worms, microbes,etc.). Some organisms at-tach to hard structures in thewater column or on thebottom (corals, kelp beds,barnacles, anemones,sponges, etc.). Fish speciesthat lie above the bottom(cod, flounder, haddock)are usually less mobile thanpelagic fish species (tuna,mackerel, bluefish) thatoccupy the water column. The habitat of benthicorganisms is defined bysediment type, bottom watermovement and associatedsediment suspension; bio-logical and geologicalstructure on the bottom, andprey species distributionand abundance. Many of thelarval and juvenile stages offish species occupy thepelagic zone before meta-morphosing into adults thatstay near the bottom. Turbines that use anchorlines may pose an entangle-ment threat to marine life,and should also be evalu-ated for their potential totransmit vibrations into theocean that could causeacoustical problems formarine life. The effects ofunderwater noise on fish,
shellfish and marine mam-mals from operation of themachinery of wind turbinesare poorly understood.Background noise in theocean has increased in re-cent decades from humanactivities, including oceantransportation, militaryactivities, seismic surveysfor oil and gas exploration,and fishing vessels. Windturbine noises above thisaltered background mightpose an environmental chal-lenge for marine mammals,which use acoustic signalsto communicate, locateprey, and detect foreignstructures via echolocation. Renewable energyprojects can help shift theworld from conventionalfuels like coal and petro-leum that are major con-tributors to global warming,but this does not mean thatwe should support all re-newable energy projectseverywhere. Some projectswill have more environmen-tal impacts than others,some sites will be moreappropriate than others, andmost proposals will haveroom for improvement. If and when the TridentWind proposal is submittedfor public review, we lookforward to partnering withscientists and other NGOswho can help evaluate theimpacts of the proposedproject on the marine envi-ronment.
Windcontinued from page 4
Whiffing Away
Santa Lucian • January 20167
ClassifiedsNext issue deadline is January 15. To get a rate sheet or submit your ad and payment,contact: Sierra Club, P.O. Box 15755, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 [email protected]
CYNTHIA HAWLEYATTORNEY
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONLAND USE
CIVIL LITIGATION
P.O. Box 29 Cambria California 93428Phone 805-927-5102 Fax 805-927-5220
Spacecontinued from page 4
the city’s Open Space Ordi-nance that natural openspace areas are to be pre-served for use by residents. Local neighborhoodshave paid the price for thismarketing success in bum-per-to-bumper parking,trashed yards, and areas likeBishop Peak getting lovedto death. Conflating inter-ests and blurring policyto the advantage of eco-nomic interests by omit-ting crucial policy elementsor pretending differentthings are the same thing(open space = parks, resi-dents = tourists) became aroutine feature of City plan-ning documents and staffreports. Then in 2012, the Citysent a survey to residentsand business owners as partof its General Plan update. Survey recipients wereasked: “On a scale of 1 to 5,with 1 being less and 5 be-ing more, do you think thecity should provide less,about the same, or more ofeach of the following ser-vices? If you think the cityshould provide more or lessof a certain service, indicatewhether you would be will-ing to pay more for it.” Of the 2,000+ replies, themajority of respondentssupported “provide more”in just four service catego-ries: acquiring and main-taining open space to pro-tect peaks and hillsides(58%), acquiring and main-taining more open spaceland for the city’s greenbelt(54%), more open space
land to protect creeks andmarshes (53%), and 50%would like more bike lanes.The only categories inwhich a majority said theywould be willing to paymore were open space toprotect peaks and hillsides(54%) and open space forthe city’s greenbelt (52%). Asked to rank the mostand least important aspectsof “quality of life,” respon-dents overwhelmingly ratedthe natural environment (airquality, open space) as hav-ing the highest impact ontheir quality of life (71.1%). The top priority of cityresidents was clear, as wasthe role those 2012 surveyresults should have playedin the City’s 2013-15 goalsetting and budget planning.But City staff workedmightily to exclude those2,000+ responses from theCity’s goal setting process. For two years, Santa Lu-cia Chapter leadership andour members in the City ofSan Luis Obispo repeatedlyplaced those survey re-sponses before the CityCouncil and staff. Finally,the City got the message. In2014, “Open space preser-vation” was the first fund-ing priority listed in the textof Measure G, the City’ssales tax renewal measure.We suggested that, in con-
formance with the OpenSpace ordinance’s re-quirement that the City’sover-used open spaceareas shall be acquiredand maintained for theuse of residents, tourismmarketing programsdeveloped to highlightSLO as a visitor destina-
tion should not include thenational marketing of theCity’s designated OpenSpace areas. In response,the City Council deletedtourism marketing programdevelopment from the 2014General Plan update. In 2015, the City Councilrestored “Protect and Main-tain Open Space” to itsformer status as a MajorCity Goal and created anOpen Space MaintenancePlan. Bishop Peak trailheadresidents overcame staffopposition to hiring morerangers to patrol and main-tain the City’s open spaceproperties. Rangers are nowenforcing the Open SpaceOrdinance in thecity’s natural areas. It turns out thatopen space protec-tions protect neigh-borhoods, too. And a Natural Re-sources Roundtable,The 20th Anniver-sary Proceedings ofthe San Luis ObispoGreenbelt, will con-vene over the firstsix months of 2016to lay out the futureof conservation, enhance-ment and restoration ofimportant community natu-ral resources in the City ofSan Luis Obispo. Good timing!
Current Crop - Grass Fed BeefEstate Grown Extra Virgin Olive Oil
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8 Santa Lucian • January 2016Outings and Activities CalendarSeller of travel registration information: CST 2087766-40. Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California.
This is a partial listing of Outingsoffered by our chapter.
Please check the web pagewww.santalucia.sierraclub.org for
the most up-to-date listing ofactivities.
All our hikes and activities are open to all Club members and the general public. Please bring drinking water toall outings and optionally a lunch. Sturdy footwear is recommended. All phone numbers listed are within areacode 805 unless otherwise noted. Pets are generally not allowed. A parent or responsible adult must accompanychildren under the age of 18. If you have any suggestions for hikes or outdoor activities, questions about theChapter’s outing policies, or would like to be an outings leader, call Outings Chair Joe Morris, 549-0355. Forinformation on a specific outing, please call the listed outing leader.
Activities sponsored by other organizationsNow taking orders for the
2016Sierra ClubCalendar
Accept no substitutes. Yourdesk will thank you. Your wallwill thank you. Your friendsand family will thank you. Andwhen you buy direct from theChapter, you support the SierraClub’s conservation work inSan Luis Obispo County. Wethank you.
10% off!wall calendar: $13.50desk calendar: $14.505 or more: 15% off!
To order, call: 805-543-7051
California, Idaho and B.C.have signed on atwww.nonew ffi.org/elected-official-sign-on/.Connect with & Like theNo New Fossil Infrastruc-ture Facebook page. These are huge for ushere in Oregon, but alsooffer opportunities as mod-els and examples nation-ally and internationally instepping up the local fightsagainst fossil fuels and theclimate crisis. The No New Fossil FuelInfrastructure resolution,approved on November12, includes a specificrequirement for future,near-term amendments to
the municipal statutes toimplement the policies em-bodied within it. I suspectwe will see dozens of spe-cific changes to the CityCode over the next fewmonths as a result. The City of Portland, inconjunction with Multno-mah County, established thefirst Climate Action Plan inthe United States, and up-dated it this year. These two resolutions andthe Climate Action Plan area beginning, not an end — ahuge and unprecedentedbeginning of a new phase,and a major step along ourpath for a Just Transition. Our coalition assembledsome 500 people in CityHall for the November 4th
launch of consideration ofthese resolutions, and gen-erated thousands of callsand emails. Some 250 of uscame back on November 12for the completion of theFossil Fuels resolution. (It’sbeen hectic!) Both resolutions passedthe City Council unani-mously, despite strong op-position from the traditionalbusiness community leader-ship (including the state’sleading newspaper) and thetraditional leadership of thebuilding trades. Our coalition includedalmost all of the major ecoorganizations in Oregon andSouthern Washington, withonly a couple of no-shows.Sierra Club provided im-
portant participation andleadership. We also hadcritically-important supportfrom many Tribal and In-digenous leaders, and fromInternational Longshore &Warehouse Union locals. And these accomplish-ments came out of a longhistory of movement-build-ing and local action onmany fronts, especially thisyear. (You may remember“the Blockade at theBridge” at the end of Julyagainst Shell’s Arctic ice-breaker.) See Daphne Wysham’sblog post “Portlanders andMayor Charlie Hales:World Leaders on ClimateChange” at HuffingtonPost.com.
Portlandcontinued from page 5
The Land Conservancy ofSan Luis Obispo Countyand Central Coast Con-cerned Mountain Bikersare excited to invite youto join the trail buildingteam at the Pismo Preserve. Trail building began Janu-ary 5 and will continue for3 or 4 months. The goal isto have the 11-miletrail system completed be-fore the opening ofthe Preserve in late 2016. We need your help tocreate this amazing com-munity asset which willprovide spectacular outdooropportunities for years tocome. No matter what yourtrail work experience, yourage or physical strength, wehave an important volunteerposition for you! Of particular importanceare volunteers to work di-rectly in support of the trailmachine, crews to do thefinish work after the ma-chine has done the heavy
lifting and volunteers tosupport the build crews. We particularly need folkswho can volunteer multipledays to do rock and finishwork. As a participant you willbe a volunteer for Land Conservancy of San LuisObispo County in partner-ship with the Central CoastConcerned Mountain Bik-ers, Becker Landscaping,trail builder Drew Perkinsof Mountain Bikers of
Santa Cruz and the San LuisObispo Parks, Open Spaceand Trails Foundation. You will find the fullrange of opportunities onour website, a map of theproposed trails, pictures ofthe ongoing constructionand progress updates. Sign up to be a volunteerand invest in the future bygoing to the Pismo PreserveTrail Project Website atwww.pismopreservetrailproject.org.
Jan. 30: Art of the Carrizo. Inspired by the current ex-hibit Legacy and Loss: Landscapes of the Santa BarbaraRegion, the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature is hostingan artist panel about the Carrizo Plain. Artists will shareamazing images & stories of our national monument.1511-B Mission Drive, Solvang. $10/$5 Wildling mem-bers. Limited seating, purchase tickets by calling (805)686-8315.
“Carrizo 1 05 scarp b” by Bill Dewey.
Couldn’t do it without you A splendid time was had by all at the Nov. 22 appreciation event forthe Chapter’s Cal French Circle supporters.
Sat., Jan. 9th, 9 a.m.Mediterranean FloraTour at Cal Poly Arbore-tum. Staff leads tour ofgardens with flora of fiveMediterranean regions:Australia, California,Chile, Mediterranean ba-sin, and South Africa. Di-rections: enter Cal Polycampus from Santa RosaSt., entering HighlandDrive and turning left onVia Carta, parking in lastparking lot on left. Walkacross Via Carta to Envi-ronmental HorticulturalScience facilities and fol-low green signs to LeaningPine Arboretum. Purchasevisitor parking permit atkiosk on entering HighlandDrive. Leader: BillWaycott, 459-2103.
Sun., Jan. 10th, 2 p.m. Historic Walk of SanLuis Obispo: Post WWIIto the Seventies. Imaginedowntown San LuisObispo before its tree-lined streets and MissionPlaza, but with soda foun-tains, pool parlors, andauto dealers. This guidedstroll past vintage build-ings will discuss how thisunremarkable town in theforties evolved into a dy-namic city by the seven-ties. Duration about 1 1/2hrs. Meet at the corner ofSanta Rosa and Pacific.
Sun., Jan. 10th, 9 a.m.Gibraltar Reservoir andCanyon Hike. Moderate,six-mile loop hike fromParadise Rd. to GibraltarDam with option to con-tinue to Sunbird Quicksil-ver Mines for another sixmiles. See Los Padresmountains, vistas, riverpools, and rock forma-tions. Road creek cross-ings possible if much pre-vious rain. Bring hat,
water, snacks, sunscreen,and dress in layers forweather. From Hwy 101,take Rt. 154, then left onParadise Rd for 10 miles toend. Meet in in restroomarea near parking lot. $5user parking fee. Significantchance of rain cancels.Leader: Andrea Ortiz, 934-2792.
Sat., Jan. 16th, 8:30 a.m.Big Sur Coastal Hike.Eight-mile, 2400 ft. gain,hike along Big Sur Coastwith great views. We startnear Ragged Point headingup the Ridge, traversingsouth to Bald Top for oceanviews. If low clouds, wemay head to Dutra Flatinstead. Bring lunch, water,nonslip hiking boots anddress for the weather. Meetat the Washburn Day UseArea, San Simeon StatePark, 2 miles north ofCambria. Threat of raincancels. Leader; GaryFelsman, 473-3694.
Thurs., Jan. 28th, 10 a.m.Hazard Peak Hike inMontana de Oro StatePark. Five-mile, 1000-ft.gain, hike to summit forstunning views of moun-tains and coastline. Meet atHazard Canyon parking lot,1.6 miles from park en-trance. Rain cancels.Leader: Vicki Marchenko,528-5567.
Thurs., Jan. 28th, 7-9 p.m.7th Annual Environmen-talists’ Rendezvous: TheSustainable City. At ourannual forum of local envi-ronmental activists, leadersof five prominent groupsworking to improve oururban habitat of our countywill speak. Come for aunique opportunity to hearreps from ECOSLO, SLOClean Energy, the City’sDivision of Natural Re-sources, SLO Foam Free,and, of course, the SierraClub discuss their efforts
and plans for 2016. Alsolearn the implications of theParis agreement on climatechange for our county. Yourcomments and questionswelcomed. Meets atSteynberg Gallery, 1531Monterey St., SLO. Info.:Joe Morris, 549-0355.
Sat., Jan. 30th, 9 a.m.Backcountry Hike inMontana de Oro StatePark. Moderately strenu-ous, nine-mile, 1600 ft.gain, loop hike to HazardPeak with stunning views ofmorrow and coastline.Some poison oak alongtrail. Bring lunch or snacks,water, and dress for theweather. Meet at HazardPeak (Ridge Trail)trailhead, 2.3 miles frompark entrance. Possiblefood stop afterwards. Raincancels. Leader: ChuckTribbey, 441-7597.
How Do YouLike theBroadsheetSanta Lucian?A new year, a new look!Yes, we know we’redisappointig fans of smudgesand two-tone paper, but we haven’t refreshedthe format since 2004 and it was time to saygoodbye Modfied Tabloid and hello Broadsheet.Our dimensions are now approximately the samelength/width as The Tribune. That means we get abreak on postage, and when you sit down to yourcoffee and donuts and say “Let’s see what’s in thenews,” you get that satisfying full upper-bodycoverage!
