Month: December 2010

Fracking Test wells in the San Antonio Valley

HOLD (Halt Oil Lease Drilling) has been sending me emails for a while, and today, I decided I finally needed to share with interested readers some of what is going on directly behind the Santa Lucia Mtns. from us.

I have seen a number of specials and reports on this concept of “fracking” technology, and it is very controversial, potentially deadly to humans, animals, and the environment, and has been temporarily halted in the state of New York. If you are not familiar with it, google it and read up. It is frightening. Yet, that is what one company is proposing to do on lands leased from the BLM here in Monterey County.

If you’ve never heard of fracking, here is a very recent informative article, with an environmental slant, that also includes a video demonstrating just one of the concerns of this process:
Fracking Information

Filmmaker Josh Fox has released the highly acclaimed film Gasland about the fracking process. Fox was approached about leasing his land for drilling and set out to explore the Halliburton-developed technology and its environmental and social impacts. The film won a Special Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film festival, and will be running on HBO through 2012. You can get information about the movie, the action one can take and a wealth of information at the website: Gasland, the Movie

HOLD held a meeting in Lockwood on Saturday, Dec. 4th, and this is a portion of what the organizers of HOLD sent me:

“Approximately 30 people attended a public discussion on the issue of oil drilling in the Hames and San Antonio Valleys, where new techniques of deep horizontal drilling and fracking have made heretofore economically unfeasible resources a focus of development by a major oil company. The meeting was convened by the local citizen’s group HOLD.

Steve Craig of the Ventana Conservation and Land Trust discussed his dealings with Monterey County and Venoco, the company behind the expansion, which potentially targets over 6,000 acres in private and BLM stewardship.

His group appealed a decision on this issue and has a hearing scheduled for next week before the Monterey County Board of Supervisors (Planning Commission?). He received a call from a Venoco representative yesterday stating the company will ask the county to go ahead with the EIR (at the company’s expense), rather than accept the county staff’s recommendation that a consultant be hired to assess whether an EIR is necessary. [What may actually be on the agenda is whether or not to waive the appeal fee for Craig’s group, with the EIR concerns delayed for further reports and/or action.]

The local Monterey shale is basically the same as that on the East Coast where these practices have been used for long enough to have a cursory idea of their environmental impacts.

No one knows about long term effects, such as in our case, being only 8 miles from the Pacific Ocean, salt water intrusion into deep layers of the earth newly disturbed by these invasive techniques of mineral extraction.

Craig pointed out that the US Forest Service did an extensive study and has totally rejected any further drilling on the public lands under their stewardship in Monterey County, and that Fort Hunter Liggett is dramatically expanding its water delivery system to accommodate planned expansion. BLM (Bureau of Land Management) will release its Environmental Impact Statement on the issue soon.

If you would like to review the Monterey County Planning Commision Staff Reports and Exhibits for the December 8, 2010 meeting, go to

http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/planning/major/Venoco/PC_Staff_Rpt_and_Exh_for_120810/Venoco_PC_Staff_Report_and_Exhibits_for_120810.htm

Educate yourself, and then express your educated opinion about the use of “fracking” in Monterey County to anyone who will listen, but particularly for those who won’t. I don’t think it will happen, but I’d rather be knowledgeable, and follow this issue here in Monterey County or any neighboring county, ready to take action, then to suddenly learn it has been implemented while I was living in ignorance.

There are many important environmental issues that need to be addressed, but I can’t think of anything more important than the permanent and irreversible damage to our water systems. It is basic survival. Get informed, and get active.

CPOA & Today’s storm

As of 5:00 pm, I received 1/2 inch since dawn today. It continues to rain, and the rains have been gusting quite strong. I am finished reporting for tonight, and must work at my paying job, but I leave you with a teaser for tomorrow’s post.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT FRACKING IS?
WHAT DOES FRACKING HAVE TO DO WITH MONTEREY COUNTY?
Stayed tuned for the answers to these questions.

Rainbow Weather 1 by Martha Diehl

Rainbow Weather 2 by Martha Diehl

Rainbow Weather 3 by Martha Diehl

9:15 am – dramatic change, sun is out, there is blue sky among the scattered clouds, and it is completely different than it was 15 mins ago. Per NOAA discussion:

“WE SHOULD SEE FAIRLY WIDESPREAD RAINFALL WITH SOME LOCALLY ROBUST VALUES. TOTALS BY MONDAY MORNING WILL BE FROM 1/4-3/4″ (LOCALLY 1″) FOR LOWER ELEVATION SPOTS AND 1-2″ IN THE HILLS (WITH THE HEAVIER AMOUNTS CLOSER TO THE COAST). 3″ IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION FOR PORTIONS OF THE SANTA CRUZ OR SANTA LUCIA MOUNTAINS. THE COMBINATION OF MODERATE RAINFALL PLUS STRONG WINDS WILL LIKELY TOPPLE OVER SOME TREES AND COULD BRING DOWN POWER LINES AT THE COAST. IN ADDITION…THUNDER AND SMALL HAIL REMAINS A POSSIBILITY.”

9 am -First, today Big Sur could be seeing upwards of an inch of rain this afternoon. At the moment, it is quite windy and dark, and there have already been some scattered showers. I only recorded a tenth of an inch from yesterday and last night’s sprinkles. I will be following this storm throughout the day.

Don’t forget CPOA’s annual meeting, tomorrow.

CPOA Annual Meeting
December 6, 2010
5:30PM – 8:00PM
Big Sur Grange

AGENDA
Refreshments
Introduction and Year in Review – Butch Kronlund
Voting for CPOA Board Members – Pam Peck
Financial Report – Lisa Kleissner
Committee Reports:
California Coastal Trail – Mike Caplin
HR 4040 – Butch Kronlund and Mike Caplin
Workforce Housing – Ned Callihan
Monterey County CWPP – Butch Kronlund and Dick Ravich
Questions and Answers – Butch Kronlund
Adjourn

Christmas Tree

Leslie White, that wonderful painter and teacher friend of mine, shared this with me when I asked her. I love the simplicity of the Christmas scene. My plan was to make my Christmas Cards from this image this year. Well, I’m running out of time, so I will share it with my readers, instead.

You can visit Leslie at: Lesliepaints but be warned, you will get hooked on her paintings and teachings.

Thank you, Leslie, for so much this past year!

Upcoming Storm

This is what NOAA has to say:

THE NEXT IMPULSE IS EXPECTED TO BRING LIGHT SHOWERS TO THE AREA ON SATURDAY WITH A STRONGER SYSTEM PROGGED FOR SUNDAY. THE SUNDAY SYSTEM COULD SPREAD UP TO AN INCH OF RAIN…POSSIBLY HIGHEST ALONG THE BIG SUR COAST…FROM LATE IN THE DAY SUNDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT.

And this is the forecast for the SLO area:
A 1,003 millibar surface low pressure system is forecast to develop about 200 miles west San Luis Obispo tonight. This surface low is expected to move towards our area on Saturday and will produce fresh to strong (19 and 31 mph) southeasterly winds along the coastline on Saturday along with widely scattered sprinkles and rain showers.

The associated cold front is forecast to pass the Central Coast Sunday evening with strong to gale force (25 and 38 mph southeasterly winds along the coastline and moderate rain. Rain will turn to showers late Sunday night, ending by Monday morning.

Red Tail & Sunshine Alley

Oh, how I miss you two. These two were the communication central for the South Coast for DECADES. They are both still around, just not here.

Sunshine Alley lived at the bottom of Plaskett. She had a “land line” and CB. Family and/or friends trying to get ahold of someone in the hills often had Sunshine Alley’s phone number and would call her to relay a message. I would hear her voice on the CB at night calling to one person or another, “Hey, Ridge Rover, your brother called. Give him a call when you can.” “10-4, Sunshine Alley. How are you and Sandy doing?”

That is how we kept up and in contact, in the before days – before widespread internet. Familiar voices were much more personal.

Then, there was Red Tail. Red Tail was the communication link. He listened to the scanners 24/7, and broadcast over the CBs of fire, road conditions, and other news to all of us. He also had a land line. We would call him for updates, questions, and information.

I miss them both so much. They are both still with us, but Sunshine Alley is in Arroyo Grande, and Red Tail is in San Jose. Red Tail still stays in contact with most of us, but Sunshine Alley cannot. It is not the same anymore. While the news is conveyed – the blog, the internet, the emails are not the same as the familiar voices over the CB at night. I still have my CB and my scanner, but the CB is not hooked up, and its antenna blew away years ago. The scanner is never used, as I listen to the online scanner when I know something is going on, but never 24/7.

Whatever I contribute, it will NEVER compare to the decades of community service and communication these two dedicated to the South Coast of Big Sur. I miss you guys!