I noted several articles yesterday about the above topic, and was intrigued. I admit, I have not done my own research, as my time is extremely limited at the moment, but both sources, huffingtonpost and abclocal/kgo are pretty reliable sources of information, although I note that both rely on an article written by Susanne Rust for California Watch. However, both links provided below have an internal link to a pdf report from the State Resources Control Board you can download.

“Last week, the State Water Resources Control Board exempted the aquarium [PDF] from a state ban on dumping wastewater in a marine protected zone.

The board decided the aquarium’s conservation and public education benefits far outweigh any dangers posed by the millions of gallons of treated fish, bird and mammal waste it dumps back into the bay.

“The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s beneficial uses include extensive public outreach and education on the marine environment, basic water quality research, and research to determine the needs and improve the quality of existence for marine life,” said David Clegern, a spokesman for the water board.

According to a report [PDF] released by the board earlier this year, the aquarium takes in about 1,400 gallons of seawater a minute, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. It then discharges more than 2 million gallons a day. The system is open, meaning seawater is pumped in and discharged continually.

The board acknowledges the discharge does contain waste, albeit “at very low levels.” The only exceptions noted were copper in one seawater sample and chlorine in others.

Copper is known to be harmful to marine organisms, damaging creatures’ gills, livers, kidneys and nervous systems. Chlorine can be lethal to many organisms, including salmon and oysters, at low levels. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/25/monterey-bay-aquarium-wastewater-dumping_n_1031276.html)

The same article by Susanne Rust for California Watch, is also posted to: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/state&id=8405320

Here is a photo of Tule Elk taken with a telephoto (which I forgot to bring, on my trip by the elk) by reader Seth Melchert of Oakland. It was taken in the Isabella Valley area on the east slopes of Mt. Hamilton in 2006. It provides a better view than mine.

Here is one showing their distinctive rump colors, also by Seth:

I received this forward from Steve Craig last night in which I thought my readers would be interested. This is more important than the photographs I was planning for today, so that project is on the back burner for a few days (or later today, if I get sidetracked from work!)

It is Steve Craig’s opinion that the test drills were not sufficiently financially lucrative to make the project worth continued effort on Venoco’s part, given the opposition and current economic realities. Way to go, HoldOn and others. The fracking battle may be over in our backyards, but other areas of the nation continue to face this battle for clean water.

“Dear Mr. Novo,

Venoco, Inc. does hereby withdraw our exploratory drilling applications for our #1b (File No. PLN090120), #7a (File No. PLN090119) and #34b (File No. PLN090118) pad locations, along Jolon Road and the nearby town of Bradley. As a result, there are no are Venoco, Inc. items for Planning Commission consideration and we request that our applications therefore be immediately pulled from the Planning Commission’s October 26, 2011 agenda. Effective Friday, October 21, 2011 we request that Monterey County cease any and all further work on these proposed applications and send a final invoice for work up and including today’s date, October 24, 2011.

Thank you for your prompt attention and consideration. If you have any questions regarding the above referenced projects, please contact me at (805) xxx-xxxx.

Bruce Carter, Venoco, Inc.”

Interestingly, I also received another email last night, reproduced in part below:

“1:30PM – VENOCO LLC: USE PERMIT REQUESTS FOR NINE EXPLORATORY OIL AND GAS WELLS – PLN100632 (Owners: Avila Sam TR ET AL; Ward Rowena Joanne Trs; Porter Estate Company, Bradley Ranch Inc) – APPELLANT: VENTANA CONSERVATION AND LAND TRUST AND THE CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
Project Planner: Ramon Montano/Taven Kinison Brown. Project Description: CONTINUED FROM MARCH 30, 2011. Appeal from the Zoning Administrator’s decision to approve the Venoco Corporation’s proposal to drill up to nine (9) total exploratory oil and natural gas wells. … Recommended Action: Support Appeal and Deny Project.”

There is an article in today’s Monterey Herald here.

Great job, Steve and others!