Environment

City Council To Decide on Plastic Bag Ban Ordinance

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Back in February, the Davis City Council directed staff to hold off on CEQA documentation to see what would happen at the state level with regard to the implementation of single use plastic bag legislation.  While several bills were under consideration at the legislative level, the legislature killed several of them and it appears that they will not act on any legislation this session.

Based on that, staff is presenting a schedule for the Davis City Council to move forward with consideration of a local ordinance that would regulate single use carry-out bags, similar to efforts in communities throughout California.

Court Finds Plastic Bag Ban Constitutional

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Public Comment Period Begins with City’s Carryout Bag Ordinance

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Commentary: Gloating Over the Demise of Zipcar?

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Avis Purchases Zipcar: End of Car-Sharing Concept or Salvation for the Model?

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Study in San Jose Finds Bag Ban Successful Year After Implementation

plastic-bag-putahBy Dan Oney

A year after San Jose approved its Bring Your Own Bag ordinance; the City has released its initial findings on the plastic bag ban’s effectiveness. And the city is trumpeting the program as a success.

Among the justifications for the declaration of success, the City had assigned resources to evaluate the impact that the first year had on the use of plastic bags, their prevalence in trash processing facilities, and related water-borne pollution. The resulting data showed a significant reduction in bag-related waste.

Failed Burrowing Owl Mitigation

BurrowingOwlBy Catherine Portman and Pam Nieberg

Guest Comentary – As many local environmentalists recall, nesting burrowing owls at Mace Ranch were illegally disked into the ground in 2000. As part of the mitigation for this loss, the City of Davis, as the lead agency for the Mace Ranch development project, worked with Yolo County to create a Burrowing Owl Reserve at Yolo County Grassland Park on Mace Blvd. south of Davis.

The Mitigation Agreement (“Agreement for the Management of Burrowing Owl Habitat at the Grasslands Regional County Park” 2004) included a Management Plan (“Yolo County Grasslands Park Burrowing Owl Habitat Management Plan”, Albion Environmental, Inc. September 2004) for the Reserve. The Management Plan requires the vegetation on the Reserve be kept short, as burrowing owls require short vegetation to avoid predators and see their prey in order to survive.

New Wood Burning Restrictions Take Effect Today

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Do Mandatory Wood Burning Restrictions Mark a Sea Change?

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On the one side were some environmentalists and some health advocates concerned with both the impact of wood burning on the environment as well as health implications.  On the other side were citizens who, for a variety of reasons, use wood during the few cold months of the year to heat their homes and provide themselves with some sort of aesthetic enjoyment.

Council Passes Mandatory Wood Burning Restrictions in One-Year Pilot Project

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It took a while and council had to sort out competing views from the public – one group of whom expressed concern about the intrusion into their private lives, the other concerned about personal or public health impacts of wood-burned smoke.

In the end, the council moved forward with a rather modest compromise measure by a 5-0 vote that will allow them to come back in a year and see what impact the measure had on the issue.

Way More than You Probably Want to Know About the Various Recommended Restrictions on Wood Burning

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GUEST COMMENTARY – While many Davis residents are aware that the Davis City Council is considering a Staff recommendation on wood burning restrictions this Tuesday, few probably realize that there are actually 2 additional somewhat competing recommendations that the Council is considering. One is a long-awaited “Guidance” document submitted by the Yolo Solano Air Quality Management District. The other is a recommendation passed 6-1 by the Natural Resources Commission resulting at their September meeting.

Each of these recommendations or proposals are similar in that they would prohibit wood burning on certain days when PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 um diameter) concentrations in the region are expected to exceed certain thresholds. Each of the recommendations also differ with respect to which projected PM2.5 threshhold is used to issue mandatory “No-Burn” advisory, which air quality agency’s PM2.5 projections are used, and whether EPA Phase II stoves and pellet stoves are exempted from compliance with the otherwise mandated “No-Burn” notices.

Sunday Commentary: Proposed Wood Burning Restrictions a Modest Proposal

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Staff Recommends Mandatory Wood Burning Ban

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Since 2009, the City has been implementing a voluntary wood burning program in coordination with the Yolo Solano Air Quality Management District (YSAQMD). During this period the City and YSAQMD coordinated on air quality monitoring activities and consideration of alternatives to the voluntary policy.

Council Wants To Study Wood Burning More, Will Revisit Recommendations in April

The city council last night heard from a wide variety of experts, many of whom have been in countless hours on the issue of wood burning.

Coverage of Target Issue in Bee and Aggie Stands in Marked Contrast To the Enterprise

On Monday December 22, 2008, the Vanguard broke the news that local group, Frontier Fertilizer Superfund Oversight Group (FFSOG) was concerned about the discovery of new detection levels of TCP at the Target Superfund site. The group was asking for new testing before Target was set to lay the foundation for the new store on January 5, 2009 (coincidentally today).