Forest Service Contests Scope of SEZs While Responding to Regional Board Concerns

As already reported, in response to a request from the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Forest Service moved several slash piles placed in wetlands in violation of federal and state law.  Even as it did so, agency personnel continued to deny that the piles were improperly placed in Stream Environment Zones (or SEZs).  This e-mail (dated Oct. 20, 2014) from Forest Service employee Brian Garrett to Regional Board staff indicates that the areas where the slash piles were placed do not meet the definition of SEZs.


The determination what areas qualify as SEZs is made on the basis of the Regional Board's Basin Plan. It provides that SEZs are generally synonymous with wetlands and riparian areas, and that any one of the following key indicators are sufficient to establish that an areas is an SEZ:
  • evidence of surface water flow
  • primary riparian vegetation
  • near surface groundwater
  • lakes or ponds
  • beach soils
  • soils classified as Elmira loamy coarse sand or marsh
The Basin Plan goes on to indicate that SEZs include unconfined ephemeral or intermittent streams.  Below are definitions of certain key terms used in the Basin Plan.


The fact that seasonal (i.e., intermittent and ephemeral) waters fall within the definition of SEZs together with photographic documentation of the slash piles in such waters was sufficient to lead the Regional Board to act. Unfortunately, Mr. Garrett's e-mail to Regional Board staff suggests that the Forest Service is likely to continue to turn a blind eye to the enviornmental impacts of its activities.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Relief at Upper Echo Lake Overshadowed by Prescribed Burns Elsewhere in the Region

On the heels of a settlement agreement that signals the end of the Forest Service's plans to cut, pile, and burn vegetation around Upper Echo Lake south of Lake Tahoe, there are grim reminders of continuing agency mismanagement of forestry resources in the vicinity. First, prescribed burns in the El Dorado and Lake Tahoe National Forests contributed to poor air quality in the region, as reported here .  This led regulators to encourage Washoe County residents to stay indoors. Second, according to reporter Jason Hidalgo , the Little Valley Fire, which has destroyed dozens of homes and other buildings in Washoe Valley, may have been caused by prescribed burns in the area. Federal and state forestry agencies are staunch advocates for prescribed burns.  We wonder if there is empirical research to support their position.  At least one expert thinks otherwise as reported some time ago on the NEPA Lab blog .  Robert E. Keane in his book Wildland Fuel Fundamentals and Application (S
Read more

Context for Forest Service Action

Image
This image provides wonderful context to assess the Forest Service's ill-conceived Upper Echo Lake Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project. Notice how sparse the vegetation is at this elevation.  Certainly when one thinks about wildfire risk, this is not the image the mind conjures.
Read more

Forest Service Activity at Upper Echo Lake Threatens Water Quality

Image
The Upper Echo Lake Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project being implemented by the Forest Service threatens to degrade water quality in both Upper and Lower Echo Lakes.  The Project includes placement of large amounts of biomass adjacent to the lakes.  In the photo below, piles have been placed in the foreground. This material, which the Forest Service plans to burn in place, could soon end up in the lakes with devastating consequences.
Read more