Friends of Gualala River Protecting the Gualala River watershed and the species living within it
by Chris McManus
Independent Coast Observer
July 23, 2021
Reprinted by permission
© Copyright Independent Coast Observer, Inc.
www.mendonoma.com
As part of its Salmonid and Watershed Restoration Project, Friends of Gualala River has launched a new lawsuit, this one focused on the Gualala River’s North Fork in the watershed’s northwest corner, the only hydrologic area of the watershed that is not temperature impaired.
The suit was filed last Wednesday in Alameda Superior Court against the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, the State Water Resources Control Board and Gualala Redwood Timber, LLC, seeking to stop Gualala Redwood Timber’s “Far North” timber harvest plan, No. 1-20-00150 MEN.
The new suit comes as FoGR is continuing to fight Gualala Redwood Timber’s “Dogwood III” THP. Judge James Donato on Tuesday issued a 14-day temporary restraining order on that timber harvest plan while he continues to consider a longer restraining order in the federal case brought by FoGR and the Center for Biological Diversity.
The newest lawsuit against the water boards is part of systemic reform FoGR is seeking to hold state agencies involved in the review of timber harvest plans accountable for their roles in the process. Previous lawsuits have targeted CalFire, the final reviewer and approver of timber harvest plans in California.
According to FoGR’s website, the State Water Board, assisted by nine regional water boards, is responsible for preserving and restoring water resources in California to protect environmental and public health and beneficial uses, which includes fisheries resources.
The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board is responsible for regulating sources of sediment and temperature impairments necessary to restore water conditions to support cold water fisheries in the Gualala River watershed.
To that end, the Regional Water Board reviews THPs before they are approved by CalFire, to ensure that the amount of polluting sediment that the plan reports to discharge will not exceed the regulatory limit set by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2001.
The Far North lawsuit charges that the water boards did not do their jobs – did not “demonstrate that the Far North THP complies with the requirements of the Timber Harvest [Waste Discharge Requirements] and that the Far North THP would not contribute to the existing water quality objective violations and fisheries impairments in the Gualala River watershed.”
The suit asks for a stay of the regional water board’s approval of the THP while the lawsuit is ongoing.
FoGR hired a professional hydrologist whose analysis showed that the Far North THP would exceed the regulatory limits for sediment discharge into the river. Both the Northern California Steelhead and the Central California Coast Coho Salmon are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.
“Their imperiled status is the result of habitat degradation and other impacts, including in particular sedimentation associated with roads and timber harvesting,” reads the petition. “The Gualala River watershed has been designated as critical habitat for these fish species.”
No schedule has been set for responses to the FoGR petition from the water boards or the timber company.
For more information, see:
- FoGR Launches Salmonid and Watershed Restoration Project
- Video: The Gualala River watershed is in danger from proposed logging
