Much work remains on rules for using Russian River water for frost protection
Brett Wilkison
Press Democrat
11/09/2010
Much work remains to be done on a proposed Sonoma County program that would oversee vineyard and orchard frost protection in the Russian River watershed to better protect endangered fish, program supporters and critics said Tuesday at a Board of Supervisors hearing.
Supporters, including grape growers who teamed up with the county to draft the program, acknowledged that demands by state and federal regulators for a stronger stream-flow monitoring plan will have to be addressed.
“That has to be negotiated through. We're starting to have a dialogue on what they (the resource agencies) want,” said Pete Opatz, a viticulturist overseeing 5,000 acres of vineyards in Napa and Sonoma counties for Silverado Premium Properties
Meanwhile critics, including some environmentalists and fisheries advocates, said the program so far had been crafted without their input and appeared to offer too little in the way of safeguards for fish.
“The devil is in the details on this ordinance, and the details aren't there,” said Stephen Fuller-Rowell, head of the Sonoma County Water Coalition, a group of more than 30 environmental organizations.
Tuesday's preliminary hearing on the program was designed to kick off a 30-day process in which county staff said they'll be gathering input from the public on the program.
The first public meeting in that process is set for Wednesday, 2-4 p.m. at the county Agricultural Commissioner's office, 133 Aviation Blvd., Suite 110, Santa Rosa.
The Board of Supervisors has set a Dec. 7 hearing to take further comment and possibly vote on the program, which if approved could take effect early next year.
