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The Butte Environmental Council (BEC) is a non-profit environmental organization based in Butte County, California. Our mission is to protect and defend the land, air and water of Butte County and the surrounding region through action, advocacy and education. BEC was formed in 1975 and throughout its 40 years, BEC has had a significant voice in shaping the environment and policies of Butte County and beyond.
BEC in the News
Highlights and Sticky Notes:Hundreds of hands gathered tons of trash Saturday in Chico’s prized parks and along Lindo Channel, Little Chico Creek and Comanche Creek. The 29th annual cleanup is organized by the Butte Environmental Council, www.becnet.orgDuring the events, big containers are provided to help haul all the items away, BEC assistant director Becky Holden explained while standing near a row of blue recycling containers, each with a different label of what should go inside.Tags: no_tagby: ndcarter
Highlights and Sticky Notes:Carter, executive director of the Butte Environmental Council, and Cecil, executive director of the Butte County Farm Bureau, had asked the commission to allow their respective constituents a greater voice in governing local water resources.BEC took the lead in a coalition of 15 groups and individuals seeking a water advisory committee representing environmentalists and private pumpers.“I think we’re coming closer to having common ground on this issue and coming together as a county to defend groundwater users that aren’t represented by [an agency] and also those environmental concerns, those beneficial uses of our water in our county,” Carter said after the meeting.Tags: no_tagby: ndcarter
Highlights and Sticky Notes:Butte County is working with other water leaders in the county toward the state-mandated Sustainable Groundwater Management planning effort, http://www.water.ca.gov/groundwater/sgm. This involves agencies that manage water creating plans that maintain water supply and water quality.So far, several water agencies that provide surface water within the county have attended meetings, with a goal of identifying who will govern which areas of the groundwater basins. Mapping out jurisdictions needs to be finished by June of next year.What will happen with private pumpers in Butte County is still up for discussion. At a recent GSA meeting, Carol Perkins from the Butte Environmental Council, told the Enterprise-Record that her groups hoped private pumpers would be given an active role.Tags: no_tagby: ndcarter
BEC News Interests
Highlights and Sticky Notes:To protect endangered fish at critical parts of their life cycle, regulators proposed leaving hundreds of thousands of additional acre-feet of water in the San Joaquin River system. As little as 20 percent of the river now flows unimpeded to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and regulators said they want the so-called “natural” flow raised to at least 30 percent and perhaps as high as 50 percent.The five-person board will gather input from farmers, environmentalists and others before voting on a plan, likely early next year.Tags: no_tagby: ndcarter
Highlights and Sticky Notes:The Benicia City Council voted against allowing trains to carry crude oil through the city, thus making it impossible for the trains to travel through Davis, Sacramento and Roseville.The unanimous decision turns down a request by Valero Refining Company to ship crude oil on trains through parts of Northern California to its refinery, which is located on the Bay.Tags: no_tagby: ndcarter
Highlights and Sticky Notes:Butte County Supervisors are trying to put the brakes on a plan to allow trains to carry hazardous materials through the Feather River Canyon.The river, which feeds into Lake Oroville, is connected to the water supply to 25 million Californians and as fracking becomes more common across the country, so does the transportation of explosive oil.Tags: no_tagby: ndcarter
BEC's news feed is generated using Diigo, a social bookmarking tool. You can see our full listing of news articles or subscribe to the RSS feed by visiting our Diigo group of BEC News Interests.