News

Nordic’s fish farm plans beginning to take shape

While they’re not exactly finalized, a Norwegian company’s plans for a proposed fish farm at the site of a former pulp mill are starting to take shape.

“It takes about two years to build it,” said Marianne Naess, Nordic Aquafarms’ commercial director, at a meeting attended by a couple dozen people at the Wharfinger Building in Eureka on Tuesday night.

Nordic Aquafarms is still going through the permitting process to build the $400 million on-land fish farm on the Samoa Peninsula, but Naess said she expects the company to complete that process this summer and start demolition of the old buildings within a year to a year-and-half. Construction will likely start in 2021 or 2022, meaning fish will be on the market around 2024 or so, Naess said.

In terms of the soil and groundwater, Erik Nielsen, of SHN, said “they’re chipping away at the facility as things become available” because the buildings that remain are blocking their ability to check for dioxins and heavy metals, but so far the results are favorable.

Humboldt Bay gets $10 million for jetty repairs

Last year, emergency shoaling conditions shut down Humboldt Bay, but a big chunk of funding from the federal government should help make the infrastructure improvements needed to keep that from happening in the future.

On Monday, U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) announced the Humboldt Bay and harbor are receiving $10,892,000 in the fiscal year 2020 Army Corps of Engineers work plan for dredging and repair work to the north and south jetties.

“Local economies depend on ‘forgotten harbors,’” Huffman said in a statement. ” … I am thrilled that we will finally be able to address the recreational, commercial, and public safety problems that come from delayed dredging. The safety and viability of commercial and recreational traffic is the highest priority, and I thank the Army Corps for taking action on this urgent infrastructure need.”

The Humboldt Bay jetties are in a high energy wave environment, which means the water is very powerful, and over the course of time has pounded away at the rocks that make up the jetties, said Edwin S. Townsley, deputy for project management at the San Francisco District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Humboldt's Climate Trouble

As scientists throughout the world describe the mounting impacts from climate change and the accelerating timeline in which they’re expected, KEET sits down with three local experts to discuss what Humboldt County can expect in the decades ahead. The county, these officials warn, will be among the worst hit in the state.

Watch HERE

THE ECONEWS REPORT: Are Humboldt Bay King Tides a Harbinger of Sea Level Rise?

You may have noticed it: the bay seems particularly high this time of year. The extreme high tides of winter have a name: King Tides. And they can help illustrate the effects of rising sea levels.

Volunteers are needed to document the high tides and the way sea level rise will impact our bay. Sign up for Humboldt Baykeeper’s King Tides Photo Initiative!

Click HERE to listen to the show, or tune in wherever you get your podcasts.

Eureka Revives Zombie Plan for Road through Palco Marsh

On Nov. 13, the City of Eureka held a public workshop to gather input on a new plan for the 101 Broadway Corridor. Described as a “Multi-Modal Corridor Plan” to increase safety for pedestrians and cyclists while decreasing traffic congestion, the City unfortunately began this public process by reviving controversial plans for a new road along Humboldt Bay.

In 2012, the Eureka City Council voted to stop pursuing its proposal to punch a new road through the Palco Marsh. But for some inexplicable reason, the City has revived this impossible project, despite years of controversy. The Waterfront Drive Extension was rejected in 2012—and should be taken off the table forever—for several reasons.

The coastal wetlands at risk are protected by the Coastal Act, the City’s coastal regulations, and by conservation easements. The proposed road would plow through wetlands that were protected as mitigation for the Bayside Mall development. Since 1985, the City has received $1.5 million from the State Coastal Conservancy to acquire the Palco Marsh for wetland restoration and non-motorized public access.

When the Waterfront Drive Extension was rejected by the City Council in 2012, the funding was allocated to build the Waterfront Trail, which has since become a popular area for enjoying the Palco Marsh and Elk River Wildlife Sanctuary. A road in this area would be not only disrupt wildlife habitat and coastal recreation, but it would also be vulnerable to flooding, liquefaction, rising sea level, which will inundate the area in the foreseeable future.

There’s another reason that Eureka shouldn’t waste its money pursuing pie-in-the-sky road-building schemes, and it’s an important one. That money is desperately needed for real, feasible, effective transportation solutions. Between 2005 and 2009, the City spent more than $1.2 million dollars pursuing this project while knowing it would never be approved. Rather than throwing more money at a road that’s going nowhere, public funding should go into desperately needed safety improvements on Broadway.

“Broadway is trying to be both a downtown Main Street and a highway, and failing at both,” says Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities. “It’s a frustration for drivers and a death trap for bicyclists and pedestrians. The only thing that will make Broadway both safer and more pleasant is redesigning it to make it the kind of place where people want to be, rather than the kind of place people want to get through as fast as possible.” In other words, embrace its reality as a Main Street and stop trying to make it a highway.

There are lots of proven methods for improving the safety and comfort of a downtown streetscape like Broadway. Widen the sidewalks and narrow the road. Plant trees and install art. Build buffered bike lanes, bulb-outs, and pedestrian refuges. It’s not rocket science.

You can join us in urging public officials to drop the plans for new roads west of Broadway and instead, focus on multi-modal transportation to reduce traffic congestion, including projects that will make walking and biking along and across Broadway safe. Have your say by going to the comment section at https://www.eurekabroadwaycorridorplan.com.