Public Comment
September 28, 2023
RCEA Board of Directors
Regular Meeting
1 Lori Taketa
From: Jesse Noell
Sent: Monday, September 11, 2023 3:06 PM
To: Public Comment; 350 Humboldt
Subject: What RCEA should have done for every school, every parking lot, every house; years ago Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
But, our Supervisors and Legislators are too dumb to listen to the taxpayers who explained the math to them six years
ago.
3.0 - Oral and Written Communications
From: Biological Bob
To: Lori Taketa
Subject: Re: Biomass is not a clean energy producer
Date: Wednesday, September 20, 2023 1:45:29 PM
Lori,
For the Board's information, I am a retired USDA District Conservationist, College of the Redwoods Climate Instructor with a master's degree in Forest Management from Humboldt State.
Thank you for your help.
Bob Rohde
On Mon, Sep 18, 2023 at 3:43 PM Lori Taketa wrote:
Hello Mr. Rohde,
Thank you for your email. It will be included as public comment for the September 28, RCEA Board meeting.
Best Regards,
Lori Taketa
Executive Support Specialist & Clerk of the Board | Redwood Coast Energy Authority (707) 269-1700 | | www.RedwoodEnergy.org
Pronouns: she, her, hers
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From: Biological Bob <
Sent: Friday, September 15, 2023 10:39 AM
3.0 Oral and Written Communications
To: Public Comment <[email protected]>
Subject: Biomass is not a clean energy producer
Dear Board,
California State Senate Bill 350 requires the state of California to meet utility customer resource needs by doubling statewide energy efficiency and ramping up the use of clean energy resources. Currently, the state of California considers the burning of forest industry waste for energy production (biomass), such as the Humboldt Sawmill Company in Scotia, as a clean energy resource.
Advocates for biomass energy claim that when forests are harvested sustainably, and the timber industry waste byproducts are burned as fuel, the smokestack emissions are canceled out by the carbon absorbed by forest regrowth. However, the opposite is true.
The larger trees that were cut to produce forest products would have continued to remove more carbon from the atmosphere than the forest regrowth. So, cutting the mature trees down and burning the carbon-rich tree waste generates more carbon in the sky than leaving the trees standing and not generating the waste in the first place.
Earth’s forests cannot slow down the increase of carbon in the atmosphere, as shown on the following NASA website: https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide/ So, the burning of forest biomass for energy production is a carbon emitter, not a clean energy source, that produces more carbon in the sky every day than can be absorbed by trees regardless of what biomass advocates say. California energy utility ratepayers are being forced by the state to finance the forest industry to pollute the planet with the burning of their renewable waste. — Bob Rohde, McKinleyvilleBob Rohde, McKinleyville
Published Times Standard Letter to the Editor September 7, 2023 From: Walter Paniak
To: Lori Taketa
Subject: Science article on the health effects of air pollution Date: Wednesday, September 27, 2023 10:54:41 PM
Attachments: Untitled 43.pdf
The Humboldt Sawmill Company is the single largest point source of PM 2.5 particles in the county.
This article provides some technical information concerns the Biological pathways for the morbidity that can follow air pollution Especially the 2.5PM particles.
Walt Paniak
Arcata resident
6.1 - Biomass Energy Plant Public Health Impact Presentation Your source for the latest research news
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Science News from research organizations
Air pollution can alter the effectiveness of
antibiotics and increases the potential of
disease, new study reveals
March 2, 2017
University of Leicester
New research has explored the impact of black carbon on bacteria in the respiratory tract. The study specifically looked into how air pollution affects the bacteria living in our bodies, specifically the respiratory tract -- the nose, throat and lungs. ! " # $ %
FULL STORY
Interdisciplinary research at the University of Leicester has explored the impact of black carbon on bacteria in the respi‐ ratory tract
Researchers from the University of Leicester have for the first time discov‐ ered that bacteria that cause respiratory infections are directly affected by air pollution -- increasing the potential for infection and changing the effec‐ tiveness of antibiotic treatment.
The interdisciplinary study, which has been published in the journal Environ‐ mental Microbiology, has important implications for the treatment of infec‐ tious diseases, which are known to be increased in areas with high levels of air pollution.
The study looked into how air pollution affects the bacteria living in our bodies, specifically the respiratory tract -- the nose, throat and lungs.
A major component of air pollution is black carbon, which is produced through the burning of fossil fuels such as diesel, biofuels, and biomass.
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The research shows that this pollutant changes the way in which bacteria grow and form communities, which could affect how they survive on the lin‐ ing of our respiratory tracts and how well they are able to hide from, and combat, our immune systems.
Dr Julie Morrissey, Associate Professor in Microbial Genetics in the Univer‐ sity of Leicester's Department of Genetics and lead author on the paper, said: "This work increases our understanding of how air pollution affects human health. It shows that the bacteria which cause respiratory infections are affected by air pollution, possibly increasing the risk of infection and the effectiveness of antibiotic treatment of these illnesses. "Our research could initiate an entirely new understanding of how air pollu‐ tion affects human health. It will lead to enhancement of research to under‐ stand how air pollution leads to severe respiratory problems and perturbs the environmental cycles essential for life."
Dr Shane Hussey and Dr Jo Purves, the research associates working on the project said: "Everybody worldwide is exposed to air pollution every time they breathe. It is something we cannot limit our exposure to as individuals, but we know that it can make us ill. So we need to understand what it is do‐ ing to us, how it is making us unhealthy, and how we might be able to stop these effects."
The research focused on two human pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae, which are both major causes of respiratory diseases and exhibit high levels of resistance to antibiotics.
The research team found that black carbon alters the antibiotic tolerance of Staphylococcus aureus communities and importantly increases the resis‐ tance of communities of Streptococcus pneumoniae to penicillin, the front line treatment of bacterial pneumonia.
Furthermore, it was found that black carbon caused Streptococcus pneu‐ moniae to spread from the nose to the lower respiratory tract, which is a key step in development of disease.
Professors Julian Ketley, Professor of Bacterial Genetics, Department of Genetics and Peter Andrew, Professor of Microbial Pathogenesis, Depart‐ ment of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, said: "Urbanisation in megacities with extreme levels of air pollution are major risk factors for hu‐ man health in many parts of the world. Our research seeks to lead and par‐ ticipate in international research consortia of biologists, chemists, clinician, social scientists and urban planners. Together we will investigate how in‐ creasing urbanisation promotes infectious disease."
The World Health Organization describes air pollution as the "largest single environmental health risk."
Air pollution is thought to be responsible for at least 7 million deaths per year, which equates to an eighth of all global deaths.
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The UK and many other countries around the world continue to breach the recommended pollution limits set by the World Health Organization.
Professor Paul Monks, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Sci‐ ence and Engineering, who is a leading expert on air pollution added: "The lead investigators have brought together their expertise in genetics, micro‐ biology and air pollution chemistry to provide truly multidisciplinary ground breaking insights.
"This research has significant potential to initiate a global research effort to understand a hitherto unknown effect of air pollution and provide significant additional impetus to the control of pollution."
Cite This Page:
University of Leicester. "Air pollution can alter the effectiveness of antibiotics and increases the potential of disease, new study reveals." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 March 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/ 170302091237.htm>.
Story Source:
Materials provided by University of Leicester. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
1. Shane. J. K. Hussey, Joanne Purves, Natalie Allcock, Vitor E. Fernandes, Paul S. Monks, Julian M. Ketley, Peter W. Andrew, Julie A. Morrissey. Air pollution alters Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae biofilms, antibiotic tolerance and colonisation. Environmental Microbiology, 2017; DOI: 10.1111/1462- 2920.13686
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Materials Submitted
After Agenda
Publication
9/28/23
To the Board of Directors of the Redwood Coast Energy Authority RE: Item #4.5, Execu�ve Director Salary Schedule Update, of the Agenda of the September 28, 2023 business mee�ng
The report on item 4.5 of today’s mee�ng agenda misstates that the comparable labor market for the Execu�ve Director posi�on was not iden�fied and benchmarked in past biennial salary surveys conducted per the Board-adopted employee compensa�on policy. In fact, it has, as detailed in “Biennial Salary Survey of Benchmark Classifica�ons at RCEA’s Labor Market Agencies, 2023” included as atachment A to Agenda Item # 10.1 in the May 25, 2023, RCEA Board of Directors mee�ng agenda packet. This 2023 survey concluded that the average comparable midpoint ($223,313) for the Execu�ve Director posi�on was 38% over the (pre 7/1/2023) RCEA midpoint. However, the salary survey notes that the Execu�ve Director individual benchmark classifica�on was excluded when determining the “average” of the salary posi�ons. By excluding the Execu�ve Director role, the “average” of benchmark classifica�ons was determined to be about 12% more than RCEA salaries. The Board approved a 14% percent increase for all posi�ons, including the Execu�ve Director, effec�ve July 1, based on the Social Security Cola and West Region CPI percentage. This Board ac�on increased the Execu�ve Director’s midpoint by 14% from $161,356 to $183,946, which became effec�ve July 1, 2023.
The Item 4.5 report also deviates from the approved labor market agencies that were surveyed in the 2023 biannual survey. It includes the 5 highest paid comparable posi�ons to the RCEA Execu�ve Director posi�on from the survey while it neglects to include the lowest two comparable posi�ons. In the omission of those two lowest comparable salaries, the Execu�ve Director midpoint rises from the 2023 survey average of $223,313 to the average presented in the Item 4.5 report, $270,501. See below the Execu�ve Director sec�on of the survey as it was presented to the Board in May 2023.
This resul�ng midpoint in the Item 4.5 report of $270,501 equates to a 47% increase from the $183,946 midpoint approved in May that went into effect on July 1, 2023. Taking the 14% increase that was already approved plus the 47% increase currently being considered, this equates to a 67% increase from the pre 7/1/2023, $161,356 midpoint.
In summary, proposing to “update” the midpoint of any classifica�on range assumes that this process was used in the past to fairly determine individual classifica�on increases, which it was not. It rather has been used as jus�fica�on for blanket cost of living increases across all classifica�ons. Addi�onally, if singular classifica�on adjustments are determined to be in line with the spirit of the current Policy, then
4.5 Executive Director Salary Range Update
consider that the Execu�ve Director role was included in the 2023 survey and the result was significantly less than the increase proposed by Item 4.5.
I ask the board to consider the following alterna�ve ac�ons:
- Adjust the salary range of the Execu�ve Director based on the average midpoint calculated in the comprehensive Biennial Salary Survey of Benchmark Classifica�ons that was conducted and presented to the Board in May 2023 (38% increase from pre-July 1, 2023, salary). - Update the mid-points for all RCEA job classifica�ons using a similar methodology of u�lizing only the highest five benchmarks and making it retroac�ve to July 1, 2023. - Eliminate the Execu�ve Director class from the Board-adopted RCEA salary schedule and nego�ate all Execu�ve Director compensa�on via a contract amendment or some other process separate from the process defined in the Board-adopted Employee Compensa�on Policy.
In addi�on to my above concerns about the process u�lized to determine the recommended ac�on for item 4.5, I don’t believe the Board has all the informa�on needed to act on Agenda Item 4.5 today. In past years RCEA’s General Counsel has solicited input from RCEA’s employees- in more recent years, just directors- when evalua�ng the Execu�ve Director’s performance and considering contract renewals or changes, which I think is invaluable to the health of the organiza�on and to the community. I believe it provides RCEA employees some confidence that not only the Execu�ve Director, but the Board that employs the Execu�ve Director, values those of us that make up this organiza�on and that we have worthwhile input to inform these types of decisions.
Sincerely,
Lori Biondini
Director of Business Planning and Finance, RCEA