Santa Rosa Hearing on River Discharge
By Brenda Adelman
On Thursday, April 3, 2008, about 75 people attended the City of Santa Rosa’s only hearing on their direct river discharge project-environmental impact report (EIR). About 25 people spoke. Since the document is over 5000 pages and highly complex, most pleaded with City officials to expand the public comment period by 30 days and to hold another hearing closer to the end of the comment period.
At the time, the Santa Rosa Board of Public Utilities gave no response and left everyone with the impression that their pleas fell on deaf ears. Consultants emphasized that the comment period is 9 days more than the minimum required by law (45 days). This was hardly reassuring, since the City could have expanded the comment period by two or three months if they wanted. We are grateful that, just as this paper’s publication deadline approached, the City announced that they were offering a two-week extension for comments on the EIR to May 20th. While still not adequate, it is welcome nonetheless.