[env-trinity] Trinity Lake Mercury Levels

Mon Apr 11 16:57:20 PDT 2005



http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/11348297.htm

MERCURY NEWS

Posted on Fri, Apr. 08, 2005


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Trinity Lake mercury, security restrictions announced
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DON THOMPSON
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Associated Press
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SACRAMENTO - State and federal regulators announced new mercury and
security restrictions Friday for Trinity Lake, a popular destination in the
Klamath Mountains northwest of Redding.
The federal Bureau of Reclamation is closing, as of Sunday, its property
around Trinity Dam for security reasons, though limited fishing access will
still be provided.
The closure includes 700 feet downstream and on either side of the dam, and
from the dam crest to the upstream waterline, which varies depending on the
surface level of the reservoir also known as Clair Engle Lake.
"Generally people couldn't get there anyway" on the upstream side, said
bureau spokesman Jeff McCracken. Fishermen on foot and bicycles still will
be allowed to enter the area on the west side downstream, "which is where
they go anyway now. The average person won't notice the difference,
frankly."
Also Friday, the California Environmental Protection Agency's Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment warned of mercury in fish in Trinity
Lake and the Trinity River watershed from decades-old gold and mercury
mining activities there dating to the Gold Rush. An interim county advisory
has been in effect since July 2002.
In addition to the lake and the river, the warning includes Lewiston Lake,
Coffee Creek, Canyon Creek, Eastman Creek, Eastman Dredge Ponds, Carrville
Pond, Crow Creek, Tamarack Creek, the New River and the East Fork Trinity
River and its tributaries.
The public can still eat fish, but especially children and women of
childbearing age should restrict how much fish they eat, the state advised,
with the frequency depending on the species.
The office is seeking public comments on a draft mercury warning and its
evaluation of the health threat. A hearing is set for 11:30 a.m. May 3 at
the Victorian Inn Conference Room in Weaverville.
ON THE NET
Find Bureau of Reclamation project information:
http://www.usbr.gov/mp/ncao/projects.html
Read a mercury fact sheet and draft report: www.oehha.ca.gov.
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