Redding favors a hybrid approach to meet state garbage amendment requirements

REDDING, Calif. — Shasta Environmental Alliance (SEA) hosted an educational event for community members to learn about efforts being made to keep the Sacramento River pollution-free.

SEA is a nonprofit organization that works with other organizations to maintain a clean and safe environment by educating communities and lawmakers.

Part of SEA’s mission is to keep the Sacramento River watershed free of plastic and debris, which is why the company has partnered with the City of Redding’s Stormwater Management Department, which makes every effort to comply with the state’s garbage amendments, which prohibit the discharge of debris larger than 5 mm or cigarette butt into state waters via stormwater drainage. The state expects 100% compliance by 2030.

The state offers two ways to adapt to the changes: installation, operation and maintenance of full capture equipment or institutional controls. According to stormwater management program coordinator Mieke Sheffield, there are multiple catchments in Redding and she stated that installing full capture facilities would be too expensive and it is not certain whether all the debris will actually be captured.

Instead, they are opting for a combination of the installation of 655 small full-capture waste collection systems, called connecting pipe screens, which are cheaper to install but take up less space and require more maintenance, as well as new inspection programs that will cover about 1,600 private properties, none of which sewage is discharged. system.

“Right now, if we have the device, the drainage area is compliant with regulations. “Now for all the other drainage areas that don’t have facilities for that, we’ll go and count (trash) about three times a year,” Sheffield said.

These changes only apply to areas with high garbage emissions in industrial and commercial areas in cities the size of Red Bluff or large.