Environment
County Fire spokesperson Eli Iskow notified area media on 4/21 of an alleged underground leak at Greka’s Bell Lease near Los Alamos. In Iskow’s account of events, the leak prompted the evacuation of cleanup workers as officials feared the spill could have undermined the integrity of an adjacent hillside. Greka President Andrew de Vegvar later denied that that the leak was a serious matter, that anyone was evacuated, and that a stop work order was ever issued in the matter.
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Measures designed to stave off an invasion by light brown apple moths into Santa Barbara County agricultural land are slated for next week. Previously, the place in Carpinteria where two moths were spotted went under quarantine on 3/21. On 4/30, workers will fan out to around 30 Carpinteria properties, strategically stationing pheromone-soaked devices designed to hormonally discombobulate male moths and prevent them from breeding.
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Rear Admiral Larry Rice, director of the Navy’s Environmental Readiness Division, stated at a press conference on 4/18 at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum that Navy sonar is not responsible for recent marine mammal deaths. Although he admitted that in the past Navy sonar testing has killed beaked whales in other locations, he said that the Navy has changed its practices, and that current operating procedures are inconsistent with the timing of the recent deaths.
