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Napa County Resource Conservation District |
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Napa County Resource Conservation District |
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Agencies & Companies
involved in the
Conservation Regulations Process
The Planning Divison of the Napa County Conservation, Development and Planning Department is charged with administration of the Conservation Regulations. The agency checks Plans for completeness and, when satisfied that an application has all the required elements of a complete Plan, collects the Plan check fees from the applicant and refers the Plan to one of its consultants for technical review.
The Building Inspection Division of CDPD inspects the installation of the standard measures required for non-ag projects on 5-15% slopes, and withholds final approval of non-ag projects on slopes over 15%, pending approval of the Planning Division. The offices of CDPD are located at 1195 Third Street, NapaCA 94559, telephone (707) 253-4416.
LandWatch Incorprated, an environmental monitoring and management firm, is the County's consultant for Erosion Control Plan review and inspection of non-agricultural projects. LandWatch's role is roughly parallel to RCD's, except that its representatives are authorized to issue citations for violations, whereas RCD's duties are strictly advisory. LandWatch's duties also include joint winterization inspections (with RCD staff) of all agricultural projects. Most of LandWatch's Napa County work is done by Doug Nix, Registered Professional Forester and Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control. 1650 Borel Place, Suite 204, San Mateo, CA 94402, telephone (650) 341-8650.
RCD's role in ConsRegs implementation is limited to that of technical consultant, as the agency has no regulatory authority. Furthermore, RCD recommendations are developed without reference to a "building code" or absolute standard, although regular training, consultation, and analytical tools are provided to the District by the USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service. Plans are reviewed, rather, in light of the experience and judgment of a Plan Review Committee that considers the applicants' proposals, staff reports and recommendations before arriving at a decision to find a plan technically adequate for erosion control. The Committee's findings represent the official position of the District, but the applicant has the right to appeal that position to the full RCD Board of Directors. A final administrative appeal may be made to the Napa County Board of Supervisors. That the latter appeal right has never been invoked, is indicative of the extent to which RCD recommendations reflect the values and standards of the vineyard industry, environmental interests, and the community as a whole. In order to continue to enjoy this level of credibility, the District's policy is to approach each Plan reviewed from a flexible, results-oriented perspective, recognizing that every site has a different set of environmental circumstances, and every vineyard manager a different way of operating and attaining viticultural and environmental goals. This openness allows for a continually expanding base of problem-solving expertise which may be applied to future developments. RCD staff has a total of over 40 years of hillside vineyard management experence. For further information regarding any technical or procedural aspects of Erosion Control Plan development and review, contact Dave Steiner, Soil Conservationist, at the RCD office on 1303 Jefferson Street, Suite 500B, Napa, CA 94559, telephone (707) 252-4188 x107.
An RCD Erosion Control Plan Review Committee consists of one or more (typically two) Directors or Associate Directors of the District.
Directors Associate Directors Clint Pridmore, President
Mitchell Klug, Vice President
Al Buckland
Don Gasser
Rainer Hoenicke
Beth Painter
Charles Slutzkin
Myrna Abramowicz
Zach Berkowitz
Dennis Bowker
Michael Silvas
Bennie Troxel
"Track 2" Authorized Consultants are:
Bartelt Engineering
1303 Jefferson Street, Suite #200B
Napa, CA 94559
707-258-1301
Chaudhary & Associates, Inc.
3272 Villa Lane
Napa, CA 94559
707-255-2729
Napa Valley Vineyard Engineering, Inc.
176 Main Street, Suite B
St.Helena, CA 94574
707-963-4927
PPI Engineering, Inc.
860-G Napa Valley
Corporate Parkway
Napa, CA 94559
707-253-1806
It is appropriate to shed some light on the relationship between the RCD and the USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the respective roles of the two agencies, particularly as they pertain to the ConsRegs. The roots of NRCS, until 1995 known as the Soil Conservation Service, extend back at least to Dust Bowl days, when the agency was established by the Roosevelt Administration to help meet the well-known environmental and economic crises of that era. At that time States were encouraged to authorize the formation of local districts (known originally as Soil Conservation Districts), in order to provide input to the federal agency as to the nature of specific , local conservation needs. One function of SCS, (now NRCS) has been to provide federally-supported technical help in meeting those locally-defined conservation needs. Over the years the original agricultural focus of both agencies has broadened to include such resource concerns as water quality, forestry, wildlife habitat, and urban environmental issues. The Napa County Soil Conservation District was formed in 1945, and became the Napa County Resource Conservation District in 1971. Napa County's Conservation Regulations invoke NRCS technical expertise in predicting soil erosion hazards and prescribing measures to mitigate them. Within the limits of staff time, NRCS personnel write a good number of Erosion Control Plans themselves, providing general guidance and specific technical inputs for many more Plans generated in the private sector. RCD's charge is to review ConsRegs Plans, and so cannot strictly speaking create them without a conflict of interest. However the analytical tools the RCD uses to review Plans are based primarily in NRCS technology, and the two agencies share computers, office space, and goals; the relationship is largely collaborative. In fact the collaboration has expanded to include many private sector Plan preparers: landowners, vineyard managers, contractors, engineers, and consultants. Many Plan preparers request on-site, "pre-Plan" consultations with RCD and/or NRCS staff to discuss conceptual erosion control strategies before setting a pencil to paper. This team approach to problem-solving attempts to reconcile everyone's needs and perspectives in an informal setting, and minimizes the need for time-consuming and frustrating Plan revisions.
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