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Regular-General Government # 43.
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| Board of Supervisors |
County Administrator |
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| Subject |
| Receive report from Dr. Darell Slotton (UC Davis) on mercury in Yolo County's watersheds. (No general fund impact) (Blacklock/Sabatini) |
| Recommended Action |
| Receive report from Dr. Darell Slotton (UC Davis) on mercury in Yolo County's watersheds. |
| Strategic Plan Goal(s) |
Operational Excellence
Thriving Residents
Sustainable Environment
Flourishing Agriculture |
| Reason for Recommended Action/Background |
Background
At the January 29, 2019, meeting of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors, the Board requested that staff coordinate an informational presentation on the role of mercury in the County's watersheds.
About the presenter: Dr. Darell Slotton, Ph.D.
Dr. Darell Slotton is intimately familiar with the local watersheds and possesses an in-depth knowledge of mercury and how it interacts with our physical environment. Dr. Slotton is the nation’s foremost expert on mercury methylation and regularly travels the country and to various other nations in his methylmercury research and educational endeavors. Dr. Slotton worked closely with County staff in the development of the Cache Creek Area Plan in the 1990s and has provided the County with updated research and recommendations, based on the best available science, over the past 20 years.
Dr. Slotton has directed applied research projects addressing heavy metal contamination and bioaccumulation issues in California for over 30 years, with a primary focus on mercury. He runs a mercury analytical and research laboratory at UC Davis. In the 1990s, Dr. Slotton worked throughout the gold mining region of the Sierra Nevada, using benthic invertebrates and fish as sentinels of bioavailable mercury exposure. Slotton has led numerous mercury studies throughout Coast Range watersheds and was a long-time participant in the Clear Lake Superfund Mercury Project. He has led several mercury-related projects in the Cache Creek watershed since 1985. A multi-year project addressed mercury bioaccumulation in the Truckee River and Pyramid Lake, Nevada. International projects include mercury bioaccumulation and source assessment studies in the Lake Titicaca watershed of Peru, the Ayeyarwaddy River system of Burma, and the Peruvian Amazon. Between 1998 and 2008, Slotton directed several large regional projects, primarily developing and refining mercury biosentinel techniques for the State in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Cache Creek, Yuba River, and across the Bay-Delta watershed. His team conducted the expanded Regional Monitoring Program (RMP) small fish mercury program throughout San Francisco Bay for the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI), together with intensive, long-term projects in both the North and South San Francisco Bay for the State Coastal Conservancy and other agencies. |
| Collaborations (including Board advisory groups and external partner agencies) |
| Staff has collaborated with Yolo County District 4 staff and Dr. Slotton in preparation for today's presentation. |
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| Fiscal Impact |
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| Source of Funds for this Expenditure |
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