Draft Precautionary Principle Framework Nears Completion

by Britt Bailey
May, 2007

It has been nearly a year since Mendocino County passed the Precautionary Principle Policy, which states that "implementation of the policy will begin with a pilot project utilizing two (2) County Departments to be recommended by the CEO and selected by the Board of Supervisors. Implementation guidelines for the precautionary principle will be developed during this initial phase that will then be disseminated to other county departments for use and implementation."

In October 2006, the interim CEO, Mr. Al Beltrami, proposed that the Water Agency and Environmental Health participate with the Precautionary Principle Partnership in developing a framework or procedure for implementing the objectives of the Principle. The Partnership has been meeting monthly with involved County officials and we are on the brink of having a final draft framework or procedure to guide staff through the new decision-making process.

The procedure for implementing the Precautionary Principle will be applied to two different projects. Environmental Health has chosen to apply the Principle to its mosquito control program to manage for West Nile Virus. Currently the County recommends the use of mosquito fish and larvicides.

The Water Agency will be using the Precautionary Principle for an element of its Stormwater Management Program. The Stormwater Management Program, mandated by the Clean Water Act, holds considerable potential for controlling sediment run-off, illicit toxic discharges, and educating residents about the effects of such run-off into surface waters of Mendocino.

A major aspect of the Precautionary Principle is transparency and public participation. To that end, our website (www.mendoprecaution.org) has been an active portal for information related to our progress in Mendocino. Meetings are posted and are always open to the public. By the end of June 2007, the draft framework will be available for review. In addition, the Partnership strongly encourages public involvement in the upcoming pilot projects.