CLEARLAKE, Calif. – As the result of a decision at its Sept. 22 meeting, the Clearlake City Council has joined the county of Lake and the city of Lakeport in calling on California's governor to declare a statewide emergency regarding invasive and damaging mussels.

In the unanimous vote taken last week, the Clearlake City Council supported a proposed resolution asking Gov. Jerry Brown to take the action because of the infestation of Dreissenid mussels in some of California's water bodies.

In presenting the resolution to the council, Clearlake City Clerk Melissa Swanson said preventing the mussels has been a major focus for the county and city governments.

Dreissenids are more familiar by their other names – quagga and zebra mussels.

The mussels have caused environmental damages in water bodies in the eastern United States before they began to arrive in Southern California over the last several years.

Local officials have continued to work on programs to protect local lakes, which are a linchpin of the county's tourist industry.

The resolution Clearlake's council accepted last Thursday mirrors resolutions passed over the last month and a half by the Board of Supervisors and the Lakeport City Council.

After the Clear Lake Advisory Committee urged the county's supervisors in July to implement a countywide state of emergency, the board instead suggested that the most meaningful and impactful action would be at the state level.

On Aug. 9, the board approved the resolution calling for the statewide emergency.

Since then, county leaders have met with state officials to urge a statewide approach.

The Lakeport City Council approved its own resolution calling for the statewide emergency at a special Aug. 30 meeting.

“The board has asked the council to consider adopting a similar resolution,” Swanson told the council Sept. 22.

In addition to calling for a statewide emergency, the document urges the state to enact legislation to give local jurisdictions the same enforcements powers as the California Department of Fish and Game when it comes to tagging and quarantining boats that are believed to be infestation risks.

The document also seeks to increase prevention of the mussels through programs that could be funded by watercraft registration fees; calls for implementation of a statewide program that acknowledges watercraft as a vector for disease; encourages collaboration among all local jurisdictions and the state;

and proposes aggressive education campaigns, quarantines of boats leaving infested areas, and maintaining and increasing border inspections.

Vice Mayor Joey Luiz moved the resolution, which was approved 4-0. Council member Judy Thein was absent from the meeting.

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092211 Clearlake City Council - Dreissenid Mussels Declaration