|
| ||
|
Associated Press March 13, 2001
Other Press Coverage: Riverside Press-Enterprise, 3/14/01 See Also: For more information, contact:
|
Power-Plant Protest: Opponents protest proposed desert power plant BLYTHE, Calif. (AP) - Environmentalists, farmworkers and community groups on Tuesday protested plans to build a 520-megawatt power plant in this farming town along the Colorado River. It's the latest example of California communities opposing construction of new power plants, despite what state energy officials say is a statewide shortfall in energy supplies. The Blythe protest was aimed at persuading the City Council to withdraw its support for the proposed Blythe Energy Project. Opponents also wanted a Friday California Energy Commission hearing on the plant to be held in Blythe, rather than Sacramento. A final decision on the plant could come by March 21. The commission denied a request by Carmella Garnica, a Blythe child-care center director and project opponent, to switch locations for the hearing. "It's almost as if our human rights are being trampled over regardless of what we think," Garnica said. Residents of Blythe, in the southeastern California desert along the Arizona border, still will be able to participate via teleconference. The Energy Commission said it has tried to inform all Blythe-area residents about the proposal, including meetings there in May, July and November. Commission staff concluded the plant will not significantly affect air quality, groundwater or the area's farming capacity. "The irony is, we're in one of the sunniest places on earth," said Greenaction executive director Bradley Angel, who disagrees with the commission's conclusions. "If we need more power- which we're not convinced of -let's use the sun." The proposal is one of 13 major power plant projects before the commission. The state's energy shortage has prompted Gov. Gray Davis to order the commission to speed up the approval process without skirting environmental rules. Despite the state's attempts to speed plant construction, several proposals are meeting with fierce community opposition. In the predominantly minority city of South Gate southeast of Los Angeles, a hunger strike by the mayor preceded a nonbinding initiative in which voters said no to a power plant proposal. The builder has since asked that the approval process be suspended. Residents in Temecula's wine country are fighting plans to build power lines nearby and near the Cleveland National Forest. |