BOULEVARD PLANNERS HAVE POWER-PACKED AGENDA: BIG ENERGY AND WATER ISSUES ON TAP THURSDAY

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By Miriam Raftery

May 2, 2016 (Boulevard) – Jacumba Solar, Tule Wind, a county presentation on groundwater monitoring, updates on lawsuits over big energy projects and discussion of Live Oak Springs water rate hikes are among the many important items on the Boulevard Planning Group’s agenda for its meeting Thursday, May 5 at 7 p.m. in the Boulevard Fire Training Room (39923 Ribbonwood Road in Boulevard). For the full agenda, click here. For highlights, scroll down.

There are two action items.  Planners will determine whether to submit comments on NextEra Energy’s industrial-scale Jacumba Solar project’s major use permit before the County Planning Commission sets for May 20th.  Boulevard’s planning members will also consider whether to comment on a draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the County’s proposed Agriculture Promotion Ordinance and General Plan Amendment.

The agenda also includes 16 discussion-only items, including many major projects proposed or in process in San Diego’s backcountry areas.

Among the most significant is a report by County groundwater geologist Jim Bennett on a groundwater monitoring program. 

The County will also make a presentation on its Climate Action Plan.  In addition planners will hear a Revitalization report and a Fire Safe Council report.

Another item of interest will be discussion of the Live Oak Springs water rate increase and bulk water sales that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved on April 7th provided key conditions are met by the troubled water company.

There are several agenda items with updates on Tule Wind, the massive and controversial wind project slated for federal, state, tribal and county lands in McCain Valley.  The CPUC approved a power purchase agreement April 21st.  Boulevard Planning Group Chair Donna Tisdale will give an update on an April 6th court hearing at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals challenging Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approvals of Tule Wind, which has been consolidated with another case.  A public hearing is set for June 28th in Sacramento for Tule Wind’s lease application for Phase II wind turbines, rods and infrastructure proposed for State Lands Commission lands abutting the Manzanita reservation and Cleveland National Forest, when the commission will vote on the lease application and land appraisal report.  Meanwhile the U.S. District Court on March 29th dismissed a federal lawsuit filed by Protect Our Communities Foundation challenging the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ 2013 approval of 20 wind turbines and infrastructure on Ewiiaapaayp tribal lands for Tule Wind Phase II.  The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has determined that Tule Wind phase 1 and II are separate projects for purposes of the Eagle Act take permit as permit work continues.  To comply with a court order, USFWS has reinstated 5-year permits pending a formal National Environmental Policy Act environmental review process.

Rough Acres Ranch campground/conference center application and a major grading permit at Rough Acres Ranch Road are also on the agenda. So is an update on Soitec’s Rugged Solar and Tierra Del Sol solar projects, which the company is seeking to sell off after pulling out of the solar business.  Water sales to Soitec by Rough Acres Water Company and Pine Valley Mutual Water Company have been cancelled.

Boulevard’s planners will also discuss San Diego Gas & Electric Company’s master special use permit/permit to construct application to replace thousands of wooden poles with taller steel poles with potential for an estimated 4-5 times increased carry capacity, according to the agenda item.  The project, which would also use 5-10 million gallons of water a year for 5 years of construction, was approved by the U.S. Forest Service and will be heard by the CPUC on May 26th, when the final EIR/EIS will be voted on.


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