Posted on 01/13/2003 8:20:11 AM PST by snopercod
Edited on 04/12/2004 2:10:07 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Valley's lack of a plan to clean the air may delay San Joaquin plant.
The San Joaquin Valley's murky air could foul the future of a $550 million power plant that would supply one-third of Central California's electricity needs.
The California Energy Commission's staff, concerned about adding more pollution to the Valley's air, won't recommend licensing the power plant near San Joaquin in west Fresno County.
(Excerpt) Read more at fresnobee.com ...
And California blames other states for the high cost of their electricity.
Oooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...
WRONG!!
Someone doesn't have the slightest idea what he's talking about.
Not that it surprises us, though.
A state spokesman says Valley and federal officials need to settle a dispute over air pollution reduction before the Energy Commission staff will recommend the project. The clash highlights the rising profile of air quality issues in the Valley, which ranks among the three dirtiest air basins in the country. The Valley already faces federal deadlines and possibly a delay in billions of federal road-building dollars over missed cleanup deadlines.
But federal regulators say they haven't decided yet if they buy Calpine's arguments, and the state Energy Commission staff won't budge until there is a green light over air concerns from the federal government.
Some Valley credits date back to the late 1970s, and they haven't been accounted for as part of a pollution reduction plan, said Matt Haber, senior energy adviser for EPA. Without a full accounting, federal officials worry about reintroducing pollution into the Valley's air.
"We don't have a problem with Calpine's project -- there could be many ways to make it work," said Haber. "But we've been clear about what we want from the [San Joaquin] Valley Air Pollution Control District. Unless the district takes action on a plan, the old credits aren't usable."
Let's see if I understand this. The California Energy Commission is refusing to endorse/approve a needed power plant because the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District has done a sloppy job in accounting for pollution credits and EPA is going to hold their feet to the fire, since the air basin is polluted.
The California government solution is not to put pressure on The Valley Air Pollution Control District to get its act together. The Energy Commission is asking that EPA and the Air Pollution Distict reach some kind of accomodation. Then and only then will the Cal Energy Commission rule on the project.
Yes, don't put these power plants in California, because California has too much air pollution. Oh course California's air pollution regulators aren't managing the situation so it's not their fault. Then again California doesen't want to pay too much for its power. Finally, polluting powerplants, according to California politicians, are not to be built in Mexico,as they will cause too much pollution.
What a great observation! It is also about making sure that the environmental groups & gov. agencies looking good and looking like they are "doing something positive."
$18 million for some paperwork generated by an environmental bureaucracy. Greenbacks, you might say...
This is how economies die. Investment capital is soaked up by an artificially-created cost of doing business...
Question: does the $600/ton payment go to the "Kern County oilfield business" or to the bureaucrats of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District?
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Methinks it's more about maintaining a shortage so that their friends can collect. There really IS a reason Davis got all that campaign money you know.
California Parking Cash-Out and Federal Commuter Choice Programs
Carl Moyer Program (Incentives for Cleaner Heavy-Duty Engines)
Incentives for Cleaner Vehicles (Local, State and Federal)
Innovative Clean Air Technologies Program
Low-Emission School Bus Program
Rice Straw Demonstration Project Fund
Voluntary Accelerated Vehicle Retirement Program
Ignorance is rampant on this. Here in the Great Smokey Mountains, the trees themselves are the greatest cause of smog. (That's why they're called smokey mountains, duh...).
But the local politicos use the blue haze every summer to pass draconian laws against power plants.
As I suspected. The $18 million surcharge goes toward the care and feeding of the enviro-whackos and their pet causes.
In other words, extortion...
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