Letter to the Editor San Diego Union Tribune – published March 7, 2009
Are the Sunrise Powerlink notification rules designed to fail?
One must wonder how an entire community, including the Lakeside Planning Group, could not know that the Sunrise Powerlink was going to be placed in front of the community’s landmark, El Cajon Mountain or “El Cap”?
Do the notification rules allow a utility company to strategically mislead the public, similar to deceptive advertising tactics?
If you take a look at the notification letter allegedly sent (complex and vague), the method of sending it (not certified) and examine the notification requirements (extremely limited if you run it through a nature corridor), it explains how virtually an entire community could be kept in the dark until after it was approved.
At minimum, the lack of awareness by virtually an entire community is shocking and is compelling evidence that the notification rules were not followed or are not effective or meaningful and need to be changed, or at worst, that the rules are intentionally designed to play a “gotcha.”
I believe it is fundamentally wrong for something this important to an entire community to be decided without ensuring that there is effective and meaningful disclosure and notification during the decision-making process. It is a slap in the face to Lakeside, and to any community that has a community land-use plan they believed would be protecting a designated scenic corridor, only to find that this made that land an easy target for SDG&E to avoid meaningful or effective notification.
This sent in by one of our participants – He noted that in this interview, Dave Geier, SDG&E VP of Electric Transmission and Distribution (DGeier@SempraUtilities.com) said that SDG&E could do more to bury powerlines on the Channel 6 news story. He suggests we all send him an email about El Monte Valley and the need to bury the powerlines (western end) where the fire risk is greatest…. as the SDG&E spokesman said, “a strategic decision”.
If anyone is interested there is a “Sustainable Julian” workshop on Saturday March 21 1PM at the Julian Library. 1850 Highway 78.
There should be some great information presented here on why we don’t need these huge transmission lines at all.
The more people become aware of the alternatives, the harder time the utility companies are going to have ramrodding these types of projects through.
I don’t think burying the powerlink is any better of a solution than having it above ground, unless your only concern is visual. If they bury it, they will rip up much more land and chaparral than they would if they had it above ground. And there are other areas where it would be impossible to bury it without completely razing the mountain tops. They’re way too rugged for burying without creating alot of destruction to these areas.
This project has to be stopped. It’s the only way to protect the environment and protect us from fire. Because of the problems of the rugged terrain they would still use towers in these areas. Areas that are extremely at risk of fire because SDG&E is stretching the line through unburned, pristine sections of the county rather than older established routes that they already have, or along the I-8 median.
We live in the Carveacre community which is south of Alpine, south of Japatul Rd. We live in a bowl, sort of, with ridges on the east, west, north and south side of us. This line will run on Gaskill Peak to the west of us and along the ridge to the north of us, near Hidden Glen Rd. This will effectively prevent us from getting any air support for fire suppression if there was a wildfire or if their lines started a fire. Because they can’t fly in such a limited area with wires that will not only be 180′ tall, but add that to the height of the ridgetops they will be placed on. We happen to be at the end of a dead end road 1.6 mi. south of Japatul Rd. If the fire comes from the north, we’re trapped. I’m really not in the mood to get fried.
Hi Sherie… I agree with you, particularly since even the CPUC determined that these lines were not needed to meet our energy needs, now or in the future. It will do horrific environmental damage, and it is not even necessary. I loved your sign at the SDG&E Alpine open house….. SDG&E – Shameless Destruction of a Green Environment!
Hi #5, I wasn’t aware that the CPUC determined that these lines were not needed? If that’s the case, then why ever would they have ok’ed the project?? It’s insane. The time is perfect to push something like this through because of the ‘renewable energy’ and the infrastructure angle they’re using, maybe?
Thanks, about the sign, who are you?!
There is more info on the CPUC Administrative Law Judge ruling that determined these lines were not needed under the tab, “Alternatives”. Please watch the speech by Dianne Jacob in the Alternatives section too. It is quite shocking.
Tom York, the editor for the San Diego Business Journal, recently published an op-ed piece where he attempted to smear the residents and business owners of San Diego’s East County with the same broad brush he might use to paint pink, the ELF gang. However, we business owners and residents in the East County take offense to this thoughtless attack.
With his lack of consideration for the rate payers who live in the East County over the concern and well-being of SDG&E and SEMPRA, it would appear that he knows which side his bread is buttered. After all, one gets the distinct notion after reading his article that the rate payers should have no comment, nor concern as to what SDG&E and SEMPRA try to sneak over on them. In fact, according to his article, he appears to think it a great act of magnanimity that SDG&E and SEMPRA used $125 million of the rate payers own money to obfuscate the Southern route of their project to even the local fire district of Lakeside.
Yet his big concern is the, paltry by comparison, figure of $2.7 million which the rate payers requested for compensation as prescribed by the CPUC’s own rules and laws, when a utility company is proven to have broken the laws and rules. SDG&E and SEMPRA were recently fined over $1 million by the CPUC for withholding information regarding the southern route.
Tom then goes on to call those who are the watchdogs of the public, “so-called “intervenors”. It looks like what he “forgot” to include is that Intervenor status and rules are part of the PUC’s own rules and law put in place for just such an event. What he also “forgets” to include is that these intervenors are working on the behalf of countless residents and business owners who live in the East County. A lot of them donate their own time and money to help home and business owners shine light onto the travesties foisted upon them by a machine that uses the rate payers own resources against them.
He talks about our politicians in Sacramento and wonders whether they really do care about their constituent’s plights or are they only thinking of the money. I tell you what, if they only wanted the money, they would be accepting the big handouts that SDG&E and SEMPRA gave to the likes of the East County Chamber of Commerce who proudly boasts that they had a big hand in getting the project approved. By the way, SDG&E is at the “Chairman’s Club” level on the board of the East County Chamber of Commerce. This is highest donation level one can have.
Why don’t you go ask the business owners in Alpine or Lakeside if they think this line is a good idea. And then square that with whose interests it looks as though the “East County” Chamber of Commerce are supporting. In fact, there isn’t a politician in the East County who would be able to win another election if they supported this thing. But that is not why they are against it also. They are against it because they have an understanding of the facts about this line that Mr. York appears to be neither willing nor able to comprehend.
When the next fire in our back country turns into another fire storm because it can’t properly be fought under the lines and/or because the air tankers approach to El Capitan Reservoir is hampered, or when the business along Alpine Boulevard begin to have to shut down because no one can get to them once the street is torn up, or when the business in Lakeside start to lose revenue because the allure of El Monte Valley just isn’t there any more because of it looking like and industrial park instead, will he be so glib, then.
What will he tell his East County subscribers when the para-gliders, bicyclists, boaters, fisherman, campers, artists, photographers and hikers no longer frequent the restaurants, bars and shops because of torn up streets that block access to them, or blocked off roads, or just the plain fact that the pristine beauty of El Cajon Mountain will now have the visual equivalent of twenty-story tall industrial, buzzing and crackling, building skeletons strewn across it?
What will he tell the homeowners, many of whom own business, when their property values drop by up to 50%?
Then, once that happens, and the homeowners get their homes devalued, and then they have to pay less taxes to the county because of it, then the county has to lay off folks, and then business lay off more folks, and then his subscription base declines; all because of a power line that is not needed nor wanted.
Worse, yet, what kind of haughty, snide tone will he take with the family of the next fire victim as a result of this line?
These intervenors are necessary. They are the voice we should have had in the first place, had proper communication been given to those who would be affected by the power link.
I’m guessing Mr. York probably does not live in the East County, however. I’m guessing that lives somewhere near the beach where there is a lot of sand for him to put his head.
Just saw the Turko files about Jody. What happened to the “It Ain’t Right!” from Turko?? He didn’t exactly take much of a stand.
And the guy that they spoke to, Brian somebody from SDG&E, who said they don’t do those kind of heavy handed tactics, he actually looks eerily like the guy at the CPUC meeting in Alpine about turning off the power. This guy was wearing a white suit and spoke in SDG&E’s favor. We left during his speech (it was bullshit) and he left immediately thereafter, so when we saw him, I asked him if he was an SDG&E employee, he said “Oh golly, no!” If it’s the same guy, he’s just another lying face of SDG&E.
If there’s any complete video of that meeting, I’d sure like to go back and see if it’s the same guy.
I thought it was wonderful.. especially when SDG&E spokesperson studdered as he tried to explain that they don’t intentionally threaten property owners with immediate arrest and jail…. how to you accidently do that? Funny.
Powerlink in the News
Energy Industry Icon Curbs Controversial California/Arizona … – InvestorIdeas.com (press release)
This article is long and tedious but this Miller guy is a force to be contended with and is against SRPL and other “renewable” projects because they are not viable economically. It is an article worth reading.
One take-away from a recent seminar on writing comments on these projects was that any water is significant. Long story short, Please take a drive, hike, bike, and take pictures of water. Any Water. The little streams that only show up this time of year are very significant. Take pictures and send them to the Forest Service. After Feinstein’s outrageous comments they are needed now more than ever.
“WILL” YOU — Please? A plea to my fellows in this fight….
We are all beyond alarmed at the approval of this project. The recent views along I-8 are heartbreaking to see. Yes we are angry when our government claims a new era of green energy, and a new era of responsible management of wild places and yet we live this hypocrisy. I’m right there with you. I’ve been documenting for a decade, for the proposed California Wild Heritage Act, that seeks to protect many of the same places that the Sunrise Powerlink would destroy. I’ve done so without a penny of pay or reimbursement though I’ve lost more than I want to admit, in money , time to cultivate skills at work, and most especially away from friends and family. Many of you have too and we all know to do otherwise would have been unthinkable.
******Nevertheless, it crucial to point out a very, very serious issue. ******
It is the decision, the fine-tooth-ness of the law, the politics of an agency, subordinated by another agency, subordinated by yet another agency.
Not the man.
It is the line, not the actual people putting up the actual line. WE have been through much, Do not criminalize yourself on top of it all. It proves nothing. it accomplishes nothing. It fact it cripples our ability to communicate and to act. If you are angry, by all means say so, say so often, write them, write us, don’t isolate. You are in very good company. If you are angry by all means write the Forest Service and tell them so, the more and the more often the better, but do so honestly and forthright.
Passive aggressive threats against individuals just pulls us into the same dirty pool we oppose. “They” would like nothing more than to discredit us. If you threaten you compromise the integrity of all of us and our efforts. Please, please, find other ways. WE need your help.
I believe in my heart of hearts that most of the people in these agencies are far and away more in agreement with us than we know,–right up to the man that had to make the decision. I know him, I’ve hiked with him, I’ve talked with him in limited capacity, about this project. He is a professional bound by law, but I still have my girl card and I don’t believe for a nano second that this is his decision.
He said it was, he put it out front specifically that it was.
Not a rolling snowball’s chance.
Why would he do this? Without question I believe it was to draw the fire from his employees putting himself at risk instead of them. It is a position I have to respect and admire. Please consider that this is the largest energy related project of its kind in California history, and the most controversial, in one of the largest states in the union, and often the most controversial, in one of the richest, most powerful nations on earth, and most controversial.
The Forest Supervisor had never been a supervisor until now.
When the CPUC approved the line in December 18, 2008 just days later, and hours before Obama was sworn in, this project went from a regional insurance policy to a national- prototype- savior –of- the- world- from- global- warming.
Do you really think these people put Will Mets in charge of this decision?
Do you really think they would leave ANYTHING like a rookie forest supervisor to chance?
The money could well have gone from 2 billion dollars to half a trillion over night.
This would be like giving someone their learner’s permit on a Ford Escort and forcing them to drive a Harley Davidson a thousand miles with the Hells Angels. My guess is he wishes he had been provided that alternative.
Did his bosses at the top of the food chain weigh in? Not a chance. They stated in front of the senate appropriations committee that they “had a pile of letters on their desk” -FROM US! But could they do anything either? I doubt it.
Finally, after all of this time, 5 years at least, at long last we are in court where we can only hope real decisions are made. This is a NEPA issue among other things. I doubt in every way imaginable it is tied to one person much less one person in this county. The jury is out. Please Please let them stay there. Do not threaten or harass our Forest Service or actual “worker-bees” on this project. It will only hurt the difficult chance that we have.
When I was confronted by this issue with absolute horror, albeit tears, I went to the internet looking for what I knew had to be there. It was not hard to find. What does the real Will do when given a real chance to do his job? Fortunately in the case of Forest Supervisors their lives are public and their decisions are easily found on line. This is mostly speculation, except for one thing. One of the issues I found there was a former district ranger, a veteran of the peace corps, letting a company in Northern California know in no uncertain terms that their proposed “NOI (notice of intent) ” or project would compromise the substrate, inhibiting fish populations in wild streams there from laying viable eggs. Does this sensitive nitty- gritty decision sound like the same guy that just approved a trench through the backcountry?
Night and Day.
In 2009 the state attorney general’s office (now our Governor) filed a comment on the SEERS enhancement to some Navy Seals Training facilities saying “don’t forget we are considering large scale green energy facilities in the area”. –Are you kkkkkiddddding me???? I wonder what the Navy has to say about the state directive over their plans? For what its worth, do you think our forest supervisor is under some really unusual pressure?
There was one moment, however, that I don’t speculate, I know, I was there. I was there on the side of Boulder Creek in a small pool with two other friends and Will Metz. All of a sudden there was no Forest Service, no SDG&E, no Sierra Club, no power line. There was “a nine year old” and a trout. Nothing else.
There was a sudden and brief exclamation, “Is that a trout?!!”
I stuttered out of a daze. The forest supervisor is asking me to identify a fish, ..huh?, will you please repea….
The moment was gone, he was a supervisor again, but the child was never forgotten. It was an instant, one I’m very grateful to have shared. I suspect that the real Will would rather be there, he would stand up for the very sensitive standards of trout breeding waters, he would rather be fishing with nine years olds, he would, given a genuinely effective chance, risk his own safety to protect his team. Those are qualities I would ratify in an instant if it were possible. We may never know. I want the chance to find out. Please don’t take it away.
And to address the many musings and explicative’s about greasing the palms of power line proponents. I do not know, but I can say from experience, that all Federal Employees and subcontractors take online training every year on “doing business in the public sector” and “bribery in the Federal Government” , Contracts, etc etc. I can only say that if it goes on and we assume it does, it happens on a short leash. I tried speaking up against an employer once. Amidst all the good ‘ol boys that claim to stand up or die for what they believed in, I’m the only one I know that did. It went badly, it went very badly, suffice to say that the department called ethics and compliance, – isn’t. With a half a trillion in the balance, one man doesn’t have a chance.
Please help me ensure that better days are ahead. Communicate loud and often, but don’t let them make you one of them. The jury is out, right where it needs to be.
Sincerely,
Cindy Buxton
CoChair of the Forest Committee of the San Diego Chapter of the Sierra Club
Adoptive Parent of the proposed Eagle Peak Wilderness
Member and big Fan of the Protect Our Communities -as well as the Forest
Letter to the Editor San Diego Union Tribune – published March 7, 2009
Are the Sunrise Powerlink notification rules designed to fail?
One must wonder how an entire community, including the Lakeside Planning Group, could not know that the Sunrise Powerlink was going to be placed in front of the community’s landmark, El Cajon Mountain or “El Cap”?
Do the notification rules allow a utility company to strategically mislead the public, similar to deceptive advertising tactics?
If you take a look at the notification letter allegedly sent (complex and vague), the method of sending it (not certified) and examine the notification requirements (extremely limited if you run it through a nature corridor), it explains how virtually an entire community could be kept in the dark until after it was approved.
At minimum, the lack of awareness by virtually an entire community is shocking and is compelling evidence that the notification rules were not followed or are not effective or meaningful and need to be changed, or at worst, that the rules are intentionally designed to play a “gotcha.”
I believe it is fundamentally wrong for something this important to an entire community to be decided without ensuring that there is effective and meaningful disclosure and notification during the decision-making process. It is a slap in the face to Lakeside, and to any community that has a community land-use plan they believed would be protecting a designated scenic corridor, only to find that this made that land an easy target for SDG&E to avoid meaningful or effective notification.
LAURA CYPHERT
Lakeside
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/mar/07/mz1ez7letter201130-local-letters/?opinion
This sent in by one of our participants – He noted that in this interview, Dave Geier, SDG&E VP of Electric Transmission and Distribution (DGeier@SempraUtilities.com) said that SDG&E could do more to bury powerlines on the Channel 6 news story. He suggests we all send him an email about El Monte Valley and the need to bury the powerlines (western end) where the fire risk is greatest…. as the SDG&E spokesman said, “a strategic decision”.
If anyone is interested there is a “Sustainable Julian” workshop on Saturday March 21 1PM at the Julian Library. 1850 Highway 78.
There should be some great information presented here on why we don’t need these huge transmission lines at all.
The more people become aware of the alternatives, the harder time the utility companies are going to have ramrodding these types of projects through.
I don’t think burying the powerlink is any better of a solution than having it above ground, unless your only concern is visual. If they bury it, they will rip up much more land and chaparral than they would if they had it above ground. And there are other areas where it would be impossible to bury it without completely razing the mountain tops. They’re way too rugged for burying without creating alot of destruction to these areas.
This project has to be stopped. It’s the only way to protect the environment and protect us from fire. Because of the problems of the rugged terrain they would still use towers in these areas. Areas that are extremely at risk of fire because SDG&E is stretching the line through unburned, pristine sections of the county rather than older established routes that they already have, or along the I-8 median.
We live in the Carveacre community which is south of Alpine, south of Japatul Rd. We live in a bowl, sort of, with ridges on the east, west, north and south side of us. This line will run on Gaskill Peak to the west of us and along the ridge to the north of us, near Hidden Glen Rd. This will effectively prevent us from getting any air support for fire suppression if there was a wildfire or if their lines started a fire. Because they can’t fly in such a limited area with wires that will not only be 180′ tall, but add that to the height of the ridgetops they will be placed on. We happen to be at the end of a dead end road 1.6 mi. south of Japatul Rd. If the fire comes from the north, we’re trapped. I’m really not in the mood to get fried.
NO POWERLINK, NO COMPROMISE.
Hi Sherie… I agree with you, particularly since even the CPUC determined that these lines were not needed to meet our energy needs, now or in the future. It will do horrific environmental damage, and it is not even necessary. I loved your sign at the SDG&E Alpine open house….. SDG&E – Shameless Destruction of a Green Environment!
Hi #5, I wasn’t aware that the CPUC determined that these lines were not needed? If that’s the case, then why ever would they have ok’ed the project?? It’s insane. The time is perfect to push something like this through because of the ‘renewable energy’ and the infrastructure angle they’re using, maybe?
Thanks, about the sign, who are you?!
There is more info on the CPUC Administrative Law Judge ruling that determined these lines were not needed under the tab, “Alternatives”. Please watch the speech by Dianne Jacob in the Alternatives section too. It is quite shocking.
Tom York, the editor for the San Diego Business Journal, recently published an op-ed piece where he attempted to smear the residents and business owners of San Diego’s East County with the same broad brush he might use to paint pink, the ELF gang. However, we business owners and residents in the East County take offense to this thoughtless attack.
With his lack of consideration for the rate payers who live in the East County over the concern and well-being of SDG&E and SEMPRA, it would appear that he knows which side his bread is buttered. After all, one gets the distinct notion after reading his article that the rate payers should have no comment, nor concern as to what SDG&E and SEMPRA try to sneak over on them. In fact, according to his article, he appears to think it a great act of magnanimity that SDG&E and SEMPRA used $125 million of the rate payers own money to obfuscate the Southern route of their project to even the local fire district of Lakeside.
Yet his big concern is the, paltry by comparison, figure of $2.7 million which the rate payers requested for compensation as prescribed by the CPUC’s own rules and laws, when a utility company is proven to have broken the laws and rules. SDG&E and SEMPRA were recently fined over $1 million by the CPUC for withholding information regarding the southern route.
Tom then goes on to call those who are the watchdogs of the public, “so-called “intervenors”. It looks like what he “forgot” to include is that Intervenor status and rules are part of the PUC’s own rules and law put in place for just such an event. What he also “forgets” to include is that these intervenors are working on the behalf of countless residents and business owners who live in the East County. A lot of them donate their own time and money to help home and business owners shine light onto the travesties foisted upon them by a machine that uses the rate payers own resources against them.
He talks about our politicians in Sacramento and wonders whether they really do care about their constituent’s plights or are they only thinking of the money. I tell you what, if they only wanted the money, they would be accepting the big handouts that SDG&E and SEMPRA gave to the likes of the East County Chamber of Commerce who proudly boasts that they had a big hand in getting the project approved. By the way, SDG&E is at the “Chairman’s Club” level on the board of the East County Chamber of Commerce. This is highest donation level one can have.
Why don’t you go ask the business owners in Alpine or Lakeside if they think this line is a good idea. And then square that with whose interests it looks as though the “East County” Chamber of Commerce are supporting. In fact, there isn’t a politician in the East County who would be able to win another election if they supported this thing. But that is not why they are against it also. They are against it because they have an understanding of the facts about this line that Mr. York appears to be neither willing nor able to comprehend.
When the next fire in our back country turns into another fire storm because it can’t properly be fought under the lines and/or because the air tankers approach to El Capitan Reservoir is hampered, or when the business along Alpine Boulevard begin to have to shut down because no one can get to them once the street is torn up, or when the business in Lakeside start to lose revenue because the allure of El Monte Valley just isn’t there any more because of it looking like and industrial park instead, will he be so glib, then.
What will he tell his East County subscribers when the para-gliders, bicyclists, boaters, fisherman, campers, artists, photographers and hikers no longer frequent the restaurants, bars and shops because of torn up streets that block access to them, or blocked off roads, or just the plain fact that the pristine beauty of El Cajon Mountain will now have the visual equivalent of twenty-story tall industrial, buzzing and crackling, building skeletons strewn across it?
What will he tell the homeowners, many of whom own business, when their property values drop by up to 50%?
Then, once that happens, and the homeowners get their homes devalued, and then they have to pay less taxes to the county because of it, then the county has to lay off folks, and then business lay off more folks, and then his subscription base declines; all because of a power line that is not needed nor wanted.
Worse, yet, what kind of haughty, snide tone will he take with the family of the next fire victim as a result of this line?
These intervenors are necessary. They are the voice we should have had in the first place, had proper communication been given to those who would be affected by the power link.
I’m guessing Mr. York probably does not live in the East County, however. I’m guessing that lives somewhere near the beach where there is a lot of sand for him to put his head.
Do you have a petition written up for us to circulate yet? All we need is a Word document and we can print out our own sets. Or even cut and paste.
Just saw the Turko files about Jody. What happened to the “It Ain’t Right!” from Turko?? He didn’t exactly take much of a stand.
And the guy that they spoke to, Brian somebody from SDG&E, who said they don’t do those kind of heavy handed tactics, he actually looks eerily like the guy at the CPUC meeting in Alpine about turning off the power. This guy was wearing a white suit and spoke in SDG&E’s favor. We left during his speech (it was bullshit) and he left immediately thereafter, so when we saw him, I asked him if he was an SDG&E employee, he said “Oh golly, no!” If it’s the same guy, he’s just another lying face of SDG&E.
If there’s any complete video of that meeting, I’d sure like to go back and see if it’s the same guy.
I thought it was wonderful.. especially when SDG&E spokesperson studdered as he tried to explain that they don’t intentionally threaten property owners with immediate arrest and jail…. how to you accidently do that? Funny.
Powerlink in the News
Energy Industry Icon Curbs Controversial California/Arizona … – InvestorIdeas.com (press release)
This article is long and tedious but this Miller guy is a force to be contended with and is against SRPL and other “renewable” projects because they are not viable economically. It is an article worth reading.
One take-away from a recent seminar on writing comments on these projects was that any water is significant. Long story short, Please take a drive, hike, bike, and take pictures of water. Any Water. The little streams that only show up this time of year are very significant. Take pictures and send them to the Forest Service. After Feinstein’s outrageous comments they are needed now more than ever.
You can now find us on FACEBOOK – Search for STOP the Sunrise Powerlink and Save El Cap.
“WILL” YOU — Please? A plea to my fellows in this fight….
We are all beyond alarmed at the approval of this project. The recent views along I-8 are heartbreaking to see. Yes we are angry when our government claims a new era of green energy, and a new era of responsible management of wild places and yet we live this hypocrisy. I’m right there with you. I’ve been documenting for a decade, for the proposed California Wild Heritage Act, that seeks to protect many of the same places that the Sunrise Powerlink would destroy. I’ve done so without a penny of pay or reimbursement though I’ve lost more than I want to admit, in money , time to cultivate skills at work, and most especially away from friends and family. Many of you have too and we all know to do otherwise would have been unthinkable.
******Nevertheless, it crucial to point out a very, very serious issue. ******
It is the decision, the fine-tooth-ness of the law, the politics of an agency, subordinated by another agency, subordinated by yet another agency.
Not the man.
It is the line, not the actual people putting up the actual line. WE have been through much, Do not criminalize yourself on top of it all. It proves nothing. it accomplishes nothing. It fact it cripples our ability to communicate and to act. If you are angry, by all means say so, say so often, write them, write us, don’t isolate. You are in very good company. If you are angry by all means write the Forest Service and tell them so, the more and the more often the better, but do so honestly and forthright.
Passive aggressive threats against individuals just pulls us into the same dirty pool we oppose. “They” would like nothing more than to discredit us. If you threaten you compromise the integrity of all of us and our efforts. Please, please, find other ways. WE need your help.
I believe in my heart of hearts that most of the people in these agencies are far and away more in agreement with us than we know,–right up to the man that had to make the decision. I know him, I’ve hiked with him, I’ve talked with him in limited capacity, about this project. He is a professional bound by law, but I still have my girl card and I don’t believe for a nano second that this is his decision.
He said it was, he put it out front specifically that it was.
Not a rolling snowball’s chance.
Why would he do this? Without question I believe it was to draw the fire from his employees putting himself at risk instead of them. It is a position I have to respect and admire. Please consider that this is the largest energy related project of its kind in California history, and the most controversial, in one of the largest states in the union, and often the most controversial, in one of the richest, most powerful nations on earth, and most controversial.
The Forest Supervisor had never been a supervisor until now.
When the CPUC approved the line in December 18, 2008 just days later, and hours before Obama was sworn in, this project went from a regional insurance policy to a national- prototype- savior –of- the- world- from- global- warming.
Do you really think these people put Will Mets in charge of this decision?
Do you really think they would leave ANYTHING like a rookie forest supervisor to chance?
The money could well have gone from 2 billion dollars to half a trillion over night.
This would be like giving someone their learner’s permit on a Ford Escort and forcing them to drive a Harley Davidson a thousand miles with the Hells Angels. My guess is he wishes he had been provided that alternative.
Did his bosses at the top of the food chain weigh in? Not a chance. They stated in front of the senate appropriations committee that they “had a pile of letters on their desk” -FROM US! But could they do anything either? I doubt it.
Finally, after all of this time, 5 years at least, at long last we are in court where we can only hope real decisions are made. This is a NEPA issue among other things. I doubt in every way imaginable it is tied to one person much less one person in this county. The jury is out. Please Please let them stay there. Do not threaten or harass our Forest Service or actual “worker-bees” on this project. It will only hurt the difficult chance that we have.
When I was confronted by this issue with absolute horror, albeit tears, I went to the internet looking for what I knew had to be there. It was not hard to find. What does the real Will do when given a real chance to do his job? Fortunately in the case of Forest Supervisors their lives are public and their decisions are easily found on line. This is mostly speculation, except for one thing. One of the issues I found there was a former district ranger, a veteran of the peace corps, letting a company in Northern California know in no uncertain terms that their proposed “NOI (notice of intent) ” or project would compromise the substrate, inhibiting fish populations in wild streams there from laying viable eggs. Does this sensitive nitty- gritty decision sound like the same guy that just approved a trench through the backcountry?
Night and Day.
In 2009 the state attorney general’s office (now our Governor) filed a comment on the SEERS enhancement to some Navy Seals Training facilities saying “don’t forget we are considering large scale green energy facilities in the area”. –Are you kkkkkiddddding me???? I wonder what the Navy has to say about the state directive over their plans? For what its worth, do you think our forest supervisor is under some really unusual pressure?
There was one moment, however, that I don’t speculate, I know, I was there. I was there on the side of Boulder Creek in a small pool with two other friends and Will Metz. All of a sudden there was no Forest Service, no SDG&E, no Sierra Club, no power line. There was “a nine year old” and a trout. Nothing else.
There was a sudden and brief exclamation, “Is that a trout?!!”
I stuttered out of a daze. The forest supervisor is asking me to identify a fish, ..huh?, will you please repea….
The moment was gone, he was a supervisor again, but the child was never forgotten. It was an instant, one I’m very grateful to have shared. I suspect that the real Will would rather be there, he would stand up for the very sensitive standards of trout breeding waters, he would rather be fishing with nine years olds, he would, given a genuinely effective chance, risk his own safety to protect his team. Those are qualities I would ratify in an instant if it were possible. We may never know. I want the chance to find out. Please don’t take it away.
And to address the many musings and explicative’s about greasing the palms of power line proponents. I do not know, but I can say from experience, that all Federal Employees and subcontractors take online training every year on “doing business in the public sector” and “bribery in the Federal Government” , Contracts, etc etc. I can only say that if it goes on and we assume it does, it happens on a short leash. I tried speaking up against an employer once. Amidst all the good ‘ol boys that claim to stand up or die for what they believed in, I’m the only one I know that did. It went badly, it went very badly, suffice to say that the department called ethics and compliance, – isn’t. With a half a trillion in the balance, one man doesn’t have a chance.
Please help me ensure that better days are ahead. Communicate loud and often, but don’t let them make you one of them. The jury is out, right where it needs to be.
Sincerely,
Cindy Buxton
CoChair of the Forest Committee of the San Diego Chapter of the Sierra Club
Adoptive Parent of the proposed Eagle Peak Wilderness
Member and big Fan of the Protect Our Communities -as well as the Forest