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By BRIANNA LUSK, Staff Writer Sunday, December 17, 2006 12:56 AM PST In a remote corner of Imperial County, an indiscriminate parcel of land is the proposed site for a project that has caused uproar in the Northend.
Removed from the bustle of the central cities and out of sight for most residents, some say it’s hard to believe anyone would be opposed to development in the area.
But the idea of having sludge trucked in 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to be incinerated to generate power, for some, is too much to swallow.
Community organizations have cropped up against the construction of Liberty XX, a proposed sludge-to-energy plant brought forward by Liberty Energy that would be built four miles northwest of Niland.
Councils and residents in the north end of the county are speaking up in volumes against the plant while Liberty officials continue to reach out for support.
With the permitting process under way, it could be up to a year before a decision is made on the plant by the Imperial County Planning Commission.
Although it is up to county officials to make the decision, will the opinion of Northend residents and elected officials sway the vote?
NORTH END SPEAKS UP
The Westmorland City Council is the most recent city governing body to take a stand against the Liberty XX project. Passing a resolution with a 4-0 vote, the Westmorland council joined the Calipatria council as the two Northend bodies that have taken a position.
For Westmorland City Councilman Henry Graham, the voice of the residents was the deciding factor.
“It was pretty obvious they’re saying they don’t want it,” Graham said.
Residents for Health and Safety First, activists against the plant, have made rounds of presentations and drafted the resolutions passed recently.
A petition with more than 1,000 signatures, submitted to the council, weighed heavily on Graham’s mind. In his opinion, voting with the people that elected him, he said, is more important than business.
“I’m not voted into office to represent myself,” Graham said. “Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that we represent the people and they’re the ones that speak for us.”
The Brawley council delayed a vote on the resolution and has decided to wait until the environmental impact report for the proposed plant is generated, which will address issues relating to emissions, transportation and other factors of the plant.
Wilson Nolan, chief executive officer for Liberty Energy, submitted letters to the councils requesting a delayed vote until the EIR is released.
“I think it would be too early to make a decision,” Nolan said, adding there is a strong underlying interest in the project.
LIBERTY’S VALLEY HISTORY
This isn’t the first time Liberty Energy has faced public opposition to a proposed project.
In fact, this is the third project to go to the county Planning Department in the last five years.
The last two projects, Liberty I and Liberty X, were also sludge-to-energy plants to be built between Brawley and Imperial in the Mesquite Lake Industrial Park. Both times, Nolan said, Liberty withdrew its plans after drawing intense criticism.
Flying under the radar, both projects made it all the way through the EIR process before catching the attention of the community — a problem Nolan said attributed to projects’ failure.
This time, putting the details out there, while the right thing to do, Nolan said, could be hurting the project more.
“We’re suffering from attempting to involve the community early,” Nolan said. “We’ve amplified the amount of work we have to do, but I think it’s been good for the public.
“We made a mistake last time by not informing the community,” Nolan added.
Narrowly missing the votes it needed to go forward, the Liberty X project was pulled earlier this year, Nolan said, because it had become clear it was not going to succeed.
The company then turned its attention to similar projects, including one in Kern County and Canada. Nolan said Liberty had given up on the Valley when citizens started calling on the company to reconsider.
“These were non-elected community leaders. Business people in Calipatria and Niland,” Nolan said, declining to name the interested parties for fear of retaliation from opponents.
So with years already invested in bringing a plant to the Valley, Nolan said they decided to have another go at it in a more remote area of the county.
DOES IT HAVE A CHANCE?
Considering the source of energy, county Supervisor Gary Wyatt said he’s not surprised by the amount of disapproval by Northend residents to the Liberty X project.
It’s a sensitive issue, one that deserves its due diligence, Wyatt said.
“These types of processes are designed to allow people to respond and it’s appropriate that they do so,” Wyatt said.
Before Wyatt had the opportunity to vote on Liberty’s last project, Liberty withdrew its proposal. This time around, Wyatt said he is withholding his opinion of the project until it has gone through the proper processes.
Wyatt said the new project seems to address some of the issues brought forth last time like transportation and location.
“I think we have to measure the project then by its merits and part of that is their ability to respond to issues that are brought up,” Wyatt said.
After an EIR is completed, a public comment period will follow, and the permit will be considered by the Planning Commission.
If a decision is not reached by the commission, the Board of Supervisors would be next in line to issue the conditional use permit.
Wyatt said he has received a number of letters for and against the plant, all of which he will weigh against the facts if the vote comes to the board.
“I still consider myself in the phase of collecting information and listening to people. I have not yet made a final decision,” Wyatt said.
The North County councils’ votes, Wyatt added, may be premature, although he noted their opinion will not be more important than the constituents who elected him.
“To prejudge the project would be inappropriate and unethical,” Wyatt said.
Sending a message to those who will make a crucial decision, Graham said, was his goal in voting against the plant.
“I would hope that it would (influence the commission),” Graham said.
And if the tide were to change, Graham said he would follow the will of the people he serves.
“If someone came to me with 10,000 signatures that say they want the plant, then I’d have to change my opinion. Nothing is cast in stone,” he added.
Realistically, Nolan said, he is certain that the community opinion will influence the decisions of those that hold the key to the plant’s construction.
But if the project doesn’t stand a chance at approval, Nolan said, Liberty could pull the plug again — for good.
“If it was obvious the plant would not go through, we could very well withdraw it,” Noland said. “We would probably focus on other areas where there seems to be interest.”
>> Staff Writer Brianna Lusk can be reached at blusk@ivpressonline or 344-1221.
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