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Mexicali plans for sludge |
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Written by truth
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Wednesday, 14 February 2007 |
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By GREG HOLT, ERIC GALVAN and BRIANNA LUSK, Staff Writers Wednesday, February 14, 2007 12:31 PM PST MEXICALI — A company called International Power quietly announced Tuesday it was pursuing a waste-to-energy plant in Mexicali even as the battle continues over a similar plant in northern Imperial County.
Since most of the waste headed for the proposed Mexicali plant would originate in Southern California, trains hauling waste to the plant could create problems in Imperial County, said Bob Ham, Imperial County director of intergovernmental relations.
“They send those trains at the most inconvenient times. These plants use a lot of waste, and the train traffic could make downtown Calexico dysfunctional,” Ham said.
Ham said the proposed plant would be constructed near the Cerro Prieto volcano 22 miles south of Mexicali, where a geothermal plant and the Las Arenitas sewage treatment plant are located.
He said the most probable path for the rail cars carrying waste to Mexicali would be along the Corrizo Gorge railroad, where it would then connect to the Union Pacific Railroad before heading down through El Centro and Calexico. The Corrizo Gorge railway does not currently connect to Union Pacific line in Imperial County.
“The waste will come from the U.S. — we just don’t know if it’s San Diego or Los Angeles,” Ham said. “The electricity will be sent back to the U.S.”
Based out of Florida, International Power issued a statement announcing it had hired the Mexican firm SISMA to conduct an environmental study on the impacts such a plant would have on Mexicali.
As part of a joint venture with the Tijuana-based waste management company SEPA, the plant would receive about 450 tons of waste per day, which will then be burned to create electricity, the statement said.
Numerous messages left with International Power Chief Executive Officer Peter Toscano were not immediately returned Tuesday.
Imperial County Supervisor Joe Maruca said he planned to reach out to International Power to clearly establish how the Mexicali plant would be supplied with waste.
“We’re going to try to make contact and find out what their intentions are,” Maruca said.
Maruca said he isn’t opposed to a waste-to-energy plant as long as the company adheres to environmental regulations.
“If we have a plant (in the U.S.), and it’s not clean, we can fine them and we can shut it down,” Maruca said. “But that’s not the same deal (in Mexico).”
Wilson Nolan, chief executive officer of Liberty Energy, said he was not surprised a waste-to-energy plant is being planned south of the border.
“You’ve got a lot of people that are starting to climb on the renewable energy bandwagon,” Nolan said.
Liberty has proposed a sludge-to-energy plant be built northwest of Niland. The plant is awaiting approval from the county and is now wending its way through the environmental impact report process.
Although Nolan said the Mexicali plant’s size and energy production would be similar to the proposed Niland plant, he said the incineration of waste is vastly different than the incineration of sewage sludge.
“We will not be bringing in hazardous waste of any kind to our facility. Our facility could handle hazardous waste with the same very low emissions, but we’ve elected not to handle hazardous waste.”
Whether the Mexicali project is supported or not, Nolan said he hopes it would not impact the public and county’s opinion on the Liberty project.
“Each one needs to be judged on its own merits,” Nolan said.
Rosie Nava, president of Imperial Valley Residents for Health and Safety First, an environmental group opposed to the Niland sludge plant, said a plant in Mexicali could transmit toxins to the Imperial Valley through airborne particles.
“Mercury has been known to travel 150 miles before depositing in the water and soil,” Nava said. “To me, the Niland sludge plant would be equally disturbing if it was located across the border.”
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