CUAUHTEMOC BELTRAN PHOTO Tony Ramos of El Centro shows his opposition during a scoping meeting over the proposed sludge burning plant in Niland in El Centro on Thursday.

By JONATHAN ATHENS, Staff Writer

Thursday, April 12, 2007 10:28 PM PDT Opponents of a proposed $95 million sludge burning power plant in Imperial County on Thursday night made their opinions clear — in some cases with toilet humor and in one instance with poignant dignity.
Holding a photograph of a two-story outhouse, El Centro resident Antonio Ramos said: “This is what they want to do to us.”
He then held up a toilet seat with a “No Trespassing” sign affixed to it.
Another opponent wore a toilet seat on her head.
And the mother of a young girl with Down syndrome gave an impassioned statement about poor environmental conditions in her agricultural community.
Holding her little girl, Calipatria resident Josefina Coronado, voiced her opposition to the plant.
“I don’t want any other young children or mothers to be in my shoes,” Coronado said, speaking through a translator.
Roughly 33 people attended a public meeting on Thursday night at the Imperial County Board of Supervisors chambers. The meeting, the first of several, was to gather public input for an environmental assessment of the proposed plant.
At issue is whether the county will approve Liberty Energy Resource’s ambitious plans to build a sludge burning power plant about four miles north of Niland. Regulators are expected to finish the environmental impact report in about nine months.
And even if that report passes muster, the Bakersfield-based energy company will have to get the approval of five state agencies, two federal agencies and several other local agencies before it can move forward with its plans.
In the meantime, political opposition is mounting — Residents for Health and Safety First, a grassroots group, announced yesterday it has collected about 4,000 signatures to get the matter before voters in November.
Supporters say the state-of-the-art plant will bring year round full-time jobs to the local economy, create more electricity to accommodate growth, and will operate well within air quality standards.
Opponents say the power plant will exacerbate Imperial County’s notoriously poor air quality and it will set the stage for more waste-related companies to locate here, turning the county into a dumping ground.
Luis Plancarte, a Liberty Energy Resource representative, said there are more than 300 such plants worldwide.
He said the proposed Niland plant would emit no odor and would not store waste on the ground.
“It’s very clean,” he said, adding similar plants are in operation or are under construction in Minnesota, Canada, Japan and throughout Europe. The company operates a similar plant in St. Paul, Minn.
The initial environmental engineering study states the proposed plant could have “potentially significant impact” on 15 of 17 environmental factors.
Growers and agriculture-related businesses are concerned the proposed plant would give the public the wrong perception about the quality and safety of Imperial Valley agriculture.
“The marketability of crops could be in the toilet … no pun intended,” said Nicole Rothfleisch, executive director of the Imperial County Farm Bureau.
Others expressed concern and outrage, expressing their belief that communities in the Northend get short shrift.
Calipatria resident Patricia Nelson said, “Just imagine if it were down the street from where you live.”
Leonard Vasquez, also of Calipatria, said, “Why do they pit people in the Northend against people in the Southend? We are part of the Imperial Valley. No sludge should be allowed in the Imperial Valley. Period.”
Nelson and Vasquez are Calipatria City Council members. They said they were representing themselves at the meeting, not the city.
The county is slated to hold another public meeting on April 26.

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