" A lesson to the Board of Supervisors, "Listen to the people you represent!" We hold a voice/vote and watching you. Loose our trust and you loose your post. First the raise to Health Care Aids and now this...get it! "

" Feektwo: Obviously has an axe to grind and is disturbed that people stood their ground and voted a, "resounding, I don't think so, not in my backyard!" If having an issue like sludge on the ballot gets people out to vote, then it is obvious that Imperial Valley residents showed their strength in numbers when the going got tough, the tough got going. Hey, you win some loose some. In this case, sludge dumping from other areas is not in the cards. People became passionate and we must always give credit, where credit is due. The pros and cons stunk! (no pun intended) Thanks IV Press for being there delivering the news on this subject. You helped to bring people together by keeping them informed the entire way to the polls. "

" FEEKTWO! YOU ARE ONE MORE IGNORANT IN THE BUNCH. KEEP RESPONDING IF YOU WAN'T TO GET EDUCATED. "

" STAMP! ENVIROMNENTAL IMPACT? DON'T BE IGNORANT, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT POLUTION NOT A BUILDING. YOU MUST BE VERY IGNORANT ABOUT POLUTION. "

" Great post Monique. Thanks for the post and keeping us informed. Hopefully the county supervisors will listen to the vote of the people they were elected to serve. "

" PLANCARTE! GET A LIFE, YOU KNOW YOU ARE LYING, YOU AND YOU'R CAMARADAS KNOW BETTER BUT I GUESS THE MONEY IS GOOD. I THOUGHT YOU WERE FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE AND NOT FOR SALE. IF YOU ARE WAITING FOR THE IMPACT REPORT, IT WILL BE JUST LIKE THE SMOG INSPECTIONS, YOU WILL STILL BE POLUTTING THE AIR. "

" Relish the moment people, we have won the Battle, but not the War. Our lame supervisors and council men that wait for the EIR report cannot be trusted for those of you who can't believe why Liberty Sludge was defeated maybe it could've been the fact that the bull that was used to try to convince us of how it is much needed in our valley, were the same tactics used to put the beef plant in Brawley. And now we're stuck with smell and the County and City will not do anything. Example of following the yellow brick road to the settling ponds of bull. "

" The measure prohibits the importation of sludge into the county from outside counties. Therefore, the measure is not against any type of technology or company. It is against the act of importation of sludge from counties outside of Imperial. An EIR can take place for any company that proposes a sludge incineration; however, any company that will use sludge from outside of the county will be prohibited. Thus, the measure protects the Imperial Valley from becoming a disposal site for all of Southern California and beyond.

IV Resident’s have been quite engaged in the entire application process and have participated in every public hearing (from pre Notice of Preparation, Initial Study Report, etc.), and have feverishly been asking the planning department time and time again when the Draft EIR would be available for public review and comment. It was originally projected by both the planning department and company that the EIR would be ready for review in November, and then December, and now February. But why the delay? Was it a political tactic to garner opposition for Measure X? Because, it seems as though that is the main rhetoric being used to substantiate opposition to Measure X.

The Imperial Valley is eager to review the Draft EIR. The community will have 45 days to review the document and submit additional comments and or questions which were not addressed in the EIR. The questions are then replied to and noted in the final EIR. Yes, it is understood that mitigation recommendations will be made in the EIR; however, this does not guarantee an environmentally sound facility, from a public health and safety perspective, for several reasons. First, there are hundreds of toxins and heavy metals found in sludge, aka biosolids, that will go into our air because the filters are incapable of capturing them all and drain into the Salton Sea and not all of them are closely monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency. Moreover, our county Environmental Health agency is not equipped to monitor all these elements (such as radioactive elements) as well. Second, unlike most counties, this county does not necessarily have a separate branch in the planning department to check and see if these projects are in complying with mandated mitigation. The planner in charge of the project at the planning commission oversees the project for the rest of its operation on top of the workload they already have. Thus, many times there is little time to do such an important task. Also, what happens when a planner retires or leaves the county? Who, in that department, oversees the facility? Third, Environmental Protection Agency’s policies are often very political and sometimes do not mirror standards/thresholds that fully protect public health. Fourth, monetary fines given to companies not in environmental compliance do not necessarily guarantee a non-hazardous facility because companies sometimes pay the fees and keep on polluting because they considerate the cost of doing business. Fifth, I have reviewed EIR’s in this county that state negative impacts to air and water quality, which pose a public health risk, that could not be fully mitigated. Were these facilities permitted? Yes. An EIR that reveals such things does not guarantee that a facility will not be permitted. It is suppose to serve as a guide to the policy makers, in this case the Board of Supervisors, along with community support or opposition to a project.

Ultimately, the Board of Supervisors grant permits for projects, in which they have to comply with county ordinances. They are our representatives. According to the votes in favor of Measure X, 68% of the population does not want out of county sludge to be imported in the Valley for any use. It is time for the Board of Supervisors to represent the majority of their constituents. The 8,684 people who voted in favor of Measure X are members of IV Residents for Health and Safety First. WE are IV Residents for Health and Safety First and our membership is growing by the day.
"

" 0207 - Actually, we were not "wrong," we simply stated our opinion. We stand by that opinion, as you stand by yours. We never made a guess as to how the election would turn out. Thanks for your comments. - Brad Jennings, editor "

" Congratulations to the anti-sludge monsters! All your hard work paid off. I tip my hat to you. The IV Press was wrong-------again! Brad Jennings need to walk out of the west side of El Centro and talk to real people and maybe he will get the pulse of the valley. "

" I know 3 people that were confused by the ballot. The voted NO for sludge but as we know they were suppose to vote YES, to stop it. "

" So much for jobs in the valley. Too many ignorant people afraid of this plant and what they think it would do. I agree with stamps first, listen to the facts, read the environmental impact reports, weigh the pro's and cons and then make a decision. But i guess it doesn't work like that does it? And on top of that, its amazing that it takes a sludge plant to finally get people off their butts and voting. Because seriously, how many people would have voted had the sludge plant not been on the ballot "

" Check out the City of Banning if they have a sludge plant with energy.......check it out !!!!!!!!! "

" we all know the story is not over.

the country will challenge this in court.

"

" In my opinion, Liberty wants to build it here because, of course, L.A. and San Diego don't want it. And I wouldn't at all be surprised if, after doing some research, it was found that Liberty's other plants are located in areas considered "lower income", thus they're reasoning to build it here, thinking that lower income areas are too ignorant to know otherwise or to even try to fight them. Think again, Liberty! "

" Amen Sister Gayle! "

" The facts are they wanted to dump their crap in the valley where the people are considered not that important. If that's not the case, how come when it comes to disposing of trash, human waste, whatever, they want to dump it here? They probably figure with the air quality we get from factories in Mexicali and field burning, what's one more thing? And why are they still burning fields when the Valley has the highest rate of asthma in children in the whole state? The State doesn't care to put an end to it because its not cost effective for the farmers. What i don't understand is how people could have voted no on this measure. Did they get confused on which way to vote? It needs to be known that the people of Imperial Valley are not guinea pigs! "

" Congratulations!! To each and every one of you who took time out of your busy schedules to get out and stand your ground by voting. Wow!
Time to celebrate a victory of people coming together and in unity showed tremendous strength. Voting is exercising your power.
Big cities need to find their own sludge dumping grounds. Their own employees to work in them too. Not bring their (yeah, used pretty words) to minimize the disgusting tranport attempt called "sludge" into IV.
Good for you!! Green alfalfa, onions, and all the produce in the Imperial Valley provide natural beautiful scents, not grotesque sludge from others. "

" "stamp aka mouthpiece for Liberty"

ricocafe99, I'm not saying Liberty Energy is great, the sludge-to-energy plant would be great, etc. etc....I just don't feel comfortable knowing that our people down here are willing to vote for something without having all the information first, that's all.

And I'm totally for geothermal, btw, and not necessarily for a sludge-to-energy plant; again, I'm more concerned with the principle of voting without being informed... "

" Mr. Stamp, Please explain why this plant hasn't been built in the big cities where this sludge originates,FIRST. Therein lies answer of WHY it's not wanted in the Valley.. "

" stamp aka mouthpiece for Liberty....Its very simple, we don't want the d**n sludge plant in the valley..you know what sludge consists of so don't use flimsy analogies. Build your s**t burner somewhere else while we develop geothermal. "

" I will never understand why nearly 68 percent of the county's voters chose to support a measure that would prevent a building from being constructed before that project ever even completed the environmental impact phase!!!
It's like voting for a presidential candidate without hearing their views on abortion, education, same-sex marriage, etc....don't we need to know all the facts first? "