A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
September 4, 2008
2. Supply –
Coso counting on water from Hay Ranch
The Inyo Register – 9/4/08
By Mike Bodine, staff writer
Coso Geothermal Project is closer to a possible ruling on its controversial proposal to pump water near Little Lake in
Running out of the water it needs to operate, the electrical generating plant isn’t the only entity with a vested interest in the county’s decision.
Little
The Coso Operating Company, LLC, is seeking a 30-year conditional use permit from the Inyo County Planning Commission to extract groundwater from two existing wells on the Coso Hay Ranch property in
Coso argues the pumping plan is the only economically feasible way to keep the plant generating at capacity.
The plan calls for mitigation guidelines and “trigger levels,” such as a decrease in the lake level of 10 percent, to prevent any permanent damage.
Opposing the project is Little Lake Ranch, and specifically Gary Arnold, the ranch’s legal counsel, representing Arnold, Bleuel, LaRochelle, Matthews and Zirbel.
“Then what are they going to do?”
“Coso’s dilemma is a self-inflicted wound,”
“I think the county supervisors needs to educate themselves on their own geothermal ordinances and their decision to waive waterexportation laws,” said Wilfred Nabahe, District 5 property taxpayer. One of the intents in
“This is poor planning and poor judgment by the county. What’s going to happen 30, 40 years from now?” Nabahe asked of how Coso expects to operate after the pumping permit, and the water has run out.
Water is the primary ingredient for geothermal power. The way Coso Geothermal Plant works, according to statements by Coso Geothermal, is that hot geothermal fluid, or brines under pressure of natural geothermal reservoir, travels up through wells, some as deep as 11,000 feet, and flashes into steam that turns generator turbines and produces electricity.
As time goes by, loss of brine due to evaporation must be replaced to maintain reservoir pressure. Coso’s original 1980 Environmental Impact Study anticipated this brine loss and contemplated the potential need for up to 6,000 acre-feet of water annually from
Chris Ellis, ground coordinator for Coso Geothermal, said that Coso owns the fallowed Hay Ranch and is not pumping from there currently. He said the pumping plan would add to the natural geothermal reservoir that has become depleted from Coso’s 20-year operations.
Ellis added that the plant is currently producing enough electricity to power about 200,000 homes or 200MW but the goal is to generate the full potential of 250MW. Originally intended to be used to power the China Lake Naval Weapons Station, the electricity is now sold to Southern California Edison.
Coso also states in the press release that, “Recent power contract extensions will supply an enhanced tax base for the next 20 years.” Coso has entered into an exclusive power purchase agreement with SCE that will last until 2030.
Inyo County Planning Director Pat Cecil said the county’s motivation to allow water to be pumped from already dry lands is not just the property tax revenue, but also to comply with S.B. 1078, a 2002 rule that mandated 20 percent of
In November,
Coso states that the use permit to pump is “very important for meeting the state’s renewable energy requirements.”
Property tax revenue from Coso Operating Company jumped from approximately $4.5 million last year to $11.9 million this year according to the Inyo County Treasury Department.
Inyo County Assessor Tom Lanshaw said the geothermal plant was purchased by ArcLight Capitol to be managed by Terra-Gen in December, 2007. The plant was reappraised at $1.2 billion, up from the previous assessment of $420 million. Lanshaw explained the selling price and newly appraised value were so high because the sellers, Caithness Corporation, included the extra water from Hay Ranch in the assessment.
Lanshaw said ArcLight and
Pumping from Hay Ranch is not the only way to keep Coso operating at capacity, but the only one getting any attention.
Alternatives to the new pumping project, as stated in the DEIR, “but rejected during development of the project included: increase power through power plant enhancements; alternative sources of injection water; and, reducing the time frame of the permit.” All of these alternatives were rejected on grounds as being more expensive or not in line with Coso Operating goals, to operate at full capacity.
Proposed alternatives to the pumping project included: no project; pumping Hay Ranch at the maximum allowable rate for 30 years without surpassing “trigger levels,” the 10-percent loss; or pump Hay Ranch at various levels preventing significant impact on Little Lake.
The “no project” alternative would avoid groundwater impacts, but, according to the DEIR, the early decommissioning of Coso Geothermal Plant could “affect electricity supply in the region and the associated environmental effects of generating new electricity to compensate for the electricity lost from the Coso projects would be greater than those of the proposed (Hay Ranch pumping) project.”
“As a member of the public, I’m concerned with the substantial loss to the lake,”
Cecil explained that after the public comment period has closed, those comments will be incorporated into the DEIR and then sent to the
A copy of the DEIR is available for review at the Inyo County Planning Department, 168 N. Edwards St.,
The public is encouraged to comment or ask questions about the DEIR by writing to the Inyo County Planning Department, P.O. Drawer “L,”
http://www.inyoregister.com/content/view/115394/1/
Agencies learn about importance of recycled water
·
In drought-prone
The importance of recycled water — municipal wastewater treated and then reused for irrigation, landscaping and even to replenish groundwater — has grown as the state struggles with a drought year and limits on new sources for water.
On Wednesday, local members of the Association of Water Agencies of
Although some people, as well as some water agencies, are uneasy about the use of recycled water, Steve Bachman, groundwater resources manager for United Water Conservation District, said soon water reuse will be required of all water agencies.
"One of the things that's being considered (by the state) is that if you're not using it, it would be considered a waste of water," Bachman said at the workshop in
The workshop was the third in a series of four put on by the agency for its "Drought Watch 2008."
It included presentations from the chairman of the California Building Industry Association, from a water agency that delivers recycled water for industrial uses, and a consulting firm on the nuts and bolts of implementing a water-recycling program.
Steve LaMar, chairman of the California Building Industry Association, said his group believes that it's in the industry's interest to push for more aggressive conservation, adding that he believes water is undervalued.
"In the paper yesterday, I saw that in
State officials want
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is also pushing to require that water agencies reduce water use by 20 percent — through efficiency or reuse — by 2020.
Unlike places such as
The Camrosa Water District, which has about 30,000 customers in
The city of
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/sep/04/agencies-learn-about-importance-of-recycled/
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