According to a Barbara Henry story in the North County Times “staff members with the state Energy Commission” are holding two workshops to go over their report on NRG Energy Inc.’s plans to put in another power plant in our lagoon.
The first workshop session is set for 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Jan. 7. The second is set for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 8. Both will be at the recently opened Sheraton Carlsbad, 5480 Grand Pacific Drive. . . . The Jan. 7 session covers air, water and soil issues among other topics. The Jan. 8 session includes visual issues and traffic concerns, Della said. . . .Officials with the city of Carlsbad, which has opposed the plans, are encouraging people to come between 6 and 7 p.m. Jan. 7 to talk about air quality and visual blight issues, said Joe Garuba, a city employee who is coordinating the city’s response to the project.
We can’t think of anything more boring, but NRG really shouldn’t be able to turn our lagoon into an industrial wasteland without someone at least complaining a little (even if it doesn’t do any good). So please, someone, go complain.
[Link: North County Times]
RSS Feed-Posts
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Sirs,
I assume you were being snarky as usual – the Agua Hedionda Lagoon is far from an “industrial wasteland”, and in point of fact it was the mitigation required of SDGE for the power plant in the first place that provides dredging, maintenance. NRG assumed those responsibilities when SDGE sold off their generation in the late 80s under the utility deregulation then. NRG is also paying for trail maintenance, provides donations to non-profits supporting the lagoon, and has long been a good corporate citizen in many other ways for Carlsbad.
I understand the City’s motivation: to have a developer turn that area into a tax paying hotel/condo/resort area, to generate the property taxes and hotel fees that help the City pay for all the other things it provides its citizens.
I personally would prefer to see the smokestack go away, but whats fair is fair, and as the article points out, its not really up to the City, but the state energy folks. With NIMBY-ism the way it is these days, you will never find an alternative site for it anyway.