{"id":4628,"date":"2009-02-19T17:15:41","date_gmt":"2009-02-20T01:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carlsbadistan.com\/?p=4628"},"modified":"2009-02-19T18:16:06","modified_gmt":"2009-02-20T02:16:06","slug":"powerplant-squeezes-caltrans-pavement-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.carlsbadistan.com\/?p=4628","title":{"rendered":"Powerplant Squeezes Caltrans’ Pavement Plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Thkgvg42\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The City of Carlsbadistan<\/em> is now getting anti-power plant<\/a><\/strong> support from the California Department of Transportation<\/a><\/strong> according to a letter sent to the California Energy Commission <\/a><\/strong>on February 5, 2009.<\/p>\n

As stated in the letter, Caltrans\u2019 flexibility to construct the I-5 North Coast Corridor widening project is severely limited by surrounding land uses. The impetus is on NRG West, the power plant company, to demonstrate how the area can accommodate both a widened freeway and a new power plant. The letter also states that the I-5 widening project will remove existing landscaping and berm, creating significant visual impacts should both projects go forward.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We can’t help but laugh to ourselves at the ecological irony in the letter. This is probably the first time in our lives that we’ve wanted to make sure there was enough room to add more lanes to an already monstrous freeway. It’s almost like the pavers are the good guys if they keep another power plant out of Carlsbadistan<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Follow the jump for the entire release from the City.
\nIn a letter submitted to the California Energy Commission (CEC) Feb. 5, the California Department of Transportation expressed concerns about the compatibility of the proposed power plant with a widened Interstate 5. Caltrans\u2019 comments confirm the City of Carlsbad\u2019s position.<\/p>\n

As stated in the letter, Caltrans\u2019 flexibility to construct the I-5 North Coast Corridor widening project is severely limited by surrounding land uses. The impetus is on NRG West, the power plant company, to demonstrate how the area can accommodate both a widened freeway and a new power plant. The letter also states that the I-5 widening project will remove existing landscaping and berm, creating significant visual impacts should both projects go forward.<\/p>\n

Caltrans\u2019 letter follows objections raised by the city regarding safety and health hazards created by the proposed power plant. The city has requested that NRG incorporate the I-5 widening into its plans, but the company has failed to do so. In January, the California Energy Commission directed NRG to revise its plans to show the planned freeway widening. One CEC staff member noted that the proposed power plant would be closer to a freeway than any other plant in the state.<\/p>\n

The I-5 widening project has been a vital component of regional transportation plans for nearly 15 years. It is one of only eight transportation projects selected by the U.S. Department of Transportation as a high priority for streamlined review.<\/p>\n

The Carlsbad Energy Center Project is a proposed 540-watt power plant. The project would be located at the 95-acre site of the existing Encina Power Station, which has been operating on California’s coastline for more than 50 years. Plans for the new power plant do not include tearing down the old power plant. If approved, two power plants will operate at the coastal location for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n

NRG submitted an Application for Certification to the CEC for the power plant in September 2007. The CEC\u2014not the City of Carlsbad\u2014has the authority to approve the project. A decision is expected later this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The City of Carlsbadistan is now getting anti-power plant support from the California Department of Transportation according to a letter sent to the California Energy Commission on February 5, 2009. As stated in the letter, Caltrans\u2019 flexibility to construct the I-5 North Coast Corridor widening project is severely limited by surrounding land uses. The impetus […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,15,18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.carlsbadistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4628"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.carlsbadistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.carlsbadistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.carlsbadistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.carlsbadistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4628"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.carlsbadistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4628\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4632,"href":"http:\/\/www.carlsbadistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4628\/revisions\/4632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.carlsbadistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.carlsbadistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.carlsbadistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}