by The Editors on May 12, 2010
by The Editors on April 25, 2010
The Surfrider Foundation has definitely not thrown in the town on their opposition to the Poseidon Resources Desalination Plant scheduled to be built in the shores of Carlsbadistan’s Agua Hedionda Lagoon.
The environmental group filed a lawsuit on Earth Day (April 22, 2010) challenging a permit approved by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board. Surfrider says that the “facility would kill countless marine organisms, with an illegal plan to replace these fish and other marine life through a restoration project somewhere else.”
“When the law says you must ‘minimize the intake and mortality’ of marine life, that doesn’t mean you can kill millions of marine organisms and then try to replace them somehow,” said Joe Geever, Surfrider Foundation’s California Policy Coordinator. “The Regional Water Quality Control Board misinterpreted the law, and it’s unfortunate the project has progressed this far without a final decision on the type of intake and facility design that meets California’s law to protect our precious marine environment.”
According to Michael Burge story in the San Diego Union-Tribune this is one of six lawsuits that have been filed regarding Poseidon’s plans for the lagoon. Three are still progress.
For the entire Surf Rider release, follow the jump or click here for Carlsbadistan’s coverage of the entire saga.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on December 11, 2009
Three enviornmental groups who wanted the California Coastal Commission to revoke a development permit they’d given for Poseidon Resources’ Desalination Plant were denied on Thursday, December 10, 2009, according to a story on KPBS.
The 9-to-3 vote to deny the revocation request came after two hours of testimony at the Coastal Commission meeting in San Francisco. . . “The grounds for revocation are narrow and the Commission cannot reconsider a permit if new information has surfaced after the permit has been issued, no matter how compelling that information may be,” Coastal Commission Deputy Director Alison Detmer told commissioners during the meeting.
Poseidon Resources is obviously happy and the Surfrider Foundation, San Diego Coastkeeper and the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation have simply filed another revocation request.
[Link: KPBS]
by The Editors on November 29, 2009
Garry Brown, executive director of Orange County Coastkeeper compares the difference in water cost between a Ground Water Replenishment System operating in Orange County with the cost of water per acre foot from Poseidon Resources‘ proposed Carlsbadistan desalination plant in an editorial for the Daily Pilot.
The total cost of the highly treated [GWRS] drinking water is less than $800 per acre foot. . . We know that ocean desalination is used throughout the world. The costs per acre foot range between $2,000 and $3,000. There is certainly no reason to believe it can be done for less money in Southern California.
He goes on to point out that the only other desalination plant that Poseidon has built went “$40 million over budget, five years late, and has never produced the promised amount of water. In fact, “Poseidon had to be removed from plant operations and replaced by a public agency.” Oddly, the Tampa Bay plant isn’t even listed on the “our experience” page of Poseidon’s website. The only desal plants they list are the as-yet-unbuilt Carlsbad and Huntington Beach facilities.
All of this makes us ask this question: is Poseidon’s real business making drinking water or simply using the promise of water as a means of extracting money from public agencies?
[Link: Daily Pilot]
by The Editors on November 6, 2009
According to a report releassd on November 4, 2009 by the consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch, the cost of water from Poseidon’s proposed Carlsbadistan desalination plant could cost three times as much as the company has projected.
“Poseidon claims that their Carlsbad desalination water will come at ‘no expense to the region’s taxpayers,’ yet they are counting on Metropolitan Water District ratepayers and taxpayers to underwrite the project,” said Renee Maas, water program organizer for Food & Water Watch. “Policymakers should learn from Poseidon’s failed Tampa Bay facility and only use public funds for effective and responsible projects.”
According to James Fryer, the author of the new report even if things go well costs could still reach $1910 per acre-foot which is twice the $950 claimed by Poseidon.
Cost over-runs and bankruptcy marked Poseidon’s previous foray into the desalination business. The Tampa Bay plant opened over a year behind schedule, and then required immediate rehabilitation. As a result, he project ran 44 percent over projected capital cost and has never produced the 25 MGD originally promised by Poseidon.
Hurray for desal. . . to read the entire report, click here for the PDF.
[Link: Common Dreams]
by The Editors on November 4, 2009
We keep hearing it referred to as the “last hurdle” and we’re saddened that Poseidon Resources has made it this far, but the California Coastal Commission finally granted a permit that will allow the company to build the largest desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere in our lagoon, according to a Michael Burge story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
With the Coastal Commission permit in hand, Poseidon has met all its regulatory requirements — two years after the Coastal Commission conditionally approved the plant. Poseidon had to satisfy 17 permit requirements before it could begin construction. . . . Peter MacLaggan, Poseidon Resources’ senior vice president, said the coastal permit requires that construction begin in less than two weeks. He said the company next week will start clearing the site, on the grounds of the Encina Power Station on the south shore of Agua Hedionda Lagoon.
Now all Poseidon needs is the money to build the plant. They’ need $530 million in financing, $50 million of it from a bond they’re asking the State of California for, according to a story in the North County Times.
State revenue bonds are tax-exempt, which typically allows them to sell for a lower interest rate than for taxable bonds. This lowers the cost for those repaying the bonds; in this case, the local water agencies the desalination plant will serve.
The company is also asking for a $250 per acre foot subsidy from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (which, according to Food & Water Watch could add up to $14 million a year). Nothing like launching a private business on federal and state subsidies, huh?
For more on some of the reason this plant might not be a good idea, click here for the word from Food & Water Watch.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune and North County Times]
by The Editors on September 17, 2009
After the Carlsbad City Council approved changes made to the Posiedon Desal plant plans several groups are vowing to sue because the City skipped a lengthy environmental review process, according to a Michael Burge story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The council approved those as an addendum to the environmental impact report it OK’d in 2006, without reopening the time-consuming environmental review process. . . Marco Gonzalez, an attorney for the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation and Coastkeeper, told the council it should have reopened the environmental process to allow for public review. . . “I’ll simply say we’ll have to see you in court again,” Gonzalez said.
For its part Poseidon says they’ve heard these arguments before and they have been “rejected by all the other agencies and by the courts.”
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on May 12, 2009
It’s turning into a pretty bad week for proposed desalination plant builders Poseidon Resources.
First, the California Coastal Commission is “rethinking their permit” after Executive Director Peter Douglas noticed that “information Poseidon provided that panel was inconsistent with information it provided the commission last year,” and that these changes could result in a larger fish kill, according to a Michael Burge story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Then, experts quoted in a New York Times story claim that it will be very difficult if not impossible for Poseidon Resources to get financing for their Carlsbadistan project if stalled desal projects in Australia, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia are any indicator. While Poseidon says they could get financing in place in “six weeks.” Tom Pankratz, director of the International Desalination Association, said such a deal would fly in the face of an international trend of stalled projects.”
Pankratz noted that larger desalination projects in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Australia have been left flailing for financial partners at crucial junctures. He doubted Poseidon’s reality would be different. . . “Right now, financing is difficult for any large project, and desalination plants are no exception,” Pankratz said. “For them to say six weeks in this financial climate, that sounds optimistic to me.”
The project goes up for a vote at the San Diego Regional water board “at 9 a.m. Wednesday at 9174 Sky Park Ct. in San Diego,” according to the North County Times.
[Links: San Diego Union-Tribune and The New York Times and North County TImes]
by The Editors on April 9, 2009
The Surfrider Foundation’s argument that that California Coastal Commission acted illegally when it failed to “require Poseidon to reduce the amount of fish and marine organisms that would be killed in the desalination process” were rejected today in San Diego Superior Court today, according to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Judge Judith Hayes issued a tentative ruling rejecting arguments by Surfrider Foundation and the Planning and Conservation League that the California Coastal Commission misapplied state law when it gave Poseidon Resources a coastal development permit to build the plant. . . . Marco Gonzalez, the attorney for Surfrider and the league, said the groups are unhappy with the ruling and believe the court misunderstood some facts. . . “In particular, a large part of the prospective ruling is based on the perception that the project was previously approved by the Regional Board,” Gonzalez said.
One more hurdle out of the way for the for Poseidon Resources and the desalination plant.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on April 8, 2009
The vote has been delayed, however, the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board has decided to close the desalination plant hearing “meaning no new evidence or testimony will be considered at the next meeting,” according to a story in the North County Times.
Poseidon Resources Corp., the plant’s prospective builder, made encouraging progress at the hearing, said Scott Maloni, a vice president of the Stamford, Conn.-based company. . . “We think it’s a significant milestone,” Maloni said. “They ended the public debate over the project, and they agreed to come back next month and make a decision. The time delay is insignificant in comparison to the milestone of the public debate coming to a close.”
Writing in the San Diego Union-Tribune Michael Burge said that the plant has been “all but approved” and that the board will “give the project a final green light at a later meeting.”
[Link: North County Times and San Diego Union-Tribune]
Few writers have pulled together a better overview of the entire Poseidon Resources Carlsbad Desalination Plant story than the DC Bureau’s Janet Wilson.
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