JOINT LETTER on The Modified Route D Alternative to Sunrise Powerlink

(2007-09-04) Dan Lawrence, Beryl Buchanan, Randy Lenac, Gene Vick

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More Info: Local Politics, Sunrise Powerlink

JOINT LETTER on The Modified Route D Alternative to Sunrise Powerlink

Assemblyman Joel Anderson
California State Assembly - 77th District
500 Fesler Street, Suite 201
El Cajon, CA 92020

and State Capital Room 2111
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Assemblyman Anderson,

We the undersigned represent hundreds of concerned constituents in the Campo/Lake Morena area of your district. Our four local groups have joined forces to oppose the modified route D alternative to the Sunrise Powerlink that threatens to dissect our mountain community and destroy the tranquility of our citizens, young and old alike. Because of the way that the Sunrise Powerlink proposal has played out in the application process, our community has watched for months on the sidelines as San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) submitted its application identifying the northern alternative as their preferred choice. SDG&E even came to our community just after submitting their application and gave an overview of their proposal and why they preferred the northern route. They did mention that southern options were explored in their environmental review, but in each case rejected because they did not offer sufficient reliability. We watched as hearings were held and public meetings were conducted in communities throughout San Diego County. Throughout this process we were interested and many wrote letters on the northern alternative, but we were not directly affected or threatened. Suddenly and rather unexpectedly, the U.S. Forest Service proposed an alternative that avoided the Cleveland National Forest by striking a southerly tack directly through the heart of Campo. The U.S. Forest Service alternative which they say is motivated by the desire to avoid “having to modify the Forest Management Plan” came to be known as the modified route D alternative.

The citizens of Campo/Lake Morena initially received the official notice of this proposal circuitously via a neighboring community activist who has been following the process very carefully and only days before the June 14th deadline for comments. We believe our community has been denied the right to proper notification and due process. Furthermore, we have never had any scoping meetings from either SDG&E or the CPUC.

To make matters worse, we have discovered that the modified route D alternative is now a leading candidate for selection by the CPUC. As a result, our four groups have been working diligently to try and get the comment period reopened and a town hall meeting for our citizens. We have communicated our concerns to both the CPUC and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as the lead agencies on this issue. Although they have just recently agreed to reopen the comment period they have not yet agreed to hold a meeting in our community. SDG&E has been very cooperative and agreed to be represented at such a meeting, but because the decisions regarding Sunrise Powerlink are now with CPUC and BLM we need them to hold the meeting. The reason they give for denying our request is that they have already met or exceeded the NEPA and CEQA legal requirements for public hearings on this proposal and they are very busy completing the environmental review. We believe this is irresponsible in light of the potentially devastating impact such a power line would have on our mountain community. We acknowledge that this alternative came into play late in the review process and we know that they are under a great deal of pressure to meet deadlines on the environmental review. Nevertheless, it does not obviate the moral and legal responsibility of a State Commission and Federal Department to fairly notice and give due process to its citizens. Our mountain community already has the primary SDG&E power line linking Imperial and San Diego Counties to contend with. Adversely impacting us a second time would be a travesty, especially without giving us the decency of a public meeting.

Therefore, we the undersigned, representing a major portion of the Campo/Lake Morena communities, respectfully request that you ask the California Public Utility Commission to hold a town hall meeting for your constituents in Campo/Lake Morena. We have attached all the contact information as an enclosure to this letter. We are prepared to host such a meeting at no expense to the State and will take responsibility for notifying all the citizens of our area of the meeting location, time and date. Please contact Randy Lenac at (619)478-5403 should you have any questions.

Respectfully,

Dan Lawrence
President
Campo-Lake Morena Business Association
P.O. Box 33
Campo, CA 91906

Beryl Buchanan
Chairman
Lake Morena Village Council
P.O. Box 158
Campo, CA 91906

Randy Lenac Chairman H.O.P.E. of the Mountain Empire P.O. Box 188 Campo, CA 91906

Gene Vick Founder Campo Gentlemen’s Club P.O. Box 602 Campo, CA 91906

Copy to:
Billie Blanchard, CPUC
Lynda Kastoll, BLM
Susan Lee, Aspen Group
Lynn Trexel, SDG&E
Campo/Lake Morena Planning Group
Boulevard Planning Group
Potrero Planning Group
Pine Valley Planning Group
Alpine Planning Group
Descanso Planning Group
Jacumba Sponsor Group
Tecate Sponsor Group
Campo-Mountain Empire Kiwanis
Campo Homemakers Club
Campo VFW Post
Mountain Empire Unified School District
Campo Volunteer Fire Department
Campo Fire Auxiliary
San Diego Union-Tribune
Alpine Sun
Backcountry Messenger
The Reader
Fox News
ABC News
NBC News
CBS News