GASP Disappointed but Not Stunned by Governor’s Decision on SE2

The citizen group GASP (Generations Affected by Senseless Power) in Whatcom County continues to believe that the city of Sumas is the wrong place for a large, polluting power plant, such as the SE2 plant proposed to be built there, and approved August 22 by Governor Gary Locke.

“This is the wrong place for such a plant,” said Marlene Noteboom, speaking for the group, “because the Fraser River Valley airshed should not be subjected to this additional pollution load.”

Noteboom continued, “We are disappointed yet not stunned by the decision; however, this is only one hurdle that NESCO has seemingly jumped over. They still have yet to obtain financing, which in the face of the Enron scandal and California deregulation, may be a bit of a challenge.”

“Offsets for NOx and PM10 must be obtained, flooding studies and possible impacts must be completed six months prior to construction starting, and they must obtain approval from the National Energy Board (NEB) in Canada for the power lines.

NOx photochemically decomposes to produce ozone (photochemical smog), which is a respiratory irritant, and can lead to acute as well as chronic respiratory problems.

Particulate matter appears to have effects which depend on the particle size involved. This has lead to dual particle size standards used by the EPA and other regulatory agencies: PM2.5 (under 2.5 microns) and PM10 (under 10 microns).

The NEB hearings are set to start on October 18 and may allow the environmental impacts of the plant to be included in the testimony,” she added. “Their commercial product, electrical power, is not needed here and the transmission lines to connect the plant to the grid are another problem.”

“The entire EFSEC process makes a mockery of the Growth Management Act and the county’s comprehensive plan. We generate more electricity now than we use and the addition of SE2 and the proposed BP generating facility would double that. The 160 megawatt power plant on Georgia-Pacific property did nothing for those jobs. When is enough, enough?” added Mike Kaufman, member of the GASP group, Chair of the Whatcom County Utility Planning Committee, and member of the state legislature’s EFSEC review committee.

This power plant is illegal on Whatcom County lands just a quarter-mile from its site, within the city of Bellingham and in most of Canada.

The proposal has been denounced by an overwhelming number of people in Sumas, the Whatcom County Council, and Canadians including virtually every jurisdiction involved, including civic, business, medical and environmental organizations that have taken a stand on the issue.

Even the EFSEC disapproved the first application by a unanimous vote in February 2001 after which the proponent made some modifications and re-submitted the application.

The city of Sumas has allowed it by using what amounts to spot zoning, to favor a commercial activity that would otherwise be prohibited.

“NESCO evidently saw they could buy a spot in an economically-struggling town by influencing just a few councilmembers to say yes,” says Bo Bumford, another GASP member who first conducted a door-to-door survey of Sumas residents and gathered signatures on a petition to the city government opposing SE2, which was ignored.

Once again the employment pictured was brought up, but the actual employment benefit to local residents will be small and short-term. One must remember that 400 is the maximum number of jobs during a peak three-month period of the 18-month construction period.

Many of these skilled tradespeople will be from out of the area, and total permanent employment is only predicted to be 24 people, with the possibility of sharing employees with the already existing SE1 facility.

GASP will continue to be involved in letting people know that this is the wrong location for this plant and we will be involved with the NEB hearings beginning in Canada. We need to be aware of the cumulative impacts of this and other plants proposed for this area.

Just a look outside today in search of Mt. Baker and the foothills makes it obvious that the impacts of this power plant along with other plants jeopardizes our health in the future and the enjoyment of our wonderful area.

Visit the GASP website for updates: http://se2-gasp.org or to subscribe to our announcement listserve, send a blank message to: GASP-NoSE2-subscribe@topica.com.

Marian Beddill, 738-3151 beddill@nas.com

Marlene Noteboom, 344-3888 pikenote@telcomplus.net