Blue Lake Power has operated in violation with the clean air act since it re-opened in 2010 and polluted the air, night sky and quiet. It only re-opened thanks to the tax breaks and government stimulus funds paid for by the taxpayers in excess of $6m. We have since had the displeasure of dealing with a company that stiffs the city of Blue Lake on its bills and ignores it's environmental permit requirements.
Blue Lake has turned the other way on these issues to keep the rent and water bills rolling in and the NCUAQMD has helped by ignoring their own rules. These facts are clearly laid out by the notice of violation issued by the EPA last year. Let's not pay a premium for power and support bad actors like Blue Lake Power. They shut down because they couldn't compete with other renewables. Let's keep it that way find a new vision for the Blue Lake industrial area rather than continue taxpayer subsidies in the form of a Community choice.
There are cleaner alternatives that cost less. Biomass is needed to dispose of wood chips but not for power. A quick web search will show biomass is not a clean energy. Let's not confuse the issue.
Re: “On the Heels of Blackouts, AT&T Promises Upgrades”
One of the reasons that the fiber optic line is hit so frequently in this area is that it was installed without tracer wire or warning tape in many areas making it difficult for AT&T to properly locate. After calling in locates on one project in Rio Dell AT&T failed to locate the line twice after which our crews inadvertently dug it up. Each could have easily been a break.