Spring / Summer 2008

On the surface, the Highlands are in their peaceful summer mode of circling eagles and osprey, lots of butterflies, and sparkling healing waters within the deep green forests of this mysterious volcanic landscape…. But Calpine Corporation, now emerged from bankruptcy (with a mere $15 billion debt, down from $23 billion before the bankruptcy), is again poised to expand operations….

Successful Ninth Circuit ruling
still not resolved on the legal front

–by Michelle Berditschevsky

As we go to press, attorneys for BLM are taking the position, after months of inaction, that the Ninth Circuit ruling defeating one of two industrial geothermal projects in the sacred Medicine Lake Highlands, did not affect the leases that were awarded in 1988. This is in spite of the fact that the Ninth Circuit Court clearly stated that the leases were illegally renewed in 1998. With our attorneys at Stanford Environmental Law Clinic, we continue holding the ground that, since the leases were not renewed by their expiration date in 1998, they are invalid.

BLM, represented by the Department of Justice, has been seeking a legal remedy that both sides could live with, presumably in order to avoid more litigation. They are willing to withdraw their approval of the project, initiate more environmental review on the lease renewals, and base a new decision on their findings. However, we will hold firm, as the case goes back to U.S. District Court for a summary judgment on the Ninth Circuit ruling. The District Court judgment will be in the form of a remedy that BLM will have to comply with to enact the higher court’s decision. We continue to maintain that the Ninth Circuit made it clear that the leases should not have been renewed and have expired.

Telephone Flat case inches along

Our lawsuit on the second, even more damaging project at Telephone Flat in the heart of the Medicine Lake Caldera is in process. After going through 14 boxes of administrative records, our attorneys have been in communication with the agencies in an attempt to fill gaps in the record. Here too, the government attorneys are taking a long time to respond to our requests.

Meanwhile, we are adding to our initial complaint, which was filed in May 2004 but placed on hold due to Calpine’s bankruptcy. Our expanded lawsuit will contain additional arguments based on the successful Ninth Circuit decision on the Fourmile Hill case.

Calpine proposes widespread geophysical testing

An indication of Calpine’s huge ambitions in the Medicine Lake Highlands is its current proposal to conduct geophysical testing on 120 sites distributed over the breadth of the corporation’s 66 square miles of leases, including many near sensitive water resources, such as Medicine Lake and Paynes Springs. The March 4, 2008 Notice of Intent clearly stated that this project is part of Calpine’s plans to “accelerate the development of the resource.”

Due to strong Tribal objections to the surveys, the California State Historic Preservation Officer indicated that this proposal is out of character with the values that make the Medicine Lake Highlands eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

The Forest Service initially denied the project, but was overridden by BLM, which states that the leases give Calpine a right to conduct geothermal activities. The Fourmile Hill leases were excluded from the proposal because the Ninth Circuit decided they were illegally renewed.

The California Energy Commission denied funding for the geophysical testing, which we can only speculate was due to lack of environmental review and the Ninth Circuit Court decision.
BLM agreed to do an Environmental Assessment on the project, because of the controversy and the sensitive nature of the area. On July 18th, the Ecology Center submitted scoping comments on the key issues that the EA should cover, together with the Pit River Tribe.

The main points raised in the comments are that the proposal implies a multi-phased approach to large-scale industrializing the Medicine Lake Highlands, and therefore an analysis of cumulative effects needs to be done. Calpine has stated to Congress that it plans to develop up to 1000 megawatts, which translates to 20 power plants in the pristine Highlands! Other concerns are impacts on sensitive cultural sites, disturbance of the forest environment proximate to water resources. We insist on serious consideration of the “no project” alternative.

Water issues

Unfortunately, the State Water Resource Board dismissed our Petition of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Board’s 2006 approval of Calpine’s Waste Discharge Permit on November 15, 2007. At the heart of our Petition was the challenge to a permit condition that would have allowed the injection of large amounts of highly toxic chemicals into a geothermal well at Medicine Lake, and the potential to damage one of the largest aquifers in the state by contaminating the fresh water with the geothermal brine, which contains dissolved metals and toxic substances that are not of drinking water quality. Although we were extremely discouraged by the State Water Board’s decision, we continued working with the Regional Water Board on the Hydrologic Monitoring Plan for the Medicine Lake Highlands. With the help of our consultant, Dr. Robert Curry, a noted volcanic hydrogeologist, we pursued the Regional Water Board’s own recommendations for more monitoring wells around each well pad and sump, a recommendation that the Executive Officer of the Water Board ignored, probably due to pressure by the corporation. We have not been notified of the final decision of the Water Board on the hydrologic monitoring plan, which at its last draft would have required two more monitoring wells than Calpine proposed.

Energy subsidies cancelled!

Some good news is that the California Energy Commission (CEC) has cancelled $49 million in subsidies that had been awarded to Calpine’s Medicine Lake projects at Fourmile Hill and Telephone Flat. If the two power plants had been built and producing, Calpine would have been collecting the subsidies over a period of five years. The subsidies have been held in an account for New Renewable Projects, money that could have been awarded and used during the last ten years for truly renewable projects like solar.

We continue to monitor awards by the CEC, as well as the Department of Energy, as Calpine no doubt plans to tap the huge appropriations made to geothermal power in the name of “green energy,” which as we’ve said in the past, is only green because that’s the color of money….

The bigger issues

As our readers know, some of the same mistakes are being made with the emphasis on so-called green energy, because energy-intensive consumerism, aka the “American dream,” is still running the consciousness of much of society. Thus the demands on the environment continue to be excessive. The real alternative will create quantitatively and qualitatively better results when agencies seriously consider promoting as the first priority energy conservation, energy efficient technology, and true consideration for the environment for future generations.

Please continue your support! Thank you for your past support!! We continue to need your ongoing participation for these challenges ahead! Please send in your new or renewed membership!! (form enclosed)