Water use and air quality impacts were among concerns expressed by southern Idaho residents attending an informational meeting hosted by Sempra Generation, the power company that wants to build a coal-fired power plant in Jerome County.
In the third of three such open houses, held Wednesday, Nov. 16, in Twin Falls, people browsed informational booths and asked questions of Sempra representatives.
"In a nutshell, it's about education ... to provide the community with a chance to comment at a central location, to meet (the Sempra team) and get information," said Art Larson, Sempra Energy spokesman.
Specialists were on hand to answer questions regarding economic impacts, environmental studies and other aspects related to the proposed $1.4 billion, 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant.
Sempra estimates 900 jobs will be provided during construction, with nearly 100 full-time jobs upon completion.
The project—proposed for a site nine miles northeast of Jerome—is in its initial stages of the permitting process.
Attendance estimates totaled 250 people for Tuesday's open house in Jerome, 50 for the next meeting in Burley and 100 for the session in Twin Falls.
"We've had very good response," Larson said. "There's been a mix of people for the project. The majority are people who really want to know more about it and are keeping an open mind."
Craig Riddle, a crop advisor who sells fertilizers and chemicals, said he was on an information-gathering mission.
"The location is right where some of my growers are," he said of the proposed site. "They're mostly for it, the ones that are in the area, because the economy is so poor. What they'd get out of this deal they can't get out of farming."
He said there's a need for energy in the U.S., but he is hesitant to see the project constructed in his hometown.
"Regardless of how safe and modern this is, it'll eventually get age on it," he said. "And there are always accidents. There could be (health and water) hazards. I guess I'm like everyone else. Put it somewhere else."
College of Southern Idaho student Keenan Scipel attended Wednesday's event as part of a class project.
"My group is (studying) the power plant, the pros and cons," she said. "We'll present the information we discover."
She's just beginning the project and is still formulating an opinion about the power plant.
"At first I was going to say no because it's coal," she said. "But walking around I see how they're using technology to reduce mercury. I'm kind of undecided, but probably no."
John and Mariann Avery of Buhl were also hoping to learn more about the effects of the proposed plant.
"People have been really helpful, telling us how it's going to run, where the coal is going to come from, and why they chose this area," John Avery said.
He said they were worried about smells coming off the plant, but Sempra representatives told them odor would be undetectable.
"I think it would be a good economic boon for the area, but I don't know how it would do as far as the environment," he added. "(But) it sounds like they have it figured out as far as the environmental concerns."
Others in attendance, however, had already made up their minds about the project.
Phuong Smith, of Filer, munched on some of the food provided and talked with friends.
"I eat the food before I suffer," she joked. "There'll be no water to drink and they'll pollute the air."
Smith was born and raised in Vietnam, and said she loves the freedom that the U.S. offers its citizens.
"I lived under a Communist dictatorship," she said. "I appreciate the freedom of this country. But when it comes to something like this, I feel citizens don't have rights because big corporations have money and more rights."
"(Sempra) told me all the wonderful things they're going to do for this valley," she added. "But the truth is, I think they're pretty slick. When it comes in, it'll turn out to be not the way they said. I feel like we are suckers. They think we are suckers because we don't have regulations."
Her biggest concern is water use and the depletion of the aquifer.
Sempra officials said they have optioned enough water—7,000 acre-feet per year—to run the facility, and said they have factored in the likelihood that they won't get the full water right upon transfer.
Marty Swartz, director of project development for Sempra Generation, said if the transfer is approved by the Idaho Department of Water Resources the company will receive less than the full water right because the right will change from agricultural to industrial use.
Unlike agricultural use, industrial use is 100 percent consumptive, he said, which means none of the water goes back into the ground to replenish the aquifer. Thus the full water right might not be granted.
Environmental and social concerns prompted Carl Nellis, of Jerome, to form a grassroots group, Citizens for the Protection of Resources.
"We're being asked to make a major commitment that will be multi-generational," he said. "We're being asked to trade a rural way of life, a clean environment, for a little bit of money and a few jobs. It will change the political structure in Jerome County. We need to treat (the power plant) like a drug: Just say no."
