Friday, December 9, 2005

Sempra review needs more public involvement

Guest opinion by Lee Halper


Lee Halper is an environmental activist and government watchdog who lives in Jerome, in Lincoln County.

My name is Lee Halper and right now I am the only legal impediment to Sempra Energy's attempt to put a toxic spewing coal plant in Jerome County. There are several groups that have formed throughout the Magic Valley to oppose this plant but the final approval can come down to one person. Yes, one person's decision can affect the health of Idaho. Who is that person? Not the governor or the head of Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. Jerome County has three county commissioners and if one was to be recused and another abstained, that leaves one.

Sempra had its meteorological station permit hearing on May 23. I appealed the Planning and Zoning Commission's approval to the Board of County Commissioners.

On Oct. 4, the board voted to approve my appeal and remand the issue back to the P&Z. On Nov. 1, the board decided to re-decide their decision after Sempra threatened them with a "takings" lawsuit. On Nov. 15, I filed a lawsuit on the legality of their decision as well as the method used to reach that decision in violation of the open meeting laws of our state. If you are online and want a copy of this lawsuit, send me an e-mail at slvrchst@magiclink.com

As a past recipient of the Max Dalton Open Government Award, I am very familiar with how government is supposed to operate and making decisions in closed or executive sessions is not only not legal, it is an affront to our constitution and our rights as citizens.

If the Jerome County commissioners will go to this extent on a monitoring station, what levels won't they stoop to when it comes to the other permitting stages? I simply want them to obey the same laws that apply to everyone else and they have a history of ignoring that duty.

On Dec. 7, state Sen. Clint Stennett, state Reps. Wendy Jaquet and Donna Pence held a forum in Sun Valley and Hailey to raise awareness on the Sempra issue because Sen. Stennett's attempt to get an interim committee to consider a coal plant siting "bill" was turned down. His efforts at the 2005 Legislature were equally rebuffed.

The Sempra coal plant will not be bound by any decent environmental regulations and its emissions of mercury, PM2.5s, NOX, SOX, etc. can easily travel the 80 miles to the Wood River Valley and beyond. Idaho already has mercury warnings for some of its water bodies without having any major sources of mercury production. Sempra would change all that and add grotesquely to our existing problems.

What can you do? Educate yourself on these dinosaur power producers that will send their power out of state while leaving their toxins here. Communicate with any or all of the groups formed to oppose this debacle: CPR of Jerome, 324-3202; KMVM of Twin Falls, 734-6360; or CHIC of Hagerman at www.healthyidaho.org. Or form a Wood River Valley group and join the fight to keep Idaho's air clean and her water cleaner. Idaho Conservation League (345-6942) is also involved. My group is LAWS, which can be reached at 324-2240, and if you want to donate money to the legal defense fund, please send a non-tax-deductible check to LAWS, 331 S 230 W, Jerome, 83338. It's your air, your water, your decision.




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.