Humboldt Wind Energy Project on Monument Ridge Heading to Planning Commission
Computer generated depiction of impact to view from Rio Dell farmland [screenshot from DEIR]
This is a press release from Humboldt County:
The Humboldt Wind Energy Project is being scheduled for a Public Hearing with the Humboldt County Planning Commission. These hearings are an important opportunity for the public to understand the project and provide comments for the Commission to consider as they decide on whether the project should be approved. The project consists of up to 60 wind turbine generators (WTGs) and associated infrastructure at a site about 20 miles south of Eureka. The WTGs would be located on Monument and Bear River Ridges with a gen-tie line roughly following Shively Ridge to the point of interconnection at the Bridgeville substation. If approved, the project could generate up to 155 MW of power.
A Final Environmental Impact (FEIR) will be available for public review by November 4, 2019. The FEIR contains the Draft EIR, the comments received on the DEIR, responses to those comments and refinements made since the public review of the DEIR. The FEIR contains a full description of the project including changes made in response to agency and public comment.
On Thursday, November 7, the Public Hearing will begin at 4 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors Chambers of the Humboldt County Courthouse. This hearing will include a presentation of the project and the analysis and conclusions presented in the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR). This will include an explanation of project refinements in response to public input. There will be an opportunity for public comment on the project and FEIR. No action will be taken at this hearing.
The hearing will be continued to Thursday, November 14, at 4 p.m. to allow time for public review of the FEIR. As part of their review, the Planning Commission will consider alternatives identified in the FEIR. and the Commission may act on the FEIR and project at the conclusion of the public hearing
,.Staff is recommending certification of the Environmental Impact Report, adoption of Statements of Overriding Considerations, adoption of findings that the project is consistent with applicable policies and regulations, adoption a mitigation monitoring, and reporting program and approval of the project as revised in the FEIR.
The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the project was released on April 23, 2019, and the associated public comment period closed on June 1. During the public review period, comments were received from numerous agencies, organizations, and individuals. The FEIR provides responses to the written comments received during the public review period. As a result of the comments received, Humboldt Wind LLC refined the project layout based on the presence of sensitive resources and other factors. Supplemental technical studies conducted in support of the project were used to further refine the project footprint, minimizing potential impacts and increasing the effectiveness of proposed mitigation measures. An example is the micro siting of the wind turbine generators by the project proponent so as to avoid areas with the highest passage rates for Marbled Murreletts.
The public may view the Final EIR online at https://humboldtgov.org/2408/Humboldt-Wind-Energy-Project or at any of the following locations:
Humboldt County Public Library – Rio Dell Branch
715 Wildwood Avenue
Rio Dell, CA 95562
Humboldt County Public Library – Ferndale
807 Main Street
Ferndale, CA 95536
Humboldt County Library – Eureka
1313 3rd Street
Eureka, CA 95501
Scotia Community Services District
400 Church Street
Scotia, CA 95565
The Multi- Generational Center
2280 Newburg Road
Fortuna, CA 95540
County of Humboldt
Planning and Building Department
3015 H Street
Eureka, CA 95501
Questions about the Humboldt Wind Project and opportunities to participate in the process may be directed to: Steve Werner, Supervising Planner, Humboldt County Planning and Building Department, (707) 445-7541.
Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules
Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/
Three days after the city of Eureka returns Duluwat to the Wiyot, John Ford picks up the torch of genocide and moves to desecrate Tsakiyuwit’s high prayer sites in pursuit of corporate profits. Nothing has changed since the oppression began. For shame.
This was a big concern of mine as well, but I found out that the project will be using a proven radar detection system called IdentiFlight, so it can shut down the blades during migrations. It’s used all over the world now. check it out. I gotta say, I love that our county has the opportunity to make so much green power. Let’s replace fossil fuels. They are killing everyone and every thing.
Take your computer generated comment and post it where someone cares. This project is trash.
That comment doesn’t look to be fake in any way, and a lot of people care about the environment. Just because you do not doesn’t mean you should attack other posters.
Well, I typed it into my computer. I guess that makes it computer generated.
/” Let’s replace fossil fuels. “/
Let’s define fossil fuels. Natural gas, coal, oil. Leftovers from dinosaurs? Really?
/”Green power”/ – yep, i’m w/Dr. phil (computer generated)
These wind turbines also shine red blinking lights at night which scientist say attract bats and are killing thousands. Also up for debate is the use of hexafluoide gas or SF6 in these turbines; a powerful greenhouse gas…
SF6 is used in high-power switchgear for all types of power plants, substations, etc. It will be used in any non-wind plant as well.
This ridge is a sacred place for natives, non natives and raptors and animals. Huge amounts of concrete (not to able to remove ever) to stabilize 60 massive towers, thousands of gallons of oil to lubricate each year and a life span of only 20 o 30 years for power that goes to some faraway grid. Plus all that widening of roads thru ancient redwoods just hardly seems worth it. This from a big money corporation whose best interest is not yours.
Right, because there’s no concrete used to obtain coal, oil, or natural gas, or lubricating oil for that matter, and a couple wider roads is much more damaging than strip mining, oil drilling, pipelines,… and we never, ever run those mines or pipelines or such through an area someone considers important…
Other than concerns about birds, fossil fuel power production is more-damaging on every single point. And, fossil fuel production kills birds too, through loss of habitat, oil spills, pollution, turning the entire planet into a desert wasteland,…
🕯🌳Then put yourself or an elected official on the board that oversees them so that you or whoever’s elected can direct the your problems to the operate place.🖖
~i’m not sure anyone who is elected has the stamina to resist. If whomever decides to run for office talks the same old stagnant points, and never mentions the Law of the Land, they’re wasting their time and ours.
This /unicorn/ save the planet/ despite the earth/ nonsense has to stop. Just the energy from placing the wind turbines could power humboldt for 5 years! I would look deeper as to who by what agency was granted the funds to push this garbage project. Makes great sense to me, to clean up the environment you essentially have to eliminate humans!
While you’re wrong about the “Just the energy from placing the wind turbines could power humboldt for 5 years!”, even if you were right, that’d still be less than they’re going to put out, so it would be beneficial to install them.
Maybe at some point we’ll have to localize our own power sources when PG&E goes bankrupt. Better green energy infrastructure in place than trying to get the nuclear hazard plant back up. Or everyone using 10 thousand personal gas generators every other week.
There is no getting the nuclear plant back up, because there is no more nuclear plant. Except for the casks of spent fuel rods, it’s entirely gone. Nothing left. The expected final end date for the entire project is two months away, when they can declare that there’s no sign there was ever a nuclear plant remaining.
…besides the spent fuel rods buried on a fault line, with no plans to ever relocate them.
After this ridiculous influx of power outages on behalf of our friends pge I’m gonna give far less shits about the horrific view of windmills off in the distance as long as the power is solely being used to power northern California
🕯🌳Thank you Kelley for that information. 🖖
Bad idea, bad project, wrong place to put it. Sacred location. Tired of talking about it.
Rex and Estelle and the rest of the “planning” gang probably being paid off.
Write some letters before this mess gets built!
Great idea, good project, best place to put it. Your ancestors would be quite happy that people were working to save the planet.
What location in Humboldt is un-sacred enough to use for renewable energy?
Oh, I think they should put it out in the middle of someone’s copacetic marijuana farm… Marijuana being about as necessary to Humboldt County as huge ugly-ass windmills on a pristine wooded ridge…
Put the wind farm out in Alderpoint, Blocksburg, freaking Harris, up on Island Mountain! Run some wires to the “dep” greenhouses and everywhere else. East of Garberville is already a wasteland (so is Garberville), build it there instead.
It’s a stupid plan, in a stupid place, proposed by very stupid people, and supported by, guess what, further numbers of “bulldoze and build” types…
Your and my ancestors will be standing there, wondering just WTF people were thinking, just like the kids staring at the decommissioned nuclear plants and the gas fired generator down in King Salmon… Cancer Cluster much, Eureka?
The future will wonder just who came up with this horrible project, and how much locals pocketed to abuse the environment and then abandon the area… Go look at “The Geysers”, another project, in the same vein, which apparently is due to be decommissioned itself.
Some things just should not be done, especially when there is a huge empty federal area out past Cedarville that is very windy, and only 300 miles of wire away.
Concur, Spanish Welfare Billy.
Fossil fuel propaganda. The number of birds killed by wind turbines is negligible.
They should just scrap the idea & build a nuclear reactor on the ridge instead.
That’s exactly what the Chinese government who provides all of your electronics would have done.
Or maybe, they would have built a dam so huge & flooded an ancient gorge displacing thousands of people & destroying thousands of years of cultural artifacts instead.
It doesn’t seem to matter to worldwide electronics consumer like you & I!!!
Blah blah blah. Sacred this, sacred that. Nothing’s sacred to everyone.
I guess the slave labor of the people grinding out 18 hour days to assemble your fucking smartphones doesn’t have much sanctity.
Why should I give the slightest shit about your sacred sites, when you people opposing this couldn’t give a shit about the aforementioned damage caused in the pursuit of electronic supremacy.
The hypocrisy from all sides is never ending.
Queztacoatl
Hear, hear!!
I have respect for what the indians are saying, the bear river casino on the eagle prairie over loleta also has placement issues.
And another tribe in crescent city is locating their casino to be closer to the highway, right to the meadow the elk like.
And like you are saying, all life is sacred but only the life in proximity to our convenience/inconvenience is being considered.
First of all, I am all for green, renewable energy, but like almost every project, it comes down to location, location, location. Terra Gen came to Dumboldt because they knew they could pull a fast one and make tons of money for their investors at the expense of our local environment. There were almost 6,000 pages of comments with supporting information and documentation to the DEIR. Please take the time to at least look at them.
CDFW told Terra Gen and the County early on that the site is either a Category 3 – Project Sites with High or Uncertain Potential for Wildlife Impacts or Category 4 – Project Sites Inappropriate for Wind Development. CDFW ultimately determined and concluded that “..all or portions of the Project fall into Category 4 – Project Sites Inappropriate for Wind Development. See page 795 of 2293 of Part 1 of the comments.
There are also numerous organizations including the American Bird Conservancy, the North Coast Chapter of the Wildlife Society, the California Native Plant Society, our own North Coast Environmental Center, EPIC and Concerned Citizens for Responsible Wind Development who have serious concerns with the LOCATION of the project.
On September 11, 2019, Supervisor Fennell on KINS “TalkShop” said there was the “Not In My Back Yard” (NIMBY) issue. She did speak about what a good location it is because of the wind, but failed to mention the biological and wildlife impacts. I have to believe she did not read the DEIR and/or the almost 6,000 pages of comments. If she did read the information and still supports the project, I and all of us should be truly disappointed.
The existing communication towers on Monument Ridge and the taller of the two cell towers on Humboldt Hill are about 200 feet tall. Just envision an up to 650 foot windmill with flashing lights on Humboldt Hill. Crazy right!
Forget the Avenue of the Giants, we may have a “Highway of the Iron Giants” in maybe one of the worst possible locations (environmentally ) on the west coast. The location is the northern gateway of the world famous Humboldt Redwoods State Park and the Avenue of the Giants. Visitors won’t be talking about “Murder Mountain” anymore, they’ll be asking “How did you let that happen?”
Terra Gen and Supervisors Fennell and Bohn have talked about the jobs and the tax revenue the project will bring. Most all of the expected 300 temporary jobs will be filled from qualified labor outside the area. It’s likely that the 15 permanent jobs will also be filled by quaified, experienced labor from outside the area. What will this do to our housing? Rent and housing prices are sky high now. It’s cheaper to buy and rent in Grants Pass, Medford, Redding, Red Bluff, Woodland, Marysville, Yuba City and Sacramento. In regards to taxes, Supervisor Bohn said the County will receive 76 million over the 30 year life of the project. That’s 2.53 million a year if he is right. According to the Humboldt County Tax Collector, (https://humboldtgov.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/1227), the property taxes are distributed as follows:
Schools (State of California) = 62.5% = $1,644,500 a year
County General Fund = 16.1% = 407,000 a year
Special Districts = 7.5% = $189,750 a year
Redevelopment (pay of existing debt) = 7.4% = $187,220 a year
Cities (split 7 ways) = 2.5% = $63,250 a year
County Roads = 2.2% = $55,660 a year
County Library = 1.9% = $48,070 a year
Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see the increase tax revenue, but not at the expense of a natural resources. Again, it comes down to LOCATION, LOCATION and LOCATION. There are other locations within the County that are environmentally superior locations, including the ridges just above the Bridgeville sub-station that exhibit good wind characteristics, maybe not as good as Monument and Bear River Ridges. But heck they could place a couple more turbines (windmills) to make up the difference. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL, https://www.nrel.gov/ ) has maps that show wind data. Yes, the greatest wind energy potential is off-shore.
The County is fast-tracking this project for Terra Gen’s benefit (Investment and Productions Tax Credits) and not the communities and the environment. Let’s step back, take a breath, explore the proposed RCEA’s off-shore project and other environmentally superior locations in the County.
Really. And we should also investigate just who is getting paid off here, to green-light this terrible proposal…
I feel like they are fast tracking it for all our benefit. We need green power. We need power that is independent of pg&e because they just started another fire. They are going the way of the dodo bird, and we in the isolated north, better be ready.
This project covers pge’s portion of our electric needs, and terra gen has to put money into upgrading our electeic grid. Maybe they can install the parts needed to isolate our part of the grid so we can have juice when the rest of the state has to lose theirs.
All these people wanting green power and they have no idea how much grease and oil leak out of these wind towers and Leach into the ground. Not to mention the fossil fuels needed to move the components and the lack of bio degradable components and the huge impact to land fills when parts wear out or taken down. Ignorance is bliss.