Groups
Question California Park Agency's Apparent Approval of Sunrise Powerlink
Through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
March 07, 2006 — By the Center for Biological Diversity
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Three conservation groups have sent a letter to the
California Department of Parks and Recreation questioning the agency's
apparent decision to allow San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) to construct the
"Sunrise Powerlink" through the heart of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The
letter was sent by the California Wilderness Coalition, Center for Biological
Diversity, and Sierra Club to Ruth Coleman, director of the Parks department.
Documents discovered by the Border Power Plant Working Group and shared with
the conservation groups appear to indicate that the Department of Parks and
Recreation approved the Powerlink at least as early as February 2005.
According to comments by Parks representative Dave Lawhead as recorded in
minutes from the February 10, 2005 Imperial Valley Study Group's Transmission
Planning Collaborative, "[State Parks] has worked out an agreement with SDG&E
to put a new 500 kilo-volt line from San Felipe through Anza-Borrego State
Park using the corridor of an existing low voltage line."
"The primary purpose of our letter is to get a straight answer from the Parks
department on whether they've approved an awful industrial project through a
cherished state park," said David Hogan, director of the Urban Wildlands
Program for the Center for Biological Diversity. "We've discovered some
disturbing evidence and want to hear the agency's side of the story."
In the event the Parks department did OK the line, the letter also asks how
this decision is consistent with the mission of the park to preserve natural
and cultural resources and support quality environmental recreation. In the
event the Parks department did not approve the line, the letter requests
information on how this decision might be made in the future.
"In a way we hope that the source document is inaccurate," said Kelly Fuller
of the Sierra Club. "How could it be true that the Parks department approved a
massive new transmission line through Anza-Borrego before any due process,
before any required environmental analysis, and before public notification?"
The Sunrise Powerlink is a major new large-capacity transmission line proposed
for construction from the Imperial Valley to the north coastal City of San
Diego through many communities, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, the Cleveland
National Forest, and the San Diego Multiple Species Conservation Plan
preserve.
SDG&E's claims that the new line is necessary to improve energy reliability
and to deliver renewable energy are refuted by independent energy experts,
consumer groups and environmentalists who believe the line is intended
primarily to move imported power from Sempra Energy facilities in Mexico and
Arizona to increase the company's market power in southern California.
A pdf copy of the conservation group's letter is available by request to
Kelly Fuller.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a non-profit conservation
organization with over 18,000 members dedicated to the protection of imperiled
species and their habitats.
Contact Info:
David Hogan
Center for Biological Diversity
Tel: (760) 809-9244
E-mail :
dhogan@biologicaldiversity.org
Kelly Fuller
Sierra Club
Tel: (619) 933-9969
E-mail :
k.d.fuller@sbcglobal.net
Website :
the Center for Biological Diversity