Title: FW: [globalnews] Bush OKs Development of Medicine Lake Sacred Site
Environment News Service
Controversial Geothermal Project Gets Go Ahead
By Cat Lazaroff
WASHINGTON, DC, November 27, 2002 (ENS) - The Bush administration has approved development of a controversial geothermal power project in California's Modoc National Forest near a lake considered sacred by several Native American tribes. The approval overturns a Clinton administration decision to deny permits to the project, citing the region's environmental and historic values.
Medicine Lake
An aerial view of Medicine Lake, near the site of the proposed geothermal plant. (Two photos by Julie Donnelly-Nolan, courtesy U.S. Geological Survey)
On Tuesday, the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service approved development by the Calpine Corporation of a 48 megawatt geothermal power plant at Telephone Flat, near Medicine Lake on the Modoc National Forest in northern California, just south of the Oregon border. The agencies said that despite concerns raised by Native American and environmental groups, the project was justifiable due to the increased demand for renewable energy.
"Production of electricity from the geothermal resource will help the nation take steps toward increasing domestic energy supplies, particularly from renewable sources," said Assistant Interior Secretary Rebecca Watson.
But opponents of the plan said the geothermal project will destroy the pristine environment that makes the site so important to recreational visitors and Native Tribes.
"It's another betrayal by the federal government of another promise to the tribe," Michelle Berditschevsky, environmental coordinator for the Pit River Nation and spokeswoman for the Native Coalition for Medicine Lake Highlands Defense, told the "Associated Press."
Glass Mountain
The Medicine Lake highlands include spectacular features like Glass Mountain, a steep flow of volcanic glass or obsidian that erupted just outside the main caldera.
"The site is extremely sacred to the tribe and has been for at least 10,000 years," she added.
The approval from the federal government is part of a reconsideration process that began in April 2002, based on a settlement between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the CalEnergy Corporation, the original leaseholder for geothermal resources on the 15 acre site. The settlement agreement required BLM and the Forest Service to reconsider their joint decision in 2000 to deny a permit for the Telephone Flat Project.
The 2000 decision was based on an environmental impact analysis that concluded that the construction of the geothermal plant would destroy some of the environmental and spiritual values of the site, located on the edge of the Medicine Lake caldera, an ancient volcanic crater. The Clinton administration noted that the proposed plant would be a noisy and unsightly addition to an area that attracted a growing number of vacationers, and also impact the sacred value of the sight to area Tribes.
CalEnergy sued the federal government, seeking compensation for the investment it had made in energy leases at Telephone Flat. CalEnergy later sold its interest in the leases to the Calpine Corporation, which asked the Bush administration to revisit the decision
"The decision ... fulfills the government's 20 year obligation to the leaseholder," said Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth.
This week's decision by the Bush administration, which was based on the original environmental analysis conducted in 1997 and 1998, will allow Calpine to proceed with plans for the $120 million power plant. Kent Robertson, a spokesperson for Calpine, said that while the company still needs to evaluate whether the project "remains feasible," Calpine is "confident that the project can go forward."
The planned power plant will use hot water from deep within the Earth to produce enough electricity for about 50,000 homes. The water will then be re-injected into the geothermal pool to be reheated and reused. Calpine has projected that the plant will operate for at least 45 years.
The Interior Department and Forest Service added several measures aimed at reducing the plant's impacts on the Telephone Flat site. Calpine must realign a proposed 13 mile long power line to avoid a roadless forest area, instead running the line along an existing Forest Service road to reduce visual and environmental impacts.
table
Medicine Lake is attracting increasing numbers of visitors, who critics say will be disturbed by drilling for the proposed geothermal power plant.
The power line path will also bypass the Medicine Lake Area Traditional Cultural Places District, helping to alleviate some of the concerns raised by Native tribes.
"I am especially appreciative of the mitigation measures DOI is requiring within the lease area to reduce impacts on traditional cultural values and uses of the Tribes," Bosworth said.
However, the administration acknowledged in a press release that affected Tribes "remain opposed to the project," despite personal meetings with Bosworth and BLM Director Kathleen Clarke.
The Medicine Lake Highlands, northeast of Mt. Shasta, are sacred to the Pit River, Modoc, Shasta, Karuk and Wintu tribes. The tribes believe the waters of Medicine Lake have power to heal and to renew, and the highlands are used as a training ground for traditional medicine practitioners.
In winter, snowmobilers are a common sight along the Medicine Lake Highlands.
In 1999, a coalition of tribes petitioned the National Register of Historic Places to recognize the Medicine Lake caldera as a Traditional Cultural District, an action which led to the Clinton administration's rejection of the proposed Telephone Flat project.
The reversal of that decision means that Calpern will be drilling in two sites within the Medicine Lake Highlands: Telephone Flat and a previously approved project in an area known as Fourmile Hill, just outside the recognized Traditional Cultural District. The decision also continues a pattern of expansion of energy exploration that began shortly after the Bush administration took office, when the BLM lifted a five year moratorium on further geothermal development in April 2001.
The administration argues that the geothermal projects will produce renewable energy with fewer environmental impacts than conventional energy sources.
"The power plant will also help California meet its legislative mandate of producing 20 percent of energy supplies from renewable energy sources by 2017," added the Interior Department's Watson.
sacred
A view of Medicine Lake and the surrounding highlands, all considered sacred by several Native American tribes. (Photo courtesy Advisory Council on Historic Preservation)
In September, California passed legislation requiring the state to double its supply of renewable resources, and for retail sellers of electricity to boost their use of renewable resources by at least one percent each year until the 20 percent target is met by 2017. Calpern was given a $20 million grant for the Telephone Flat project by the California Energy Commission, which will also subsidize the power plant using funds paid by utility customers.
But much of the power generated at the Telephone Flat plant will not go directly to California customers. Most of the electricity the plant produces will be sold to the Bonneville Power Administration, which serves Oregon, Washington and Idaho, though Bonneville does sell some power to California.
Calpine will build the plant within the Glass Mountain Known Geothermal Resource Area, identified in the 1970s as a region with potential for development of geothermal energy. Leases for geothermal development were sold in the mid-1980s, and the BLM and Forest Service received the initial proposals for the Telephone Flat plant in 1996.
The proposed plant must still be reviewed by local regulators. Because the plant is expected to generate less than 50 megawatts of electricity, it is not subject to review by the California Energy Commission, but falls under the authority of Siskiyou County, where the project would be located.
The plant must also survive a lawsuit filed in June by a coalition of Native Tribes and environmental groups who charge that the plant will release toxic gases and heavy metals by pumping hot water and steam from deep underground. The project has also been challenged by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, which says the power plant "may adversely affect historic properties in the Medicine Lake Highlands."
The BLM record of decision regarding the Telephone Flat project is available at: http://www.ca.blm.gov/alturas/medicinelake.html
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2002. All Rights Reserved.
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