Mesquite Insights

A community meeting was held last week in St. George concerning the proposed Toquop coal fired power plant.  The city council came out opposed to the project as did the Utah Department of Environmental Quality.  When the project was first proposed, there was little opposition from the folks in Utah.  But once more information was released such as: diesel as the back-up fuel and air pollution estimates, opposition quickly grew. 

To have a sufficient quantity of back-up fuel available, the project is proposing a 1 million gallon+ diesel storage facility.  The amount of fuel raises serious concerns as it would make the project a potential terrorist target.  Furthermore, the project, and the fuel tanks, would be on an existing earthquake fault.  Both factors should cause the regulating community to reconsider, or deny, the request for the project.

And no-one wants any degredation of our clean air.  That is one of the natural resources that draws people to this part of the country - not only to visit, but to live and to call home.  While Mesquite and Souther Utah have a tainted past as a result of the above ground nuclear testing conducted in the desert outside of Las Vegas, there is a strong desire to keep history from repeating itself. 

Is it possible that the strong and growing opposition to the Toquop power plant will influence the decision makers?  Visit my blog regularly to check for updates on this important issue.

Despite cancelling an agreement to obtain water from land developers in neighboring Lincoln County (2500 acre feet of precious water needed to operate the turbines at the planned Toquop Coal Fired Power Plant) Sithe Global says they are still moving forward with their plans for the power plant and are looking for other water resources.

For those who oppose the power plant, this is good news.  It is another delay - one that might be more difficult to overcome.  The Virgin Valley Water District will not provide the water and neither will the Southern Nevada Water Authority.  There are very few alternatives.  While Sithe Global might go back to the land developers to generate a new agreement, the water that was offered in the original agreement was actually water the developers hoped to receive as their next allotment from the State of Nevada - the water was not a secured source.

One group, Defend our Desert, formed to fight Toquop.  But now that the public testimony and hearings have been completed, the group appears to be losing focus.  While it is still active, it is looking for other means to get their message across and to rejuvinate their members.