Letters to the Editor
Questioning Ormat
Dear Editor,
How I love free press, but what we have here is a failure to communicate and understand. I have called Mammoth Lakes home for just shy of 38 years, I am a home owner, business owner, property owner, MCWD Board Member, coach, volunteer, father, husband and friend to some. Or put another way, this is my home and this is the community I live in and care deeply about; the rest of the stuff is just part of the WHY!
I don’t read multiple newspapers each day and I don’t speak multiple languages. But I do take the time to learn and understand an issue before I open my mouth.
You all know our neighbor Ormat, located right outside our city limits. They have a little geothermal project located at the junction of U.S. 395 and Route 203. Ormat is also in the process of proposing to enlarge their project and produce more clean renewable energy by means of mining geothermal heat via steam with some added iso-butane; run through turbines that produce energy that is sold to electric companies and then the cooled water is returned to the ground in and around the Plant that is located at 395 & 203.
Great, simple to the point, clean, long lasting, environmentally friendly and supported by many government agencies. After all, what are a few above ground pipe lines with 360 degree water running through our forest, or a few three-acre well sites built around our town’s main park going to hurt? The hum of the pumps, the vaporizing steam heating the ground and the heat from the pipes may even melt the snow quicker so we can play on the fields sooner; and as long as it is windy we don’t have to worry about the carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide gas emissions at each well location.
Sustainable energy – wonderful. But why is Ormat looking to drill and pump in different locations now? Have they used up the hot water where they are? Maybe the sustainable part is not so sustainable. What happens when the heat runs out under the Shady Rest Park area? Will Ormat propose drilling in the Knolls? They have a test well on the Scenic Loop already.
No effect on our water – wonderful. But why did the surface pond next to 395 disappear after the geothermal plant opened 30 years ago and has never returned? Why has the MCWD well site located at Sam’s Wood Site shown signs of elevated heat and chemicals that are indicative of geothermal sources? Why is vegetation dying from the Plant and moving westward?
Added tax dollars for the county and town – wonderful. But why has Ormat appealed the valuation that is currently on the books in Mono County in order to reduce their tax burden from $1.7 million to less than $700,000? This has affected our local schools, town and water district to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
What are the real numbers that may be pumped in acre feet of water and how is that monitored? That information is propriety to Ormat and they will not share it with the public. You see Ormat does not want to risk another competitor coming in and mining all the geo-thermal energy!
Why has the USGS recommended that at least one deep monitoring well be installed to monitor our area along with shallow wells? Why has USGS shown us that the ground around the wells that Ormat wants to develop has a ground temperature in excess of 200 degrees F, a mere 4 inches to 1 foot below the surface?
As a matter of fact, why is there any argument at all about this? We are talking about a $100 million – $150 million project (or so says Ormat) and a community that has a taxable asset value of close to $4 billion. Why in the world would we not assume that Ormat would be willing to do the right thing to put the 8,000 residences of town at ease even if it meant spending $5+ million for monitoring? After all that is 3 to 5 percent of the entire project, how absurd that we add to the project cost to protect the community’s water and allow everyone to sleep at night.
Or could it be that Ormat knows something we don’t and the reality is with such monitoring you would see affects and it would cause the shutdown of the project? Keep in mind we are still arguing about monitoring and not the mitigation part, which Ormat has not even mentioned.
From my point of view, and as a MCWD board member, I will not risk this community’s water, livelihood and future to any corporation, whether they be near or far in ownership or in their concern for our community.
I intend to stand up to the agencies that seem to be very involved with Ormat and this project; I intend to protect Shady Rest, where our kids and adults play; and ensure the water of this community.
And while we are on the subject of water, I am proud of the results that the MCWD was able to achieve with LADWP without a costly and lengthy legal battle with an uncertain outcome. If anyone would like all the details of that issue, all you have to do is call me.
Tom Cage
Mammoth Lakes
Celebrate the Wilderness Act
Dear Editor:
I just had the opportunity to attend a special screening in Swall Meadows of the Smithsonian Channel’s special Aerial America episode celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. It was a great reminder of the important legacy that this landmark law has given California and our local communities in Inyo and Mono County.
I personally have enjoyed great trips to the John Muir and Hoover Wilderness areas this summer and have had many out of town friends visit and enjoy their time in the Wilderness as well. It’s little wonder folks come from all over the country and from abroad to spend time (and money) visiting our great Eastern Sierra landmarks.
California’s beautiful and unique wilderness areas provide clean water and clean air for our communities, preserve wildlife habitat, and give us opportunities to reconnect with nature in its most primitive form.
I hope that in this anniversary year of the Wilderness Act, everyone will help celebrate our living lands legacy by getting outside, venturing into the wilderness and our area’s other special places, and learning what these special places have to offer.
I also hope that in the face of Congressional gridlock on wilderness, President Obama will step in and permanently protect some of our nation’s best remaining wild places (like the San Gabriel Mountains in our state) as national monuments.
Fran Hunt
Bishop
Sierra Classic Theatre “thank you”
Dear Editor:
Sierra Classic Theatre (SCT) would like to thank the Mammoth community for their outstanding support and enthusiasm for this year’s Shakespeare in the Woods production of “A Mammoth Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
SCT was able to put on a professional, much beloved show attended by record numbers of Mammoth locals and visitors alike thanks to the generous support of the Town of Mammoth Lakes and the Measure U committee, and Sam and Shelly Walker for use of the incredible Woodsite.
Thank you to the many businesses and individuals who donated to and helped with the production: Shira Dubrovner and Mammoth Lakes Repertory Theater/Mammoth Lakes Foundation, Mammoth Brewing Company, DIY Center, Mary Walker/Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, Don Kunze, Mammoth Hospital, KMMT/KRHV, Mike Melin/Convict Lake Resort, Roberto’s Cafe, Side Door Cafe, Bleu Handcrafted Foods, Campo, Toomey’s, Dave Schacht/Sierra Star Golf Course, Cai Lepre/ Second Chance Thrift Store, Holly Alpert, Anne Harnagel, Jim Harnagel, Finlay Torrance, Sarah Lawrence, Cirilo Rodriguez, Tom Johnson, Jessica Fleener and Ben Manning.
We extend a humble thank you to our audiences for their overwhelming generosity and resounding spirit. We cannot wait to play again for you next year.
Allison McDonell Page
Sierra Classic Theatre
