Camas Prairie, Elmore County, Idaho

Category Archives: A Problem

Did You Know: The Proposed Power Infrastructure for Cat Creek Reservoir

  • The proposed powerhouse would house twelve 60 MW ternary turbines.
  • The powerhouse would also house additional pump facilities which would utilize the same penstocks feeding the turbine/generators to lift the stored water 840 feet from Anderson Ranch Reservoir for storage in the new Cat Creek Reservoir on Little Camas Prairie.
  • The penstocks would be six 14-16 ft diameter steel pipelines each 2,500 feet long.

Reference: Cat-Creek-Energy-FERC-Application-Nov2018.pdf at … Cat Creek Energy FERC Application - Nov 2018 or at the direct link at http://catcreek-energy.com/download/743/

14 Dec. 2018 Public Hearing to Amend the Cat Creek Energy Development Agreement

Can you attend?

The Elmore County Commissioners have scheduled a public hearing in our county courthouse at 1:30 p.m. On Friday, December 14, 2018. The purpose of the hearing is to gather testimony regarding two possible amendment issues involving the development agreement between the county and Cat Creek Energy, LLC.

The complexity and unknowns involving this possible Cat Creek Energy mega-project continue to grow. And now the county commissioners and the Gooding, Idaho based corporation want to discuss amending a portion of an agreement they signed on February 9, 2018.

NOTE: Public testimony will be accepted at this hearing. We hope opponents of the Cat Creek Energy project will attend this meeting or provide written testimony prior to the hearing.

What are the Amendment Issue Options?

Officially, Elmore County indicates the two possibilities are:

1) Extend the period of time for Cat Creek Energy, LLC to enter into an agreement with Elmore County regarding the diversion and delivery of water

Or …

2) Amend the diversion and delivery of water for Elmore County.

More Information?

As of the publish date of this blog post/Facebook post, we don’t have the amendment wording that the commissioners and Cat Creek Energy will be discussing at this hearing.

Hopefully, Elmore County will release the proposed amendment wording early enough to allow our citizens time to read, research and craft an educated rebuttal.

Take Action Today

Even though we don’t have any information regarding how Cat Creek Energy would like to amend the diversion and delivery of water agreement from Anderson Ranch Reservoir to Little Camas Reservoir, we believe contacting your elected officials would be helpful.

You can call the two Elmore County Commissioners who will make the decision whether to allow the Cat Creek Energy project to move forward.

Commissioner Wes Wootan (208)599-3131

Commissioner Bud Corbus: (208) 599-1294

FYI: Commissioner Hofer has been recused from any decision making authority on the Cat Creek Energy project.

Anyone who wishes to testify, but is unable to attend the 1:30 p.m., Friday, December 14, 2018, hearing, may submit written testimony prior to the hearing by sending it to the:

Elmore County Land Use and Building Department
520 East 2nd South Street
Mountain Home, Idaho, 83647

You should also consider contacting other elected official listed on the webpage:

Mailing Addresses for Cat Creek Energy Issues

Reference: “Dec 14, 2018, Public Hearing Notice – Cat Creek Energy Development Agreement” that can be viewed or downloaded HERE Dec 14, 2018 Public Hearing Notice - Cat Creek Energy Development Agreement or at the direct link found at http://catcreek-energy.com/download/731/

How Big Will the Cat Creek Solar Energy Complex Be?

At the intersection of Hwy 20 and Pine-Featherville Road.

By our calculations, the Cat Creek Energy solar complex will cover almost 590 acres and consist of 170,000 solar panels. It’s hard to imagine just how big 590-acres of elk, deer and pronghorn migration blocking territory that covers. And for many in Elmore County, Idaho, they do not realize where this huge fenced-in complex would be located.

How big is a 590 Acres Cat Creek Energy Solar Plant?

  • About 17 US Pentagon buildings would fit inside the fence of the solar complex of the Cat Creek Energy project.
  • It’s larger than the country of Monaco.
  • It’s about five times as big as Vatican City.
  • It’s about 150 times as big as The Biltmore Estate.
  • It’s about 400 times as big as The White House.

Map Link to the Location of the Solar Complex: https://goo.gl/maps/6ioxxAX7ciL2

What Can You Do to Help Stop This Project?

Write, call and email anyone and everyone listed HERE (http://catcreek-energy.com/mailing-addresses-for-cat-creek-energy-issues/) and tell them you are opposed to the Cat Creek Energy project. You can tell your friends, neighbors, and coworkers about the project and how they can help prevent a mega-energy project from ruining our Elmore County backcountry.

“Transmission Lines Would Run From the Southern Shore” …

What the Anderson Ranch Reservoir view might look like when the Cat Creek Energy project is finished.

Elmore County’s own engineering study said this of the Cat Creek Energy project:

“Very limited information on the electrical line from the powerhouse to the
substation is presented. Voltage and construction information are absent. We surmise this line (34kV?) would run from the southern shoreline of Anderson Ranch Reservoir, ascend to the canyon rim through open forest habitat and then cross mixed grass land and shrub steppe to the substation. The line has the potential to cause a number of impacts to wildlife which would need to be addressed.”

In 2016, the Elmore County Planning and Zoning Board said the the vast majority of the project was “Not Compatible” with the surrounding environment when they denied Cat Creek Energy the permits to build a large-scale energy project in our backcountry.

Who hasn’t fished, boated, camped or driven along Anderson Ranch Reservoir? I can’t imaging anyone in Elmore County that hasn’t been along the shores of our finest body of water. This is what Cat Creek Energy considers “compatible” with the surroundings?

Take Action

Call, write to and/or email your government representatives and tell them you are opposed to the entire Cat Creek Energy project.

or, be bold and write a letter to:

Cat Creek Energy LLC
398 S. 9th St., Ste 240
Boise, ID 853701

List of addresses: http://catcreek-energy.com/mailing-addresses-for-cat-creek-energy-issues/

Reference: Attachment 2 found at Attachment 2 - Independent Review of the Cat Creek Energy Wildlife Management Plan

Can Cat Creek Energy be Trusted With Anderson Ranch Reservoir Water?

Yikes! Cat Creek Energy – A Problem, Not a Solution!

In a document published on Feb. 1, 2016, the Idaho Department of Fish & Game said the following of Cat Creek Energy’s plan to keep a new reservoir on Little Camas Prairie filled and functional with Anderson Ranch Reservoir and South Fork of the Boise River water:

“The rapid dewatering of ARR (Anderson Ranch Reservoir) in late summer/early fall already stall kokanee escapement into the SFBR until the mud flat delta stabilizes. Kokanee are vulnerable to predation and delayed during this time. It is likely a daily 2+ foot fluctuation will exacerbate this problem and potentially strand kokanee.”

Reference: See page 4 from this downloadable pdf document – Idaho Fish and Game on the Cat Creek Energy Project - Feb. 1, 2016

Stop the Cat Creek Energy Project (CCE) – Spread the Word

On October 20 & 21, 2018, we set up an information booth and spent the day at Carl Miller Park in Mountain Home, Idaho talking to the people who attended the 5th Annual Mountain Home Highland Games & World Fair.

Our goal was simple … Raise awareness about the Cat Creek Energy Project and how bad the project is for the residents of Elmore County.

The Cat Creek Energy Project is bad for Elmore County

What We Discovered – Many Locals Were Unaware of the CCE Project

A vast majority of the people who stopped by our booth were unaware that a corporation based in Gooding County wants to build a mega-energy project in our mountains just 21 miles from Mountain Home.

While we did talk with a few individuals who were from out-of-state, most of those who were interested in learning more about the ill-conceived project were from the Mountain Home area and knew nothing about the CCE Project. This means we have more work to do.

Video Highlighting Why Cat Creek is Bad for Elmore County

By The Numbers:

Booth Statistics – Number of Adults Interested in the Cat Creek Energy Project (CCE)

  • # of people who talked to us at the booth about the CCE Project: 104
  • # Opposed or Strongly Opposed to the CCE Project: 81
  • # who neither support nor oppose the CCE Project: 18
  • # who support the CCE Project: 5

Please help us stop the Cat Creek Energy Project. How? You can share a link to this website with your friends, co-workers, and neighbors, “like” our Facebook Page (@SBarRanch) and write to your federal, state and local government leaders. Tell them you are opposed to the entire project.

Results From the Oct. 5, 2018 Cat Creek Energy Public Hearing

If the Cat Creek Energy project gets approved, this is what you can expect to see on Little Camas Prairie.

A public hearing regarding the Cat Creek Energy and Elmore County Development Agreement was held on Friday, October 5, 2018. However, Cat Creek Energy lawyers and the county commissioners could not come to a satisfactory agreement over water issues and Cat Creek bowed out of this public hearing that they requested in September 2018.

With Cat Creek Energy withdrawing their draft amendment to the development agreement, the Elmore County Commissioners decided there was no reason to take public testimony on the issue. Chairman Wes Wootan and Commissioner Corbus voted to close out the public hearing immediately following a quick briefing by Buzz Grant, the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) legal counsel.

Mr. Grant indicated that Cat Creek Energy is aware that the incomplete Development Agreement needs to be finalized by December 31, 2018, or the conditional use permit for at least one portion of the mega-project will expire and be null and void.

The county fully expects Cat Creek Energy representatives will come back to the negotiating table in the future. Concerned citizens, the S Bar Ranch, and many others are closely monitoring all the shenanigans and legal maneuvering of Cat Creek Energy, LLC and will continue to post updates both on this website and on our Facebook page at @SbarRanch / https://www.facebook.com/SBarRanch/

Please help us get the word out by sharing this blog and/or Facebook posts.