During the summer of 2017, Little Camas Reservoir and the two downstream reservoirs were contaminated by blue-green algae according to state agencies. Little Camas Reservoir is located just 1.5 miles and 30 feet elevation from a planned new reservoir just above Anderson Ranch Reservoir, a recreational mecca for many residents of southwestern Idaho.
That new reservoir is part of a large-scale alternative energy project that could be built in southwestern Idaho’s Elmore County unless the county commissioner can be convinced the project is coming with more problems than solutions. We know the Elmore County Commissioners number one concern is acquiring a new source of domestic drinking water for the county residents. Cat Creek Energy, LLC wants to build a large reservoir above Anderson Ranch Reservoir and have indicated Elmore County could buy some of the water if certain condition are met. That new Cat Creek Energy Reservoir will be connected by a penstock, or a number of pipes drilled down through the sheer rock face and into Anderson.
Knowing that Little Camas Reservoir was tested and found to have toxic blue-green algae in it, do we really want to open that type of water transfer and contamination to Anderson Ranch Reservoir? Fishers, boaters, swimmers, and campers surely do not want to see blue-green algae in their favorite lake.
The Cat Creek Energy. LLC Project see https://drive.google.com/open?id=1oFWoeOrPuNVcNH0aKzCbjnneVdQFPeEm&usp=sharing
The Elmore County Commissioners are holding a public Rehearing on 20 different aspects and issues regarding the Cat Creek Energy Project at 6 p.m. on July 26, 2018. If you believe this project could result in more problems than benefits for the residents, please consider testifying and stating your opposition to the project. We believe the blue-green algae problem was never considered and it could easily cross-contaminate Anderson Ranch Reservoir.
From last summer’s advisory:
“Samples taken at the Little Camas Reservoir indicate bacteria counts that could make people and animals
sick, so everyone should heed these precautions and avoid contact with the water.”
If you value the outdoor recreation in and around this beautiful mountain lake, please attend the meeting in the War Memorial Hall (American Legion Post 26 Building) located at 515 E 2nd S St Mountain Home, ID 83647.
Originally published by the Yakima Herald on May 5, 2018.
The following article is an editorial written about a proposed wind farm that could be built just north of the town of Ellensburg, Washington. Ellensburg is located in central Washinton just off Interstate 90.
Overlooking Camas Prairie where 30-40 huge wind towers could soon be built.
Written By: Kathi Pritchard and Mark Pritchard | May 5, 2018
Kittitas County has an award-winning tourism sector. Yet the county will struggle to reap the benefits of recent investments when the state’s energy siting council approves its fourth energy project in the Kittitas valley just north of downtown Ellensburg.
“At almost 500 feet, nearly as tall as Seattle’s Space Needle, these will be the tallest seen on U.S. soil.” [the same size wind towers planned for Elmore County]
A French multinational corporation just asked the council to approve 31 giant turbines. At almost 500 feet, nearly as tall as Seattle’s Space Needle, these will be the tallest seen on U.S. soil. Spanning 4,400 acres along Highway 97, this energy project will threaten tourism efforts, stifling growth in local jobs and tax revenues.
The Chamber of Commerce and other local groups teamed up to create a tourism theme emphasizing the area’s rural roots such as the “Barn Quilt Trail Map”, “Hometown Holidays” and the Ellensburg Rodeo. The county carved a niche that complements more established promotions like Yakima’s wine country and Leavenworth. These strategies depend on the same asset to draw tourists, the scenic attractiveness of rural landscapes.
This is what the Cat Creek Summit Scenic Overlook in Elmore County, Idaho would look like if our local wind farm gets approved. This is bad for tourism.
Gov. Jay Inslee recently recognized tourism as a major vehicle for building stronger rural communities by approving tourism bill SB 5251. Washington’s Tourism Office aims to promote natural wonders, hiking, and outdoor recreation opportunities throughout the state. However, tourism assets become liabilities when energy developments dominate the landscape.
“Studies report wind turbines dramatically decrease the attractiveness of a destination for tourists.”
Research from Europe, where wind turbines have operated for 25 years, offers insights for decision-makers here. Studies report wind turbines dramatically decrease the attractiveness of a destination for tourists. A 2015 study of 2200 German communities show taller turbines create the strongest negative impact on tourism. Research from Scotland is making similar headlines that 55 percent of tourists are “less likely to visit areas of the countryside industrialized by giant turbines.” Deploying turbines across Scotland’s scenic highlands also reduced tourism jobs by 7 to 14 percent in affected areas. Scotland’s policy outlines a standard for compensating communities, roughly $7,000 per megawatt from energy developers. Elected officials advocate for “a fair share in the revenues generated from their natural resources.”
“55 percent of tourists are “less likely to visit areas of the countryside industrialized by giant turbines.”
Scotland and Germany are not alone in voicing concerns. England’s popular Lake District will dismantle wind turbines this summer. Local groups say dismantling turbines restores views. In the U.S., rural communities face the same dilemma.
“Tourism will not flourish when over half of tourists avoid visiting areas with industrial-scale energy.”
Tourism will not flourish when over half of tourists avoid visiting areas with industrial-scale energy.
Tourism is the state’s fourth largest industry and weathers economic downturns better than most. State employment data report tourism delivered the largest increase in Kittitas County jobs from 2004-2016. Tourism jobs increased by 66 percent locally, with accommodations and food services accounting the majority of all new jobs added. By contrast, government jobs, including Central Washington University, decreased by 22 percent during the same period.
“Looking at these data, it is safe to say that tourism is extremely important to the Kittitas County labor market,” said Don Meseck, the state’s regional economist. No other non-farm industry makes as strong a contribution to the local economy.
For tourism to grow in our rural communities, Washington needs a moratorium on permitting new energy projects. Policymakers should consider land-use conflicts that threaten the scenic vistas vital to tourism’s success.
“We cannot afford to damage our natural assets in ways that would deter visitors from returning,” according to Gov. Paul LePage.
As a state, we could learn from Maine’s moratorium on permits for new wind turbines. Gauging effects on rural tourism is an important issue for our state. “We cannot afford to damage our natural assets in ways that would deter visitors from returning,” according to Gov. Paul LePage.
A moratorium on energy siting is critical here for tourism’s development. A statewide vision of tourism’s future and the long-term economic welfare of our communities is at stake.
* Kathi Pritchard served as county director of tourism in Oregon, promoting the state to U.S. and international markets, and more recently worked as a communications consultant for British Columbia’s Ministry of the Attorney General.
* Mark Pritchard, PhD, is a professor in the College of Business at Central Washington University. He lectures on destination branding to graduate students in France and the U.S., and has served as a consultant for state tourism agencies in British Columbia, the Yukon Territory, Arizona, Oregon, and Western Australia. They live in Ellensburg.
“The planned Cat Creek Energy wind farm on Camas Prairie is a bad idea!” – Chris Stephens from the S Bar Ranch
The video below was taken on May 19, 2018, at 1:30 pm near the intersection of Cat Creek Road and Bennett Mountain Road in Elmore County, Idaho. The location gives a spectacular view of the Camas Prairie and the snowcapped Soldier Mountains in the distance. With Cat Creek Energy, LLC’s plan to construct between 30 and 40 wind turbines within the viewshed of this video, it’s easy to understand why we think the Elmore County Commissioners should put an end to this project.
The Video & Where Was It Taken?
The video is geotagged at 43.288762, -115.317848.
A link to a map of the location can be found at https://goo.gl/maps/JhxTYcGMixq
A total of eight or nine wind towers as tall as a 50 story skyscraper will be located within one mile of the video location unless we can convince Elmore County officials and the Cat Creek Energy leadership that a wind farm does not belong on Camas Prairie.
Take a drive up to the western portions of Camas Prairie and see for yourself the beauty of this area.
Contact the Elmore County Commissioners, Wes Wootan, Bud Corbus and Al Hofer and explain to them a wind farm in that planned location is a bad idea. The contact information for the commissioners can be found on the county website at http://www.elmorecounty.org/Commissioners/PDFs/default.html
If the project gets approval, the wind towers at the scenic viewpoint would look like this. Click for a larger version of this bad idea.
A rehearing on the amendments to the approval and conditions contemplated by the Elmore County/Cat Creek Energy Development Agreement will be scheduled very soon.
If that lead sentence didn’t confuse you, then it’s likely you have a legal background somewhere in your DNA.
Yes, this whole Cat Creek Energy project is a complex and data-intensive issue. Starting today we will try to simplify some of the legal and technical aspects surrounding our objections, and many of your objections as well, to this entire project. They say, “knowledge is power,” so a good start to gaining that knowledge is reading or skimming the documentation Elmore County drafted for the upcoming rehearing.
Holland & Hart (HH): the law firm currently representing Cat Creek Energy LLC
S Bar Ranch (SBR): owner/operator Chris Stevens
Hawley Troxell (HTEH): the law firm representing the S Bar Ranch in the Reconsideration Hearing and future litigation.
The Board of County Commissioner (BOCC): Wes Wooten, Bud Corbus and Al Hofer (recused) are the Elmore County Commissioners.
The Synopsis of the Document In this linked and downloadable 17 page document, the law firm representing the S Bar Ranch refutes Cat Creek Energy’s negative analysis of the second reconsideration request regarding a large-scale alternative energy project that includes the imminent construction of a wind farm on the western portions of Camas Prairie in southern Idaho.
The text highlighted in red is the legal opinion and rebuttal from Hawley Troxell who represent the S Bar Ranch.
During an 11 am, May 18, 2018, meeting the Elmore County Commissioner will likely decide if they will hold a hearing, possibly limited to the amendments to the CUP contemplated by an unresolved Development Agreement to more fully address the concerns of S Bar Ranch.
The S Bar Ranch filed a lawsuit against Elmore County, Idaho on May 1, 2018. You can download and view this document through a link at the bottom of this post.
CCE’s Notice of Appeal sign is barely visible on Wood Creek Road off Highway 20.
A snippet from this petition for judicial review states: 11. Cat Creek appealed the Commission’s Decision to the Elmore County (“ County” )
Board of Commissioners (“ Board” ).
12. The Board held a hearing on the appeal of the Commission’s Decision on
November 16, 2016, at which time Cat Creek presented new evidence, for the first time, that
materially changed the CUPs, including a new master site plan.
13. This new evidence was not properly noticed as part of the hearing and S Bar
Ranch did not have a proper opportunity to respond to this new evidence.
“The basis for this Supplement to the Second Request for Reconsideration is failure of the Elmore County Board of County Commissioners (“ Commissioners” ) and Elmore County (“ County” ) in general, to comply with the requirements of the Local Land Use Planning Act, Idaho Code Section 67–6501 …”
