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Ex-official, unions differ on COB plant
Published June 13, 2003
Backers at hearing point to jobs; foes say it's incompatible with area
By DYLAN DARLING
H&N Staff Writer
BONANZA - Roger Hamilton, a former Klamath County commissioner and advisor to former Gov. John Kitzhaber on energy and water issues, spoke out against the proposed COB Energy Facility at a public hearing Thursday night in Bonanza.
Hamilton, who has owned a ranch near Bonanza for 32 years, said he did not see any direct benefit for the community from the proposed plant.
"I'm not saying there is anything wrong with a natural gas plant. I'm saying it's incompatible here," he said.
He expressed concern that if one plant is built in the Langell Valley area, it would open the door for more to be built, and also questioned building a plant dependent on natural gas.
Several people also came to show their support for the 1,130-megawatt plant and the jobs it would bring.
The comment period followed an hour-and-a half long open house organized by the Oregon Office of Energy.
About 100 people came to the open house to talk with government representatives and with Rob Trotta, director of power generation for Peoples Energy, the Chicago-based company that wants to build the plant.
Agencies represented at Thursday's meeting included the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Eighteen people offered oral comments during the formal hearing.
David Stewart-Smith, assistant director for the Office of Energy's resources division, said people for and against the plant came to ask questions and have their opinions heard.
Comments opposing the project came from people who live near the project site and don't want to see a power plant in their scenic, rural valley.
Representatives of labor unions said the plant will bring jobs into Klamath County.
"We've heard both sides," Stewart-Smith said.
Lynda King-Clegg, who lives near Malin, said the Langell Valley site is not the place for a power plant.
"It should be exclusive farm use, and exclusive means exclusive," she said.
Many suggested to Trotta that the plant be built elsewhere, like the industrial strip between Klamath Falls and Keno.
Trotta said his company wants to stay with the site near Bonanza because it has spent lots of time and money researching it.
"I cannot give up all the knowns we have for the unknowns of a new site," he said.
Richard Carl, who has lived in Langell Valley for three years, said the plant could be a foundation for the community to grow on.
"This plant will provide jobs in Southern Oregon," he said.
Trotta said the proposed plant would provide 20 to 30 permanent jobs, with salaries averaging $87,000 per year.
Jennifer Van Datta, Southern Oregon field representative for the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters, said her union supports the project because it would provide a number of jobs while under construction, and offer family-wage jobs once it is built.
"This is our way of making a living," she said. "If buildings aren't being built then we aren't working."
One thing that wasn't talked about much was water.
Barry Norris, an administrative technician with the Oregon Water Resources Department, had come ready to answer questions about potential impacts on water supplies.
But concern about that issue decreased sharply after Peoples Energy announced Wednesday it would switch from a water-cooled design to an air-cooled design. To do that, the company must revise its project application with the Office of Energy. Trotta said the company will do that within two months.
The comment period for the current application ends June 23, but once Peoples Energy submits its amendment to the application a new comment period will open, said Cathy Van Horn, energy facility analyst for the Office of Energy. After the comments and other information are evaluated, the office will issue a draft proposed order on whether the project should be allowed to proceed.
Reporter Dylan Darling covers natural resources. He can be reached at 885-4471, (800) 275-0982, or by e-mail at ddarling@heraldandnews.com.
Backers at hearing point to jobs; foes say it's incompatible with area
By DYLAN DARLING
H&N Staff Writer
BONANZA - Roger Hamilton, a former Klamath County commissioner and advisor to former Gov. John Kitzhaber on energy and water issues, spoke out against the proposed COB Energy Facility at a public hearing Thursday night in Bonanza.
Hamilton, who has owned a ranch near Bonanza for 32 years, said he did not see any direct benefit for the community from the proposed plant.
"I'm not saying there is anything wrong with a natural gas plant. I'm saying it's incompatible here," he said.
He expressed concern that if one plant is built in the Langell Valley area, it would open the door for more to be built, and also questioned building a plant dependent on natural gas.
Several people also came to show their support for the 1,130-megawatt plant and the jobs it would bring.
The comment period followed an hour-and-a half long open house organized by the Oregon Office of Energy.
About 100 people came to the open house to talk with government representatives and with Rob Trotta, director of power generation for Peoples Energy, the Chicago-based company that wants to build the plant.
Agencies represented at Thursday's meeting included the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Eighteen people offered oral comments during the formal hearing.
David Stewart-Smith, assistant director for the Office of Energy's resources division, said people for and against the plant came to ask questions and have their opinions heard.
Comments opposing the project came from people who live near the project site and don't want to see a power plant in their scenic, rural valley.
Representatives of labor unions said the plant will bring jobs into Klamath County.
"We've heard both sides," Stewart-Smith said.
Lynda King-Clegg, who lives near Malin, said the Langell Valley site is not the place for a power plant.
"It should be exclusive farm use, and exclusive means exclusive," she said.
Many suggested to Trotta that the plant be built elsewhere, like the industrial strip between Klamath Falls and Keno.
Trotta said his company wants to stay with the site near Bonanza because it has spent lots of time and money researching it.
"I cannot give up all the knowns we have for the unknowns of a new site," he said.
Richard Carl, who has lived in Langell Valley for three years, said the plant could be a foundation for the community to grow on.
"This plant will provide jobs in Southern Oregon," he said.
Trotta said the proposed plant would provide 20 to 30 permanent jobs, with salaries averaging $87,000 per year.
Jennifer Van Datta, Southern Oregon field representative for the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters, said her union supports the project because it would provide a number of jobs while under construction, and offer family-wage jobs once it is built.
"This is our way of making a living," she said. "If buildings aren't being built then we aren't working."
One thing that wasn't talked about much was water.
Barry Norris, an administrative technician with the Oregon Water Resources Department, had come ready to answer questions about potential impacts on water supplies.
But concern about that issue decreased sharply after Peoples Energy announced Wednesday it would switch from a water-cooled design to an air-cooled design. To do that, the company must revise its project application with the Office of Energy. Trotta said the company will do that within two months.
The comment period for the current application ends June 23, but once Peoples Energy submits its amendment to the application a new comment period will open, said Cathy Van Horn, energy facility analyst for the Office of Energy. After the comments and other information are evaluated, the office will issue a draft proposed order on whether the project should be allowed to proceed.
Reporter Dylan Darling covers natural resources. He can be reached at 885-4471, (800) 275-0982, or by e-mail at ddarling@heraldandnews.com.
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