- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Geothermal pipeline project approved; tribe raises concerns about cultural resources monitoring
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Planning Commission on Thursday gave its approval to an above-ground pipeline project proposed by Geysers Power Co. after the company and Middletown Rancheria representatives reached an agreement on protecting cultural resources at the site.
Assistant county planner Mark Roberts told the commission that Geysers Power Co. – also referred to as Calpine during the meeting – is proposing to construct the new 2,626-foot steam pipeline between its West Ford Flat and Calistoga steamfields.
The 30-inch diameter insulated steel steam pipe will follow an existing trail and require about 24 acres of minor grading – just scraping to remove grass and shrubs.
There will be some excavation for the placement of 100 pipeline footings, which will be drilled in about 10 feet deep like utility poles, according to staff and company comments at the meeting.
Bruce Carlsen of Calpine said the pipeline is meant to increase the efficiency of operations at The Geysers.
“The Geysers was essentially overbuilt,” he said, explaining that the facility peaked out at 2,000 megawatts and has since been reduced to 800 megawatts. The Bear Canyon plant recently was placed on standby.
Carlsen said they have been cross-tying pipelines to maximize the resources. Three facilities don't yet have cross-ties, including the West Ford Flat and Calistoga plants. The pipeline will allow steam to go back and forth between the plants in the event one of them goes offline for maintenance. He said that would minimize the time for well bleeds in the steamfield.
Construction on the project – which Carlsen estimated to be between $2 million and $3 million – should take three to four months. He said they were aiming to begin in July but haven't yet awarded the construction contract.
Carlsen said the project will reduce hydrogen sulfide emissions in the air, its noise will cause no significant impact and a review of cultural resources that was completed identified a possible nearby mining camp which was roped off, with the company's archaeologist not suggesting additional monitoring.
He said biological and water studies have shown that the project will have no significant impact.
Disagreements over a condition
Katherine Philippakis, an attorney representing the applicant, raised concerns about a county-imposed condition that Geysers Power enter into an agreement for cultural resource monitoring with Middletown Rancheria, noting that a survey found no areas of concern at the project location.
Commissioner Gladys Rosehill asked Philippakis how the company has worked with tribes in the past. Philippakis said they've been invited to a discussion and to visit sites. She said they have never had the tribe act as the archaeological resources consultant on a project.
Phillipakis emphasized there was going to be very minimal grading, and that tribal members could be there to observe the digging of the holes for the footings.
However, she said the company didn't want to be required to hire someone and then not have the project move forward. “That kind of holds us hostage to an agreement that isn't yet in place.”
During public comment, Pamela Reyes Gutierrez of the Middletown Rancheria said the tribe recently formalized its tribal historic preservation department to protect the area both on the 108-acre rancheria and within ancestral lands, which is the area encompassed by the Lake Miwok dialect.
She said they were not trying to stop projects but rather to mitigate tribal concerns.
Gutierrez requested that Geysers Power engage in an agreement with the tribe to address concerns about resources and remains revealed by ground disturbance activities. “We have requested a cultural survey and a site visit.”
On Wednesday, the tribe received Philippakis' letter opposing the monitoring agreement requirement. “Our perception of receiving a legal counsel document a day prior to a hearing, to us, is not good business,” said Gutierrez, who asked for the hearing to be continued.
Carlos Negrete, a representative of the Middletown Rancheria Tribal Council, told the commission, “We wouldn't hold anyone hostage to any part of the agreement,” adding that they wanted more time to respond to the letter.
Commission Chair Joe Sullivan asked what the tribe was seeking. Gutierrez said they want a monitor there whenever there is ground disturbance taking place.
She said the tribal monitors – who work alongside archaeologists – have specialty knowledge about the materials that are culturally sensitive.
Gutierrez said the tribe is working with Caltrans on a project on Highway 29, where monitors are on scene any time there is ground disturbance. If remains were to be found, the project would immediately stop.
“Ultimately, we're not looking to stop any type of work, we're just looking to preserve any type of tribal artifacts that may come about,” she said.
Joan Clay of Anderson Springs said that community supports the project. She also urged the commission to take the tribe's concerns very seriously, which she said her community also would support.
Changing practices
Philippakis said she appreciated that the tribe had come to the meeting to make its position clear. She said Calpine valued its relationship with the rancheria. “There was no intent on our part to be bad neighbors.”
She said Calpine has no objection to the tribe sending a monitor at its cost during construction. What was really at issue is that the proposed agreement with the tribe would require reimbursement to the tribe of between $75 and $100 per hour during the construction.
Philippakis said they felt it was unusual for the county government to require the applicant to hire another specific agency. “Our project would be held up if we were not able to agree to the terms,” she said.
Stephanie Reyes, Middletown Rancheria's tribal historic preservation officer, told the commission that they are working collaboratively with archaeologists about what is important to the tribe and what is culturally sensitive so they can preserve those items for their people.
The monitors are full-time employees elsewhere, and when they are asked to come to a site they have to take time off from their jobs. That's why they're compensated, said Reyes. Monitoring also provides revenue for her department.
Reyes said this is going to be a practice that's pushed further when changes go into effect in the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.
“Obviously we understand it's a change,” she said, noting that it's something people are not used to dealing with in this community.
“But now with the way things are moving forward, it's a change that will be coming and we'd like to be proactive in that change. We're not here to stop the projects, we're here to preserve what we have left of our history that can be found,” said Reyes.
She said they know there are historic sites near that location, and in 1979 a site in that area was placed on the National Register. But she said they don't know if those sites have been considered. After the letter from Philippakis came through on Wednesday night, they began researching it, with the tribal elders instructing them to look closely at the situation.
Rosehill asked about options the tribe has if a project manager wouldn't work with them. Reyes said under CEQA the tribe could argue that additional studies need to be made.
The area where the project is located is a point the Lake Miwok crossed when they traveled, said Reyes. A hunting campsite also is in the area.
Reyes said that without having the tribe on site, “That's how we're losing parts of our history.”
Coel told the commission that there was a legal question about whether the county had the legal authority to require the company to enter the agreement with the tribe. He said it was a “very difficult and concerning issue for all of us.”
Deputy County Counsel Shanda Harry said there were no state or federal requirements for such agreements.
Such provisions have been included in past permits because they had been agreed to by the applicant beforehand, which is different than requiring them when the applicant isn't willing to follow the provision, said Harry.
In offering middle ground, Coel suggested an “accidental discovery agreement” in order to respond in the case that something is unearthed during the project. In such cases, the tribe could be notified and a monitor could come to the site to work alongside with the archaeologist.
Such an agreement also would deal with how to deal with archaeological items if they're found – whether they are put back in the ground or collected.
Carlsen said they would be interested in such an agreement, and told the commission that the condition for the monitoring agreement had caught them off guard.
Coel said the provision had been included by staff based on comments the county had received from the tribe. “It wasn't intended to be an ambush.”
“That explains quite a bit,” said Commissioner Bob Malley.
Malley said he wanted assurance that there would be more discussion between Calpine and the tribe. He was concerned that Calpine was worried about spending between $10,000 and $20,000 on monitoring on a project valued between $2 million and $3 million.
“I share the same concerns,” said Sullivan, who also encouraged discussions take place immediately.
The commission took a brief break while Coel met with representatives of the tribe and the company to work out language about the accidental discovery plan, with the language stating that the applicant is “strongly encouraged” to negotiate and execute a cultural resources agreement with the Middletown Rancheria prior to construction.
The commission then approved the project's proposed mitigated negative declaration, granted minor modifications to mitigation measures, and approved the mitigation and monitoring plan 4-0, with Commissioner Don Deuchar absent.
Also on Tuesday, the commission approved a mitigated negative declaration for a parcel map requested by Wayne Ahlstrom in order to subdivide a 4.3-acre lot at 1235 Mountview Drive, Lakeport, that has been used for modular home sales, and heard a staff presentation on the county's zoning ordinance.
The planned discussion and consideration of the final environmental impact report for the Valley Oaks development near Hidden Valley Lake was continued at the request of Coel, who said putting together information for the commission had taken longer than anticipated. The matter was rescheduled for 9:05 a.m. Thursday, June 25.
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