LS POWER’S PROPOSED SUNRISE RIVER ENERGY STATION INFORMATION

Guest Commentary by Concerned Citizens of Chisago County

There has been a lot of misinformation going around about the proposed LS Power Sunrise power plant. The information included here is factual and can be verified. This information is provided by concerned citizens of Chisago County who are opposed to the building of this power plant.

LS Power, a large private investment firm with principal offices in New Jersey, is taking steps to develop a 780 megawatt mixed fuel electric generating plant in Chisago County, Lent Township. The plant, which would be the fourth largest in the state, would use both natural gas and fuel oil. It will include one, and more likely two, emissions stacks in the range of 200’ high as well as large storage tank(s) for backup fuel oil. Fuel oil would likely be used during the winter months and other times of the year due to limited capacity of natural gas supply lines. As well, there are market fluctuations that make fuel oil the more profitable choice.

To gain perspective on what this plant would look like, see the photo of LS Power’s 837MW power plant in Batesville, MS. This plant is located in a heavy industrial park - there are no homes, schools, county or state park lands, anywhere adjacent to the area. The site of the proposed Lent plant is clearly a rural, residential/agricultural area – not an industrial park. The proposed plant would be located on a 40-acre parcel behind the old mink farm, next to the Chisago Co Electrical Substation on County Road (CR) 14, between CR 15 and CR 18, in Lent Township.

WHY YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED

1. The plant would drastically change the rural character of Chisago County. Most residents of Chisago County place great value on its rural character. Chisago County’s Comprehensive Plan reflects this: “County residents have consistently expressed a desire for preservation of natural resources, rural character, cultural and historic resources, wildlife habitats and general open space.” The Plan states that the County will “prevent incompatible land use in agricultural areas”. The plant is also incompatible with the Lent Township Comprehensive Plan. Lent’s overall vision is to “apply sustainability principles and active citizen participation to preserve its individuality and natural resources, and to remain a rural community.” Lent Township’s plan strives to “protect and preserve the quality and quantity of water resources within and flowing through the Township.” A power plant in this location is clearly incompatible with both plans! The plant would significantly affect the rural quality of the landscape for miles in every direction. The night sky would be impacted by security lighting. Noise will be an issue, at a minimum, for some of the residents within a considerable distance of the proposed site. Supplying fuel oil would require a steady stream of tanker trucks on now lightly traveled rural roads. It would not be an unreasonable stretch to anticipate a scenario which would have the plant operating at peak capacity on fuel oil. In this event it would take more than 100 tanker trucks per day – traveling either through Stacy business district (CR19/Hwy 30/61) and/or downtown North Branch (Hwy 95 and CR14), passing by most of the public schools in North Branch. The use of fuel oil is certain to have impacts in this regard, as well as others such as noise and stack emissions. While the plant will require relatively minor new power lines to interconnect with the overall grid, the presence of this plant will serve as a major piece for the justification of implementing the construction of any-and-all of three already proposed large capacity transmission lines. The county would be further impacted by wastewater and gas pipeline corridors that would be required to serve the project. Power plants belong in industrial settings, not in the middle of rural landscapes.

2. It will consume enormous amounts of water. LS Power says that the plant will need up to 5 million gallons per day (MGD) of water to cool the plant when operating at peak capacity, an amount equal to all other water uses/day in Chisago County. “Typical requirements” would be 3.5 MGD. A fraction of this water would come from Chisago Lakes Joint Sewer District treatment plant (1.1 MGD) and possibly from the North Branch Waste Water Treatment Plant (another 0.4 MGD). The remaining water needs would come from groundwater. LS Power will be applying to withdraw an average of 2 MGD of groundwater, four times more than North Branch now uses. Moreover, this groundwater would be withdrawn from the high-quality Mt. Simon-Hinckley aquifer. Minnesota State law now protects the Mt. Simon Hinckley aquifer in the Metro counties for drinking and domestic use ONLY. This legal protection which prohibits industrial use does not include Chisago County. The proposed plant site lies over some of the most vulnerable sandy soils in the area. The Chisago County Comprehensive plan “Figure 3” actual shows the site in question as being in an area of “high to very high sensitivity” to aquifer pollution (pages 2-16). North Branch has recently begun drawing city drinking water from the Mt. Simon-Hinckley aquifer.

3. The plant would in reality have little positive economic impact for residents of Chisago County. It would, of course, generate enormous profits for LS Power, which is based in New Jersey. However, it would have little positive impact in Chisago County over the long run. LS Power claims that the plant would have “up to” 25 high-paying jobs, but admits that the most skilled operators would be hired from outside the county. For perspective, 25 jobs would be less than 0.2% of total employment in the county (based on the 2002 U.S. Economic Census). Payments to the County, Lent Township, and the North Branch School District in lieu of personal property tax would be $600,000 per year (with no inflationary increases). In addition, Rep. Kalin and Sen. Olseen introduced legislation (which passed) on behalf of LS Power this spring. This will, in effect, reduce LS Power’s tax bill from $9 million/year to only $900,000 per year. Combined, this adds up to less than 2% of the combined expenditures of local units of government within the County (the County itself, cities, and townships). However, the plant will decrease local property values (hence property taxes) for current residences and prevent future residential development. It would consume groundwater that could be used for other purposes, and shorten the lifespan of roads due to additional truck traffic. It might even reduce Chisago County’s $49 million/year (in 2006) tourism industry.

4. Wastewater from the plant could pollute the Sunrise River. The Sunrise River, less than a mile from the proposed plant, is a unique and valued resource to citizens of the County. Kost Dam Park is one of the most widely used and enjoyed parks in the county (swimming, fishing, paddling). The Sunrise River flows into the St. Croix National Wild and Scenic Waterway. The National Park Service recently expressed its concerns in a letter to the Public Utilities Commission (July 28, 2009) regarding the impacts of the proposed plant to the Sunrise River as a major tributary to the St. Croix. The Sunrise River is also legally “impaired” for phosphorus. The proposed power plant would discharge wastewater from its cooling towers to the treatment plant outfall at Blomquist Creek which flows into the Sunrise River. LS power now acknowledges that the wastewater will contain descalers (phosphates) and biocides (such as copper, chlorine). The power plant will require a state permit that would theoretically require LS Power to meet all water quality requirements, but experience has shown that meeting these requirements can be difficult.

CAN IT BE STOPPED BY LOCAL ACTION? YES!

Under a provision in Minnesota’s 2009 Omnibus Bill, both Lent Township and Chisago County must pass development agreements by a 2/3 majority before the plant can be built. Either entity could simply not approve any development agreement, preventing the plant from being built. Either entity could add restrictions to the development agreement (like requiring a full-scale Environmental Impact Statement to be done). The County, Lent Township, and LS Power are working on the development agreement NOW and could vote on it as early as late September.

Here are two things you can do:

1. Become informed. Read the local papers – there have been many informative letters and columns about the plant. Watch the North Branch and Chisago City papers for notice of public meetings about the plant. Go to Lent Township or Chisago Co. Commissioners meetings to get information, ask questions, share your knowledge, and make your opposition known in a simple, less than 3-minute, statement. County Commission meetings will be held on Sept. 16, Oct. 7 and 21, 6:30 pm, at the Chisago County Government Center, Center City. Sign in at 6:30 to speak at 7:00 during Citizen’s Forum. Lent Township Board meetings are open to the public and will be held on Sept. 15, Oct. 20, 7:00 pm, at the Lent Town Hall, on CR 18. A special workshop is planned for Oct. 19 at the Lent Town Hall.

For meeting schedule information and to download the Comprehensive Land Use Plans, go
to: http://www.co.chisago.mn.us http://www.lenttownship.com/

2. Contact your elected officials! Meet them in person, call them, or email them. A short email or phone call simply stating your opposition is easy to do and very important. If they don’t hear from you, they probably assume that you either support the plant or you don’t care. Here are the addresses and contact information for Lent Township Supervisors and Chisago County Commissioners who will be voting on this issue.


LENT TOWNSHIP OFFICE AND SUPERVISORS:

Office: Stacy, MN 651-462-3009
Lyle Johnson lylejohn@frontiernet.net 651-462-1358
Gene Olson (chair) clerk@lenttownship.net (address to Gene Olson) 651-587-3507
Mike Olson mike@mikesauto.net 651-248-0975


CHISAGO COUNTY OFFICE AND COMMISSIONERS:

Office: Center City, MN 651-257- 1300

District 1. Lora Walker lorawalker@hotmail.com (w)651-213-8831 (p) 651-462-2268

District 2. Rick Greene rgreene@co.chisago.mn.us
randijgreene@yahoo.com (w) 651-213-8832 (p) 651-583-2513

District 3. George McMahon geomcmahon@aol.com (w) 651-213-8833 (p) 612-964-6450

District 4 (chair). Ben Montzka montzka@aol.com bjmontz@co.chisago.mn.us(w) 651-213-8834 (p) 651-4624200

District 5. Mike Robinson mdrobin@co.chisago.mn.us mdrobin@wdemail.com (w) 651-213-8835 (p) 320-358-3223


CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS:

City councils are working on developmental agreements also, regarding the use of wastewater for cooling the proposed plant. They need to hear from residents as well. Attend the City Council meetings of North Branch, Chisago City, Lindstrom, Center City, Shafer, and Wyoming.