Grand Canyon Sierra Club Press Releases and Action Alerts
November 1. 2001
Please help protect Ironwood Forest National Monument!
Ask the Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee to deny approval of the
Toltec Power Station.
The Toltec Power Station will be located in a flat basin surrounded on two sides by Ironwood
and on a third side by Picacho Peak State Park. Three huge 600 MW natural gas-fired
units are planned. Six smoke stacks will tower 175 feet above the surrounding landscape. Several
transmission lines with towers of comparable height will also snake across the area. The proposed
project is a mere five miles from the Monument and roughly 9 miles from the State Park. An absolutely
gorgeous sunset vista from the State Park looks west across the basin and the view includes both
Ironwood Forest and Sonoran Desert National Monument in the distance. The power plant will be
plopped down right in the middle of this. The viewsheds for both Ironwood Forest and Picacho Peak
will be harmed significantly should this project be built. The De Anza National Historic Trail
runs through this area, as well as the historic Butterfield Stage Route, and viewsheds for these
resources would also be impacted.
There are other problems with the project. It will be built in the Picacho Basin, which is one
of the most significant areas of ground subsidence and earth fissuring in the U.S. and perhaps
the world. It will also be located within the 100 year floodplain of the Santa Cruz River. The
project proposes to use some 9400 acre feet of water/year, and the effect of aquifer draw-down
on the monument and the surrounding area is unknown. Needless to say, there will very probably
be further ground subsidence and fissuring in this area that has already seen the original land
surface drop by more than ten feet and up to fifteen feet in one spot. Further subsidence may
also affect the flow of the Santa Cruz River, exacerbating flooding in the area. While the emissions
put out by this plant will reportedly meet all current laws and regulations, the components of
these emissions contribute to overall regional air pollution and will inevitably lead to a decline
in air quality for the monument and the surrounding area.
There are also plans by a New Mexico Company to run a major transmission line through this area
to link with northern Mexico. If the Toltec plant is built, there will be significant national
and international pressure to allow this line to be constructed because Toltec will hook into
the line to export power to Mexico. The line, as currently planned, would potentially impact Sonoran
Desert National Monument, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Saguaro National Park, the Arizona-Sonora
Desert Museum, and Coronado National Forest.
Please take a few minutes if you can to write to the Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line
Siting Committee and ask them to not grant a "Certificate of Environmental Compatibility"
on Case No. 112, regarding Toltec Power Station L.L.C. I have attached a sample letter.
Please email Jon Shumaker at himdak@hotmail.com if you
need more info.
Thank you all very much for your help on this.
Information and text of message and letter by Jon Shumaker
SAMPLE LETTER
October 31, 2001
Docket Control
Ms. Laurie Woodhall
Chairperson
Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee
Arizona Corporation Commission
1200 West Washington
Phoenix AZ 85007
Re: Case No. 112, Toltec Power Station L.L.C.
Dear Ms. Woodhall:
I am writing to urge that the Toltec Power Station Project, Case No. 112 NOT be granted a Certificate
of Environmental Compatibility. This project is totally incompatible with the surrounding environment,
which includes the newly designated Ironwood Forest National Monument, Picacho Peak State Park,
the De Anza National Historic Trail, and the historic Butterfield Stage Route. The viewsheds of
each of these areas would be irreparably harmed by the construction of this nearby project and
its associated power lines. The deserts of Southern Arizona are renowned for their flat desert
basins bounded by jagged, dramatic mountain skylines. In this area one can see for miles. It was
in recognition of special values like these that the Ironwood Forest National Monument was established
just last year. The Monument provides rare opportunities for quiet, solitude, and dramatic vistas
just a short drive away from the two major metropolitan areas of Tucson and Phoenix. Just as you
would not build a garbage dump next to Mount Rushmore, it would be inappropriate to build a large
power plant next to a National Monument or State Park.
Additional problems with siting a power plant here include the fact that the project is within
the 100-year floodplain of the Santa Cruz River. Subsidence in the Basin has actually caused floodwaters
to break out of
their normal channel and flow elsewhere. Even more troubling is the fact that the Picacho Basin
is one of the worst areas in the nation and perhaps the world for ground subsidence and earth
fissuring. The U.S. Geological Survey considers subsidence and flooding to be major geological
hazards. While there are engineers who would suggest that „anything‰ can be engineered,
the fact is that damage to buildings and infrastructure costs Americans millions of dollars every
year. If it was that easy to predict and mitigate this damage, then those costs would certainly
be much lower. Some thirteen new power plants have already been approved for southern Arizona,
with several more being discussed. These should provide plentiful power to meet the needs of Arizona
as well as the Western power market for the foreseeable future. In addition, we can help negate
the need for more plants by encouraging energy conservation and development of renewable energy
sources.
Because of the significant, permanent, and irreparable environmental impacts of this plant on
the surrounding area, it would be impossible to justify approving a Certificate of Environmental
Compatibility for this project under current Arizona law or the rules and regulations of the Arizona
Corporation Commission. The environmental impacts are simply too great, and the actual need for
this plant simply too small.
The fact is that places like Ironwood Forest National Monument and Picacho Peak State Park simply
aren‚t being made any more. There are many places to build power plants and transmission
lines in Arizona. There are fewer national treasures like Ironwood Forest National Monument. Arizona
has recently been given this wonderful gift. It is up to Arizona to protect it. Please do not
approve a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility for this project.
Thank you very much for considering my comments.
Sincerely,
(Include name and address.) Sandy Bahr
Conservation Outreach Director
Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter
812 N. Third St
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phone (602) 253-8633 Fax (602) 258-6533
grandcanyon@qwest.net
Page updated: 11/01/01
Return to Press Releases and Action Alerts page
- - -
Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Chapter, 202 E.
McDowell Rd, Suite 277, Phoenix, AZ 85004, (602) 253-8633
|
